HOWSY urges Desi to be more Cynical ...

A Malaysian reader based in the UK in a comment to the post yesterday, Some common sense on ENGLISH, finally!, asked Desi if I was not overly generous in giving our Education Minister the benefit of the doubt. Maybe I'll make myself doubly sure of the right nuances of his op and my reply by reproducing our friendly converse (warts and all, I hardly do any subbing at my Comments, don't wanna interrupt the flow ...) here:


"*howsy said...

You're just giving Hishamuddin the benefit of the doubt here and you're sure this is not another marketing ploy? He might just want to push up the sales of NST to reach more readers in order to propagate his UMNO propaganda and spin-doctoring. I keep my fingers-crossed for his sincere call.


desiderata said...
HOWSY:

A good point of view ehre.

Me being trained as a journalist, now as a diarist, I want to capture these politicians/govt leaders' words on record, and hold them accountable.

My of us, including myself, a reader of mine, mitochondria, have indeeed become "tired of being tired" with many of these politicians NOT -- "walking the talk", as wished for by the PM. I can understand your cynicism; many a time Desi has similarly grown as like you -- but sometimes if people such as Hisham want to make amends. let's give them a chance.

Let's just wait and see before the next GE -- maybe that's when the Rakyat hand in the report cards, it's better be thorough and critical... othwise, my EsteemedReaders and Desi might just have to adjourn to OUR I-LAND of fantasy.

Howsy, thanks for thy reminder. After nailing himself hallf to the cross with his own keris at the PWTC recently, let's give Hishama chance for redemption, OK? That's Desi's rhetorical question, but you are always welcome to add another few sen worth. THE I-LAND's cash register needs it!*"


Today, with Howsy's lens on the right eye, and my own on the left (socialist, remember?), I put two other members of the kindly Pak Lah's Cabinet miniSTERS (borrowing a fellow Blogger's style lONE, of lonestar9.blogspot.com politically-primed diary, no copyright(c) breach, I presume?) under this microscope:

Page 8, the NST, August 17, 2005, with headline:

Malaysian firms deny link with open burning
Evidence points to smallholders

(with pic captioned THE CULPRITS: Chin showing a photograph of open burning by Indonesia smallholders in Indonesia. The photograph was submitted by one of the five Malaysian firms which Indonesian authoprities claim were involved in slash and burn cultivation.) --Bernama picture

PUTRAJAYA, Tues: -- Five Malaysian companies today denied allegations by Indonesian forestry authorities that they were responsible for open burning.
Chief executive officers of the five companies met Plantation Enterprisesand Commodities miniSTER Datuk peter Chin at his ministry today to "tell their side of the story".
They denied that any of their plantations practised slash and burn techniques.
Chin said he had details and particulars of five Malaysian companies which had been accused by the Indonesian authorities of being responsible for open burning.

"The five companies are PT Tunggal Mitra Plantation, PT Langgam Inti Hibrida, PT Redsa Nusa Sejati, PT Mustika Agro Lestari and PT Multi Gambut Industri."

(Desi urges lazy but not so IgnorantCowws here to go read the full story in the national paper who is helping to promote the English language by subsidising copies to rural school children...noble intentions which I must give a lot of benefit of the doubt -- I'm quite generous at heart, those who 'no' me will swear, but not by any Holy Book.)

Then there is this other report from The Star (see, I support all local newspapers equally, I'm quite a democratic socialist by bent, or lent or rent (hey, TigerJoe where art thou these days? or is it bending?, See, I DIGRESS A LOT IN MY C-HOME, A PRIVILEGE I CONSTANTLY A-B-use, A is for me, B is for thee)...page 4, August 17, 2005:

Chua: No politician will admit trying to split party

KUALA LUMPUR: Whether a candidate is genuine or just trying to split votes in the MCA party elections starting on Friday is best left to the delegates to decide, according to an MCA leader.
"No politician would enter a contest and say that he wants to split the party. It is up to the central delegates to make the judgment," MCA vice-president Datuk Chua Soi Lek, who will be defending his post, told newsmen after opening an international conference on health communication yesterday.
Dr Chua was asked to comment on MCA presidential candidate Datuk Chua Jui Meng's statement on Monday that he would not form a team to oppose incumbent president Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting as he did not want to split the party.

(What more did Dr Chua say? Hey, spend RM1.20+RM1.20 to inform thyself, Okay, Desi is not going to help people one hundred per cent -- 99% maybe, if he's in a generous mood. Today, he's indebted to MOWSY for writing a few "more" cynical sentences. "more" here means comparing with yesterday's piece, not saying Desi's piece today has more cynical comments than yesterday's cynical piece ...OK! And that's another rhetorical question, but because Howsy was engaged with (not to! We as journalists or English masters must be absolutely clear and unambiguous ... hey BIG WORDS are in deed aloud here!)Desi yesterday, he's welCOME to add his 2 pounds' worth. Methinks he gets big bucks in London...)


DESIDERATA: What more can I add? but advise my Esteemed, and Discerning Readers, to substitute "businessman" in place of "politician" in Chua's statement, and you get an approximation to THE TRUTH (hey Moses, are you reading this?) in the first case. Salaam. Adieu. "GoodD'y"-- to all the ssssssSpirits out there.

POST-SCRIPT at 3.00pm (Malaysian time for Howsy's benefit of the doubt):

I normally don't spell out PS, so there is a first time for everything, right? -- to avoid some Ignorant Cowws' assumption that I always come back from lunch PENG-SAN! (and that's not a Japanese mate's name!) Being the leftist leaning one, Desi, after returning Howsy' lens, returned from a bloated lunch on banana leaf (no, not at Sri Paandi, that's in Kuala Lumpur/PJ, I can't afford to drive all the way from Seremban, but I can email Howsy in the UK if I could let the 'cat out of the bag.)

OK folks, to save some KEDEKUTS (Hi, sweetspirit from Up There, this word is Bahasa Malaysia for STINGYONES, although in our national language normally thee is no "s" for the plural forms, but when anglicised, they follow UK norms, hence the "ass", you gotcha me?
Well, getting to the point, to save RM1.20 for these Scrooges (ah, Howsy in England knows this comparision) ... I will tell you truthfully that the good doctor Chua -- remember, he's also our Health Minister -- did not say much more. For a lONE-liner, it's not worth throwing away that RM1.20 (buy me a teh-tarik for 80sen and let me keep the change ... help subsidise my petrol when pump prices rose not once, not twice, but thrise (i.e. three times ... English lesson here ...)--or isit four? -- over the past 12 months?

"I do not buy that," said Dr Chua.(Emphasis is Desi's.)
Desiderata will now plagiarise the good doctor's one-liner and tell miniSTER Peter Chin: "I do not buy that2."

PPS (and this is not representing Project Petaling Street)at 3.30pm: I think the lawyer Chua would readily agree with me this The Star copy is so well ended -- it climaxed like a short story -- Desi thinks the well-meaning Editor did some spin-doctoring on behalf of His Master's Voice. HOWSY, what do you think? Am I overly cynical after paying for my Jepun mate's lunch?