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By Mihar Dias (C) Copyright April 2023
Lots of idioms are aptly applied to describe the current administration led by PMX some of which are used by the premier himself.
We have heard about the "elephant in the room", "frogs under the coconut shell", "like father like son (daughter)", or even gajah sama gajah berjuang, pelanduk mati di tengah-tengah or in English when two elephants fight it's the deer that gets killed in between.
PMX himself calls out to his detractors who complained about his overseas trips are like "katak dibawah tempurong" or in English frogs under the coconut shell".
Before the amendment of an Act about party hopping, the frogs were jumping from one political grouping to the next, now they seem to stay put under coconut shells. So says Anwar.
However, of all the idioms or similies used by commentators in recent months, I like an antiquared expression primarily heard in the US, that is: What's that got to do with the price of eggs?
"It's a rhetorical question calling attention to a non-sequitur or irrelevant statement or suggestion made by another person."
When PMX came to power for days on end there's endless talk and chatter about price of eggs.
Every time we tried to steer a conversation away from an important issue affecting the country, someone would inevitably remark or raise that irritating question: "What's that got to do with the price of eggs?"
Although it is an expression denoting an irrelevance or non-logic in the current discussion, but at that time in point price of eggs were sky high. In some supermarkets there were no eggs at all.
Mat Sabu, the minister responsible for suplly of eggs and other food stuffs did not get eggs on his face over this eggy problem because there wasn't enough to waste just to throw at him.
Even Wee Kah Siong was very upset about the price of eggs bringing two samples to Parliament that we thought were meant for Mat Sabu. But they were use to demonstrate the difference between local eggs with those imported from India by the ministry that Mat Sabu headed.
Wee said that eggs from India were smaller, despite being priced at 50 sen, while the larger local eggs were better with price ranging between 43 and 45 sen.
Anyway, Mat Sabu did not get eggs on his face. Instead, Azmin Ali has to walk on egg shells because an importer has threatened to sue him for RM20 million in defamation damages for claiming that the company was awarded a contract to import eggs from India via direct negotiation.
Meanwhile, the Speaker Datuk Johari Abdul reminded everyone that MPs enjoy legal immunity for things said in Parliament after Wee Ka Siong sought guidance from the speaker upon receiving two letters of demand from an egg-importing company. The letters of demand came from J&E Advance Tech Sdn Bhd after Wee claimed that it takes four to five weeks to import eggs via sea passage and that eggs from India were of lower quality.
In case of Wee, J&E Advance finds the MP a tough egg to crack, meaning he is indeed a difficult person or a problem to the importer who is forced to withdraw his letter of demand.
That leaves us with the elephant in the room that PMX is aware of but chooses to ignore for now because he does not want to put all his eggs in one basket. Perhaps the elephant may yet help him cruise into GE16 unperturbed.
Well, that's my discourse on eggs as idioms for PMX cabinet.
I too am walking on eggshells now. So, I'll stop here.
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