.jpg)
By Mihar Dias (C) Copyright October 2022
At lunch the day after the dissolution of Parliament a disappointed old army veteran known for his patriotism, told me, "This election appears to me like we the rakyat have been sold down the river."
His voice boomed above quiet conversations in a small Thai restaurant at Bangsar Village.
He went on, "In case you do not understand it means we have been betrayed by our own leaders. But it's not just an ordinary kind of betrayal but one that was done in a manner which causes serious difficulty and hardships for those betrayed."
I have not heard that expression in a long time. Not since the 1960s when I was a student in the US.
Sold down the river is an expression commonly used during the slave trading era in the US when blacks were taken by boats on the Mississippi to be sold by their owners who reside in the North to cotton planters of the Southern states that were trying to keep up with the rapidly increasing market demand for textiles.
"If you read Uncle Tom's Cabin you may know what I mean. It's a betrayal that caused great inconvenience and distress to the men who had to leave their families behind because cotton planters would only buy single men to work on their cotton fields."
Later over tea, even a die-hard UMNO supporter told me he felt the same sense of betrayal by his President who pushed the King and the PM more for his own personal benefit than for the rakyat.
He did not say how Zahid would benefit from a Monsoon election. But I can guess. Perhaps he wanted fewer people to show up. Pundits say lower voter turnout would guarantee victory for BN-UMNO.
Speculations are rife that Zahid as President of the party might be Prime Minister if BN-UMNO were to win big in the forthcoming GE15.
Yet Zahid has the audacity to say that a monsoon election was good for the future of the people, one day after Parliament was dissolved. (The Sun Daily)
The army veteran asked me how could it be good for the rakyat who might have to face stormy weather or wade through flood waters to cast their votes, just so Zahid can stay in power.
"I would like to see whether Zahid himself would wade in flood waters to polling stations on election day in his fancy Italian shoes!" He said.
Yes, I told him I too remembered Zahid saying BN-UMNO was prepared to wade through flood waters for the election.
But then again rumours say Zahid wanted to postpone his own court case because areas surrounding his house were flooded.
That prompted Ambiga to ask "Is this a joke?"
It could be because the message she quoted originated from the Borneo Ghost, not Borneo Post.
Anyway, Zahid got his way.
He'll probably be singing gleefully "I did it my way!" at the next karaoke session with UMNO bigwigs thumping his chests basking in the glory of yet another victory in his political career.
But the rakyat is not forgiving him and other UMNO leaders for having sold them down the river.
They'll pray hard for retribution. I have no doubt that their prayers will probably be answered before too long, like "karma" in Buddhism, where what goes around comes around.
Mihar Dias 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!
Newswav is solely an aggregation platform and hosts the content. The views expressed and content above including media (pictures, videos, etc) were provided by the author. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact Newswav.
