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By Mihar Dias (C) Copyright June 2023
The political landscape of Malaysia has been marred by a disconcerting tapestry of lies, idiocy, ridiculous claims, illicit affairs, corruption, money laundering, audacity, stupidity, and incompetence over the past six decades.
These practices have unfortunately become normalized in our society. Contemplating the idea of writing a book about our bewildering politics, I took the time to conduct thorough research, scouring online sources and bookshelves to ensure originality.
To my astonishment, I discovered an existing book with a title strikingly similar to my intended one. However, it focused on a different country altogether—the United States of America. Joe Rhatigan's humorous book, "Bizarre Politics: The Audacity, Stupidity, Incompetence, and General Idiocy of Our Leaders . . . Unfortunately!" published in 2012, provides a scathing account of the American political landscape. It delves into the realms of pizza kings, mama bears, fake PAC ads, and obscene tweets, exploring the seemingly increasing lunacy and contentions within modern-day politics.
The review of Rhatigan's book emphasizes the prevalence of corruption, lies, and illicit affairs, which have become routine in politics. It begs the question of whether our own political climate is any less bizarre. It becomes apparent that America has a long-standing history of eccentric politics, chronicled humorously within the pages of Rhatigan's work. Thus, the parallels between our nation's political realities and the account presented in his book are striking.
Allow me to provide a brief background on Joe Rhatigan, an accomplished author who has written over fifteen books catering to children and adults. His repertoire includes titles such as "Don't unravel when you travel" and "Out of this world astronomy" Rhatigan has produced several best-selling series, such as "101 places you gotta see before you're 12! "White House Kids" and the "My Very Favorite Art Book" series. He is a multifaceted individual—poet, teacher, marketing manager, and newspaper boy—residing in Asheville, North Carolina, USA.
Returning to our own shores, the question arises whether exploring the idiosyncrasies of Malaysian politics is worthwhile. Should I embark on a serious scholarly analysis or follow in the footsteps of Joe Rhatigan, treating it as a humorous account of the comical aspects of Malaysian politics? After all, our political landscape is already bizarre in its own right.
Regrettably, we cannot overlook the fact that Malaysia holds the infamous distinction of being involved in the world's largest corruption scandal—1MDB. Furthermore, our country has been plagued by corrupt leaders, including the alleged partner of the former Prime Minister, who is currently in hiding from the FBI and Interpol. Additionally, numerous Malaysians have faced prosecution in US courts for money laundering, collaborating with unscrupulous individuals who have exploited countless women.
Moreover, the realm of Malaysian politics is rife with illicit affairs, as ministers and Members of Parliament secretly cross borders to secretly marry Thais or Indonesians. We mustn't forget the wives of politicians who extensively exploit their husbands' privileges for personal gain, from cars to planes.
These impropriety instances further underscore rampant cronyism, nepotism, and favouritism that have persisted from our independence until the present day. These "isms" seem firmly ingrained within our political system.
Similarly, the prevalence of false promises and lies, strategically employed to entice supposedly gullible voters, is not unique to the United States; it permeates our political climate as well.
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