The Black Ninja of Dr Mahathir?

Friday night, so time for another uncles’ story – kaytee’s uncles of course wakakaka.

In the last few days I glossed over some news articles about that carpet bloke who was variously Rosmah Mansor’s toy boy, confidante, friend, fix-it-all man (‘mechanic’), brown bag carrier, younger ‘brother’ (alamak, how ungracious of him to describe a woman as 'older'), whoever, whatever, etc.

Quite frankly, it's not newsworthy to me. I can’t even recall his name other than it’s one belonging to a mamak, wakakaka.

But it triggered my uncles to relate to me a story in Dr Mahathir’s days, where there was another bloke like him, a fix-it-all-for-the-boss ‘mechanic. He too was an Indian but not a mamak.

In fact he was highly qualified and could be described as a lotus* (in the Chinese sense), you know, the admirable type who rose from very very humble beginnings on his own merits to very nearly the top of society, though ironically after he surmounted his difficult beginnings to become a someone in society on his own rights and achievements, he lingered mostly in the dark, as a ‘mechanic’ for his political boss.

* to know what is a Chinese lotus, read my June 2005 post The Lotus Will Not Bloom For One Man.

Unc said he was from the unfortunate lowest caste, an unjust and diabolically oppressive religio-social system that some Indian-Hindu* Malaysians even today, for some inexplicable reasons, voluntarily subordinate themselves to its ideological imperatives of strict social stratification and the associated evil of taboo-ed caste-miscegenation.

* either before or subsequent to their marriage they left Hinduism for another religion (no, not Islam)

Murphy's Law required that he fell in love with a sweetheart from an upper caste family, so it looked like it was going to be a sad impossible Romeo-Juliet type of scenario for them. But thanks to the courage and fortitude of his sweetie, they married in defiance of her family objections. He was a good husband and father.

Then like a Chinese lotus, he studied hard (while his wife worked hard to supplement their income), emerged above the muddy waters of his caste and unprivileged position to graduate as an outstanding electrical engineer, became a big corporate somebody, owned big house(s), Mercedes, the whole caboodle of 'I have arrived' material trophies, and the pinnacle of social achievement for him, a Datukship, all these even before he became a covert political aide. Eat that, family-in law!

Bravo to him, but why he went that extra bit, the whole nine yards so to speak, to become a political 'mechanic', one can only wonder? Was it greed for more, was it hubris he could move and shake the Malaysia political world (albeit from behind the scenes), was it a sense of thrill to be rubbing shoulders with the highest office in the land, was it his belief he would be doing some service for his nation, or was it to show his in-laws he was right up there with the nation's No 1 nyeh nyeh nyeh?

Who knows, though that won’t stop us from our favourite Malaysian pastime, speculating wakakaka.

The story went that he was so politically powerful even UMNO members, let alone MIC, MCA or Gerakan people, shivered when they heard of his name or involvement, because he was allegedly the No 1 ‘mechanic’ for Dr Mahathir. He was the man to make the Pharoah-ish "So it shall be written, so it shall be done" happened, and his reputation was such he ensured his boss' every 'wish' always happened.



They called him the Black Ninja, naturally only behind his back.

Does anyone know about this, and can share some stories? Or, were my Uncs being creative? Wakakaka