By Niza Shimi
Something happens to politicians while they are on the campaign trail that changes after they win an election and assume office. It seems some of the thunder and lightning of campaigning fizzles out and they fall flat.
Perhaps this is what happened to Rafizi Ramli, the Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s vice president who, in a pre-election Kita Boleh rally declared, “Saturday (November 19, 2022) we vote. After we win the elections, we will look for (Tan Sri) Azam Baki (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief) Insya Allah.”
Malay Mail reported that Rafizi said this in his speech at Dataran Larkin, Johor Baru on November 16, 2022.
“I know Azam Baki is looking at this. I hope when Pakatan Harapan wins, we look for you, you won’t blame your brother again,” the politician added.
Rafizi, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate for the Pandan federal seat in Selangor in the 15th general election said he holds Azam responsible for the MACC’s dubious manners during the searches on Invoke Solutions Sdn Bhd as well as the interrogation of his staff.
However, at his first press conference as Minister of Economic Affairs of the Unity Government, when asked about the “threat” to look for Azam Baki, Rafizi said his earlier remarks were misread by the press.
Malay Mail reported that, when queried by a reporter, the Minister denied that he had threatened the anti-graft agency’s chief commissioner and said his statement was instead a pledge to make all enforcement agencies independent.
“I don’t think that’s exactly what I said,” Rafizi replied to the reporter.
“It makes for a good political sound bite but what I meant was that should a new government take over, and we have, the priority is to make everything independent and by the law, and not just Azam Baki or anyone else or even myself,” he added.
According to the online Cambridge dictionary, a sound bite is a short sentence or phrase that is easy to remember, often included in a speech made by a politician and repeated in newspapers and on television and radio.
Personally, I’ve never heard this political sound bite excuse before. So, a little research was in order. Was I surprised at the amount of information there is about sound bites. Basically, the media takes short clips of speeches that is of news interest and builds their report around it.
Perhaps the backlash since his purported “threat” has got him to tone down the rhetoric. More likely, now that he is a Minister, he has to switch into official mode and not play “Let’s pretend if we are the government” any more.
Some might say that the political sound bite excuse is a bit lame. But then, politicians seem to say one thing when they are wooing your vote and then do exactly the opposite after they win.
There’s an English idiom that says “To speak with a forked tongue means to tell lies, to not be truthful, to be deceptive. To speak with a forked tongue may be interpreted as saying one thing but meaning another.”
Do politicians speak with forked tongue?
Take for instance the claim on November 27, 2022 as reported by Malay Mail by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim that the appointment of Cabinet members will not be a reward for supporting the formation of his government.
But, MalaysiaNow reported Jeniri Amir, a senior fellow at the National Professors Council, as saying, "It is clear that the appointments follow a party hierarchy and quota, which can be seen as a form of reward," he said.
While Anwar had justified his decision, he said, it remained a smear on his name and the reformist cause he had championed for so long.
"Promises were made before they came into power, but what happened after that is a different story," he added.
Perhaps that’s just another political sound bite for you.
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