Saturday, July 23, 2016

Belakang pusing

In Malaysia in recent times, the word 'belakang' generally draws smirks and from sweet ladies some quiet giggles - more crude men guffaw. But let's not go there, wakakaka.


But the term 'belakang pusing' is a military command for soldiers on drill parade to turn about - indeed the drill parade order in English is 'about turn'.

And please don't annoy me with the use of mathematical terms such as turn 'X degrees' around, because some reporters of a number of news media must have played truant in school during maths class, writing in their news report that, as an annoying example, 'So & so' made a 360 degrees turn in his political stand'. And pray, dear reporters, where would a '360 degrees' turn have taken that bloke's political stand to?


if you are facing north, and make a 360 degrees turn, guess where you would end up? 

Those mathematically-challenged reporters should be banned by their editors from ever using maths terms in their news reporting, wakakaka.

So let's stick to 'belakang pusing' or if you like French, volte-face, which incidentally was borrowed from Italian's voltafaccia. Volte-face has been included in the English vocabulary. I hear rumours that the Malay equivalent being proposed to replace belakang pusing is 'makan dedak', wakakaka.


Anyway, as we know in politics Malaysians can only see in two colours, black and white, wakakaka. But many don't realize that in between black and white there is the disturbing boleh-factor of 'belakang pusing', to wit, a shameless propensity for volte-face in political allegiance or alliance.

Yes, the colours remain as black and white even as they belakang pusing, but then what they had previously seen (eg. 'so & so' or a particular position) as awfully-horrendously black, on the following day that horrendous black would miraculously assume lily whiteness, so white that it puts to shame pristine newly fallen snow.


belakang pusing sayang 

I wonder why or how people could change their political perception so fast and so radically volte-face?

In a way it indicates the lack of maturity, stability and consistency in our political outlook. We don't have our political philosophy or values anchored firmly in our conviction, scruples and inner strength.

For example, once Mahathir had been the political Devil Incarnate, today he is Moses leading the Chosen Ones out of Egypt, but I wonder into what? Canaan the Promised Land or the Wilderness?


belakang pusing sweethearts 

As for above, once Anwar Ibrahim was once the despised arrogant ABIM-ish deputy to Mahathir, whose educational policies initiated a chain of events leading to Ops Lalang, but metamorphosed overnight into Bapak Reformasi despite the reality there was never an ounce of reform on his political records when he was a high flying UMNO minister.

Once royalty was feared and to be avoided (admittedly because of a few less-than-admirable examples - should I include the Perak constitutional crisis among their unforgivable faults?) and where there was much rejoicing when the heroic Dentist removed their ferocious feral fangs, yet today many ampu them for political reasons, begging them to intervene in politics.


belakang pusing tangechee

For gawd's sake, who wants royalty intruding, intervening and interfering in politics?

We Malaysians haven't learn from our own short history, and as George Santayana said, "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

We should only pay attention to those politicians who set credible values, live by them and who stick to those values consistently, and more importantly who don't politically-flirt outrageously like sluts or like one particular party, buka kaki kang-kang, wakakaka.


2 comments:

  1. Since we are on proverbs...there are some other wise saws regarding how to treat the past...particularly important for a problematic society like Malaysia.

    1. Those who live in the past have no future...

    2. Those who cannot let go of the past cannot let in the future...

    Anyone who has gone through intense grief or have had a difficult or problematic past will tell you these two considerations are far more important the Satyana's advice....

    They key is not to forget the past....but not be fixated on the past, not let the past take over your decision making, not let the past become the present or become the future....

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  2. When I read your post, I am reminded of your previous post "Déjà vu 1999?" (http://ktemoc.blogspot.my/2015/08/deja-vu-1999.html)

    for which one reader comments I reproduce verbatim :

    *quote*
    mapsscom 2:48 pm, August 30, 2015
    THIS IS A CLASSIC EXAMPLE OF THE STRATEGY "THE END JUSTIFY THE MEANS"

    .IT IS OH SO JEWISH.WHO CARES ABOUT MORAL ISSUES ANYWAY?
    IS IT NOT POLITICS AN ART OF DECEPTION N A SCIENCE OF EXECUTION.

    A POLITICIAN ARE SUPPOSED TO BE A HYPOCRITE.OTHERWISE,THEY MIGHT AS WELL BE A PREACHER.

    AND A PREACHER WILL BE CONDEMNED TO HELL IF THEY MAKE KNOWN THEIR HYPOCRISY.
    INSTEAD,A POLITICIAN WOULD BE HONOURED AS A BRILLIANT STRATEGIST.

    ALL POLITICAL SCIENCE KNOWS THAT.THEY ONLY LACK THE GUTS!

    *unquote*

    ReplyDelete