It was a very windy afternoon as I sat on my wooden rocking chair with the front door wide opened, waiting for Datuk Seri Najib’s speech in the parliament which was to start at half past two. My eyes stole a glance at the monkeys on top of the rambutan tree just beside the front gate of the house. It is sad. Development has taken over their habitat and as a result they stray into others’ territory. Once there, they feel out of place and the only thing they do is to cause trouble and make a lot of noise.
Monkeys are everywhere now and we don’t get to enjoy the fruits of our labour any more. Just the other day as I was sitting under a jackfruit tree and having coffee with the ketua kampung, a number of farmers dropped by and complained to him that they needed to do something as the monkeys have now become a great nuisance, putting the farmers’ livelihood in jeopardy .
As Najib was about to start his speech, I quickly turned on the volume. While others prefer to believe what they read on social media, I prefer to do otherwise. I believe social media is the main reason behind the problems in the country. In fact in many parts of the world, social media is the root cause to social ills.
I wanted to listen to Najib’s side of the story regarding the country’s economy and issues related to him. To me he needed to be heard as the social media has been very biased towards him, making it hard for him to state his case. Although the Court has found him guilty, he still pleads his innocence and he has been busy leaving no stone unturned to prove this. Right from the very beginning many felt that Najib was going to be found guilty because the truth was on his side. Funny but true.
The country’s economy was doing so well under Najib and nobody can deny that. As he stood up, adjusting the microphone in front of him, I could sense that he would not have an easy day. Right from the very beginning two PH MPs from Jelutong and Shah Alam (Rayer and Khalid Samad) were already trying very hard to distract Najib. Their nuisance was unbearable, unbecoming of their position as members of Parliament. Najib was composed and full of patience, a picture of how great leaders should be. Honestly, I am worried that the next generation will behave like the disturbing MPs.
Najib argued that he had managed to reduce the country’s debts and improve its income while PH only managed to increase the debts with nothing to show. In fact he argued that PH did the wrong thing when they decided to sell the country’s assets. By this time, the drafty duo from PH were getting unruly, intterupting Najib with senseless arguments. It was as if they had something to hide and didn’t want it to be exposed to the public . However everybody knows that the PH government was a big failure. Their 22 months in power was like going back into the dark ages. Looking and their constant hackling one could not but wonder who voted for them. We just wanted to know what Najib’s arguments were but these two MPs would not allow that to happen. With no respect shown to the Speaker, they were like rebels without a cause.
All of a sudden there was a loud thud on the roof. “Monkeys!!!” I shouted and my wife yelled back “Monkeys???I thought you are watching the parliament debate”. “I am”, I replied. She quickly rushed out. “Oh no! The same lutung again? Ahhhh…” She went hysterical.