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“He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother”: The Curious Case of Baki, Razak and Yaakob Brothers.
By Mihar Dias
(C) Copyright, January 2022
Azam, Najib and Ismail have something in common. They have brothers who were around when they needed help. Aren’t brothers supposed to assist one another?
In the case of Ismail Sabri Yaakob, the current Prime Minister, he needed someone to helm National Farmers Association (NAFAS), so his elder brother Zamri Yaakob was quickly appointed as Chairman of the National Farmer’s Organisation (NAFAS)’s Board of Directors soon after he was sworn in as the 9th Prime Minister. Wow, how very convenient he happened to be around when the post became vacant. Let’s not question that too much after all we are into the spirit of “keluarga” Malaysia. So, let it be!
But soon after that news broke, we heard Ismail have another older brother, a former member of the Parti Sosialis Rakyat Malaysia who announced the launching of a new political party; Party Kuasa Rakyat or Kuasa. Kamarazaman Yaakob, who will lead the party, vowed to “champion the struggles of the common man” through Kuasa.
One brother in the family as a PM was not good enough for the common man. Neither was one sufficient to breathe life (nafas) among the plebeians, we needed another older sibling who would champion their cause. What a family.
This is keluarga Malaysia at work; one head honcho, one breathing a new life into a farmers association and one standing up for the common man. Throughout our brief history of 60+ years, we have not seen a (3 in 1) package as powerful as this combination of brothers from a single-family. Carry on bro!
Ismail’s predecessor, Najib too had a brother, Nazir who came to his aid. But unfortunately the latter regretted helping his elder brother cash RM25.7million cheques linked to 1MDB for GE 13.
He documented this in a memoir ‘What’s In A Name” on how Najib approached him to cash the cheque to be used in the campaign for the polls. He did not see any reason why he should not help a brother in his hour of need.
Little did he know then the cheque was tainted. At a recent talk to promote his book he shared his feeling with the audience still regretting what he did for his brother that eventually led to his retirement as Chairperson of a prominent bank. It must have been brotherly love!
Then there were the Baki brothers. No regret is expressed as yet but someone’s job is on the line. Azam’s brother used his account to buy shares. If you asked him why he did, I supposed he would probably say “Oh, I get by with a little help from my brother”, a refrain similar to that of the Beatles, getting by and high with a little help from my friends. And why not?
Like the case in The Parables of Jesus, a girl carrying a big baby when asked if she was not tired, replied “No, he’s not heavy; he’s my brother.” But for Azam the shoulders bearing that burden are heavy.
Perhaps we should replay a song by The Holies or Neil Diamond “He Ain’t Heavy…” and dedicate it to all brothers everywhere who are burdened by the responsibilities of having to support their siblings.
So what, you may ask. The moral of the story is brothers are bound by the blood that flows in their veins and therefore obliged to help one another. And if there were three of you like the Yaakobs, you make history.
If his name was Najib you’ll be feeling sorry for yourself.
However, if you were a Baki brother there was nothing to be sorry about. The big brother might lose his job but then they have probably made enough money for their retirement.
Mihar Dias is a content writer under Headliner by Newswav, a programme where content creators get to tell their unique stories through articles and at the same time monetize their content within the Newswav app.
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