They can’t kill your dreams, so they assassinate your character.
― Nitya Prakash, writer, banker and motivational speaker
Over the past week, a series of articles attacking Sarawak and Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg have made rounds on social media.
As of writing, the series, titled, ‘Abang Jo’s luck is running out’, a two-parter with the second part of the article indicating that there could be a next part, urging readers to stay tuned.
It was published anonymously on a widely known political blog. The first of the two published on Malaysia Day no less.
Fiction is a word I would use to describe it. How else can you describe a malicious article that contains no facts nor basis behind any of its allegations?
How can a person know so much and able to deliberate what happened in vivid detail? It was as if the writer is privy to the dealings and inner workings of the government.
How can the writer have the juicy bits when even top journalists in Kuching are not in the loop on such details?
It makes a mockery of journalism. I mean why even bother researching and getting boots on the ground to obtain facts, figures and insights when one can make it all up?
It was a figment of the writer’s imagination and the kind of narrative that feeds into the minds of people who are clutching at straws to ridicule Sarawak and its leaders.
To me this seems familiar, it was not long ago that I called another author out for being a pen for hire.
As far as I know and most in the media fraternity is concerned, that particular author who had multiple police reports lodged against him for a separate disparaging article against the Premier has no actual insight of what is happening in Sarawak.
It is almost as if he was instructed by his ‘towkay’ in Malaya to be a rabble-rouser and write in such a way to incite the people of Sarawak.
He even had the cheek to compare himself to Sarawak’s number one politician, so narcissistic and full of himself.
Could it be that the recent articles – both peddling the same narrative alleging that Abang Johari is simply riding his fortunes, be written by the same author?
I don’t know for a fact if the author is one and the same, but it is not impossible that a person displaying narcissistic tendencies could hold a grudge when subjected to ridicule.
Personal grudge or otherwise, it seems like there is no letting up from the person who authored the recent articles. It looks like he or she has a lot to say about Sarawak and Abang Johari.
It appears that the author is obsessed with portraying Sarawak as a Third World region or maybe he or she was simply fulfilling a contract to write a certain number of articles in the same tune in hopes of collecting a paycheque. We can only speculate.
I hope his or her paymasters didn’t have to cough up a significant amount of money to fund this anti-Sarawak campaign because if they did, then they are taken for a ride because apparently just about everyone can see through it – this pathetic attempt.
These paymasters and towkays, obviously not from here should just unmask themselves and fight us in the open. We all know what this is about, it all started when Sarawak beat them at their own game, swooping in to stake the claim on gas rights.
In one sweep, Sarawak turned the tables and is no longer the golden goose but the king itself. That is what irked these people – the towkays and paymasters. They can’t milk their cash cow any further.
And in trying to direct their anger, they launched an assault on Sarawak through these poison pen letters in hopes of swaying public opinion against its leaders. Their intention is for us, Sarawakians to look incompetent and out of our depth.
Not only they failed but they also managed to make a fool of themselves.
No doubt there will be more coming, mercenary writers trying to make a quick dime.
I’m not blaming them – these washed-up journalists and authors with questionable integrity, times are tough, everyone has to eat.
But I say to them don’t even bother, you and your towkays can’t divide us with your wordsmithery, punditry and insults.
Don’t take us for fools.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
