Little Malotts of Malaysia

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Rocky's Bru: Little Malotts

AHIRUDIN ATTAN

Thursday, February 10th, 2011 12:51:00

NOT all legacies left by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad are gems; some are pathetic, even, and one of the saddest is Mr John R. Malott, who was the US Ambassador to Malaysia in 1995-1998 when Dr Mahathir was at the height of his power as Malaysia's Prime Minister.
Mr Malott, when he was in Kuala Lumpur, was not at all controversial. He had nothing foul to say. A regular diplomat awed by the country's beautiful weather and friendly people, and intent on improving bilateral ties, increasing trade, and all those stuff diplomats dish out at cocktails and Press briefings.
The perks were good, so why rock the boat?
There are many Malaysians who are quite like Malott, who did little when they were in the system but who the minute they leave, start pointing fingers and run down the system and everybody in it.
They include several former judges who did nothing but enjoyed their large perks back then but who are suddenly critical and even ashamed of the judiciary. Inevitably, they all say Dr Mahathir weakened the judiciary in his greedy pursuit of the ultimate executive power.

In any society or even in any government, the temptation to take quick shortcuts, the lure of betraying the principle for supposed short-run gain, can become almost irresistible. And usually they converge in a flock when the entity has taken power, or  even when it is teetering on the brink of power to be. Surely this is gutlessness and venality of an unusually high order. This is bound to happen in any government, not only during the era of PM Mahathir but the long gone PM Tunku Abdul Rahman been betrayed the most. PM Najib  will now see thing happening right  before his eyes.
This old opportunist strategy we might call, with considerable and much-merited sarcasm, the "instant-victory" model. The reasoning goes something like this: All this principle stuff is just a drag on the system. As long they gain a rapid and enormous leap forward in popularity locally or maybe globally so with wealth and fake esteem.
These people have not retired in vain and the truth that they have betrayed to get a reward from a "powerless asian dragon" will backlash on  them sooner or later. The highest form of treason is a betrayal of the truth.
All will perish now or later , but the truth never dies. No matter how hard they try to bury truth alive, it will be told and read at their funeral. No amount of atrocity, no amount of deception, no amount of arsenal, will stop human perception, what more  the God's ultimate verdict.