From Cyclops to Champion

Cyclops has accused the director-general of the Customs Department Abdul Rahman Abdul Hamid of going after him because he, one-eye Jack ... eh ... Jasin had made adverse statements about the DG in parliament.

Hardly blinking with his sole bulging eye he declared: "I think there’s a possibility that he wanted to take revenge on me for the criticism I made against him in Parliament."

"Who else can provide the information for the reports about me recently, if not the Customs?"

"When I became an MP and these [Customs] officers complained to me about their D-G, of course I had to say something in Parliament. But he took it in a bad way and told the media that he was ‘hurt’ by what I said. He should have taken my criticism with an open heart and improved his department."

So Cyclops has metamorphosed into a champion of the ordinary lower rank Customs officers, whom he had good relationship with as an import agent.

One-eye Jasin said the DG shouldn’t be so sensitive on being criticised in Parliament. Hey man, Cyclops reminded him that everyone, including ministers, gets criticised in Parliament, so what’s the big deal.

Then Cyclops continued with his championing of various issues, just to show he had been above (timber?) board all these while. He declared he had ask for leniency on a consignment of sawn timber that exceeded specifications, saying he did so for the good of the timber industry, and it’s just a bloody coincidence that he started off with his company - mind you, just as a test case, a kind of pilot project to ensure protection for bumiputera importers from unreasonable Customs officer.

Indeed he said: "I went there as a forwarding agent, not as an MP. If we don’t protect our importers, they will run to Singapore and we will lose out. When I asked the Customs to ‘close one eye’, that’s the way Malaccans speak: a bit kasar (rough)."

Wow, Cyclops has transformed himself into virtually Hang Tuah. I love his creativity.

When asked by some naughty reporters on his company being caught importing smut (porno) VCDs by the Malacca Customs in 1999 he said: "Enough lah. Everything has been reported and I’ve said all I want to say."

"In the meantime, life must go on. I’m not scared, there is no pressure because I did not do anything wrong."

What a guy! From illegal importation of smut VCDs and prohibited timber, he has put himself as a champion of Malay shipping agents.