If you’re very, very stupid, how can you possibly realize that you’re very, very stupid? You have to be relatively intelligent to realize how stupid you really are. This explains Malaysian politics. -A paraphrase of John Cleese’s quote on stupidity.
Ummi Umairah Bakhit recently set the politic world in mayhem with jaw- dropping candor with the statement, “The stupidest thing I have watched in my entire life is people donating to former prime minister, Najib Razak, someone who clearly has a worldwide corruption case, 1MDB, and is clearly linked to corruption.”.
These gutsy words were courageously uttered and in contrast to the expected staid of non-controversial dialogue with political leaders in a public university. Horrors, this from a student and a Bumiputera student at that.
She may have benefitted from decades of preferential admissions and scholarships and later in working life more preferential treatment with property, government jobs and contracts, investments, entrepreneur business grants, places of worship, etc. Ummi defied convention and perhaps have to endure a life less privileged in future.
Yet, this young lady pointed out the emperor had no clothes whilst everyone else argued whether the emperor should be in prison uniform or casual clothes. It took great stupidity to tumble headlong into the scam that the emperor was dressed in his finest.
Maybe this too shows the stupidity of most of the public who may have same thoughts but cried out in their restricted circle of WhatsApp groups or under anonymity or pseudonym in social media. Others do so meekly or with less harsh and discreet words. This included me.
As for politicians, it was all about who should resign and when to actually chuck in the job. The politicians used this shenanigan to claim they were fighting for the democratic rights of the people and their own principles. As Napoleon Bonaparte said, stupidity is not a handicap in politics.
Maybe these politicians console themselves with Oscar Wilde’s quote – “Whenever a man does a thoroughly stupid thing, it is always from the noblest motives.”. Donors to Najib’s fund probably told themselves the same thing too. Great minds think alike but alas stupid minds are similar.
The two great scientific geniuses of our time, Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking, the former thought the universe was perhaps finite but human stupidity was infinite and the latter thought intelligent life has yet to occur on earth. It somewhat described Malaysian politics to a T.
Or perhaps our two geniuses were not totally right. The universe expands and evolution has gotten on too. Our Gen Z has evolved with better grey matter to see though the stupidity of our politics.
Let’s hope evolution will be kind to us Malaysians, and fast track this phase of evolution and pull our nation back from the brink of dysfunctionality.
For Ummi and those who will voice out the truth, fear not the denouncers and naysayers. Remember Jonathan Swift said: -When a great genius appears in the world you may know him by this sign; that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.”.
Koo Wee Hon (kooweehon@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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