Politics is for social and emotional misfits, handicapped folk and those with a grudge. The purpose of politics is to help them overcome these feelings of inferiority and compensate for their personal inadequacies in the pursuit of power.
– Auberon Waugh, English novelist
Do I have to repeat it? Politicians, particularly those who have tasted power will have great difficulty in letting go.
At every election, they must contest, otherwise something is missing in their lives. They eat, sleep and breathe politics. To them, politics is not just a profession or a career. It has turned into a way of life for them, a culture if you will.
A political secretary friend was brutally honest with me on one occasion. He told me: “We, politicians, are unprepared to let go of our public posts and will want to remain in office until we die, if possible. Most of us dream of dying in glory in office.”
This is not to say that all politicians harbour such intention but it would not be wrong to say that most politicians fall in that category.
I suppose it’s only normal for most to wish to die in glory in office rather than to leave this world a nobody (at least they think so), an unknown whom no one remembers or talks about after you are gone.
Isn’t it funny, weird even, that some think people will remember them forever after their death?
Perhaps they should be told that no one remembers you or talks about you probably a week after your funeral, except for your family and loved ones. Isn’t this a fact?
And talking about politicians who refuse to let go voluntarily, we see many of them as the 15th general election (GE15) approaches.
I will describe them as “misfits” although they think that they are fit to continue to hold on to power or as a backbencher in Parliament, even when the rest of us think they are unfit.
I’m sure most of us have a long list of these misfits but for the constraint of space in this column, I would just name the more prominent ones.
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, with the utmost respect, unfortunately stood out as the Number One misfit on my list going into GE15.
At 97, and still insisting to defend his Langkawi parliamentary seat in the Nov 19 election, the numerous records set by Dr Mahathir will be difficult to break indeed.
Not only was Dr Mahathir the oldest prime minister in the world, he is also aiming to become PM for the ‘almost impossible’ third time.
As I write this, 42-year-old Rishi Sunak, who is not even half Dr Mahathir’s age, has just been elected as the new prime minister of the United Kingdom.
Imagine, a 42-year-old is running a British Empire (or whatever is left of it) while a 97-year-old still harbours hope of helming a small Southeast Asian nation which, incidentally, was once a part of the British Empire.
Although I’ve labelled Dr Mahathir as my top misfit, I would really love to see the nonagenarian turned centenarian contesting GE16 at 103 years old in 2027. I’m serious.
Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is next on my list of misfits. How I wish that those who are facing criminal charges in court would be constitutionally barred from seeking elective office. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case today.
The wrong man to lead UMNO into GE15, that’s what many are saying. Aside from his court cases, I also think that Zahid’s background, personality and character do not make him a suitable candidate for prime minister.
PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang is an ailing man at 75 who is also unwilling to let go. He has been in and out of the National Heart Institute over the past few years. With his declining health, coupled with his extreme views on race and religion, Abdul Hadi is a known man of division and is bad for Malaysian politics. Clearly, he is a misfit.
DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng is also on my list of misfits. To be fair, if Zahid who is facing criminal charges, so too is Lim and hence, the DAP leader should also opt out of GE15.
However, no one facing corruption charges in court will ever admit guilt. So, don’t expect the likes of Zahid or Lim to be different. Why, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, adjudged guilty and jailed for graft and money laundering, still believes he is innocent! What more can we say!
Those with health issues should know what to do but more often than not, they also refuse to let go. A former deputy minister who had collapsed in Parliament and during an assembly has also insisted to be fielded again in GE15 after he heard that he would be dropped.
Those above 70 or 75 should also be prepared to step down and make way for others. I’m glad DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang, 81, has announced his retirement.
But in Sarawak, PSB president Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh, at 80, is just making his parliamentary debut in GE15. Whatever for, I honestly cannot comprehend. I must ask again what Wong could do in the opposition now that he could not have fulfilled when he was in the government for 30 years of his political career.
Others on my list of misfits must surely include the Sheraton traitors, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and his Bersatu turncoats, Datuk Seri Azmin Ali and his ex-PKR’s 10, including the trio from Sarawak, Baru Bian, Datuk Willie Monyin and Datuk Ali Biju.
These are misfits who think they are fit but the voters must lay bare the truth for them on Nov 19 and send them packing into the dustbin of history where they rightfully belong.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
