By Sam Trailerman
The classic Malaysian wisdom: "Kuman di seberang laut nampak, gajah di depan mata tak nampak." Meaning, you can spot a germ across the ocean, but miss the elephant right under your nose. It’s about folks who are eagle-eyed for other people's tiny flaws, yet utterly blind to their own colossal blunders.
You want to talk about elephants, eh? Not just any elephants, mind you, but the ones that apparently packed their trunks, waved goodbye to Malaysia, and set off for a new life in Japan. And with them, it seems, went a rather hefty sum of money that nobody can quite put their finger on. It’s enough to make a common man like me scratch his head, especially when you hear about elections in Johor and Negeri Sembilan. Because, let me tell you, when it comes to elections, suddenly everyone’s got 20/20 vision, even for the gajahs they swore weren’t there.
They say, "Kuman di seberang laut nampak, gajah di depan mata tak nampak." You know, spotting a tiny germ across the ocean but missing the elephant right in front of your face. But these days, it feels like the gajahs are not just in front of our eyes, they’re being paraded down the street, sold off, and then the money for them just… vanishes. And the people who are supposed to be watching the parade? They’re busy squinting at a speck of dust on their own shoe, pretending they didn’t see a thing.
Take Dara, Amoi, and Kelat, for instance. Three perfectly good Malaysian elephants, off to a zoo in Osaka. Now, I’m no expert in international elephant diplomacy, but when you hear talk of US$12 million that’s a cool RM53 million, mind you for these gentle giants, you’d think someone would be keeping a very close eye on the ledger. But no suddenly, that money is playing hide-and-seek better than any grandkids on a Sunday afternoon. One minute it’s there, the next it’s gone, like a magician’s trick, only less entertaining and with far more serious implications for my wallet, which, let’s be honest, is already feeling pretty thin.
And the powers that be? They’re acting like it’s just a minor administrative oversight. "Oh, those elephants? Yes, lovely creatures. Japan, you say? Good for them." Meanwhile, we common folk are here, looking at each other, wondering if we’ve all gone collectively blind. Because to us, that’s not a germ across the ocean; that’s a whole herd of elephants stampeding through the national treasury, leaving a trail of unanswered questions and a distinct lack of RM53 million.
Now, you mention Johor and Negeri Sembilan and the upcoming state elections. Suddenly, the politicians are out and about, shaking hands, kissing babies, and promising the moon and stars. They’re talking about fixing potholes, building new community halls, and generally making life better for everyone. And I’m sitting here, thinking, "Are they going to talk about the elephants, though?" Because, trust me, down here on the ground, people are talking. They’re talking about the elephants, and they’re talking about the missing money. It’s not just some abstract scandal; it’s a symbol, a big, grey, wrinkly symbol of accountability, or the lack thereof.
If the government of the day wants to win those elections, they’ve got to come clean. They can’t just sweep this elephant dung under the carpet and hope nobody notices. The general public have noticed. We might be common folk, but we’re not stupid. We see the gajahs, even if they’re trying to pretend they’re just very large shadows. And if they don’t address it, if they don’t tell us where that RM53 million went, then come election day, those elephants might just stomp all over their chances. Because sometimes, the biggest mistakes aren’t the ones you make, but the ones you pretend didn’t happen, especially when they’re the size of a full-grown elephant and worth millions of ringgit. And trust me, that is a gajah even I can see, clear as day.
Nganasegaran (tapessam@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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