Malaysia, where we reward the crazies

“The natural career progression for me as a stand-up comedian in Malaysia is politics. Both get paid for talking nonsense and making people laugh,” joked a comedian at a recent event.

We laughed hard, for it was true. It has been true for quite some time now.

In fact, the propensity for comedy is not unique to just our politicians – the funny streak runs in all levels of our society, from the top "pahlawan" of the nation all the way down to the rakyat.

There was a time when the comedy lord of Malaysian politics was Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, a national treasure in the way Donald Trump is to the US, down to the hair and incomprehensible logic.

Samy blessed our country with gems such as “Kemaluan saya sangat besar” and “Besok kirim, hari ini sampai”. As usual, his janji to entertain us was always "dicapati".

Somehow, over time, it became acceptable to push the boundaries of logic and decency.

Samy’s accidental comedy gave way to sexist remarks thinly guised as attempts of being funny.

"Where is the leak? The Batu Gajah MP also leaks every month," said Datuk Bung Mohktar in a parliamentary debate in 2007.

This enlightened man is still an MP seven years later, continuing his offensive brand of “humour” rife with sexism, racism and ridiculism (see, I too can be funny) .

At times, the news on our state of affairs would not be out of place in satirical news sites. There was that one time when one of our more established private institutions of higher education conferred an honorary doctorate in economics to Kim Jong-un. Let that sink in for a while. I can’t take it as anything other than a sign of how tone-deaf we are to what is happening around us.

Just like the recent announcement by the home minister that Malaysia will be bringing in 1.5 million Bangladeshis over the next three years to meet the demand of the job market. 

It makes sense to the government to bring in people to work but deny work to the thousands of refugees and asylum seekers who are already living in Malaysia.

“The Rohingya have no right to work,” announced the minister earlier this month. 

When Malaysian students protest against injustices, they are hauled up by the police. Yet when a Mara scholar is convicted for possession of child pornography, we go out of our way to find redemption for that person.

Syed Azmi Alhabshi had to publicly apologise for offending Muslim sensibilities because a small splinter was outraged at his “I want to touch a dog” event. As for those who sent him death threats, they are free to go about as usual.
Tudung-clad girls are hugged on stage by K-Pop stars, concert-goers are segregated according to sex.

Religious conservatives get outraged with Farah Ann’s gymnastic attire, the ministry announces that it would set dressing guidelines for Muslim athletes during competitions.

Each public outburst against insignificant issues result in restrictions placed on the people of Malaysia, but despite the public hurt and outrage at the atrocities committed in the country, the rich and powerful walk away scot-free.
To drive in the hilarity of our state of affairs, our police chief has made Twitter his headquarters, a strategy so original that it was covered by The New York Times and BBC, not that Malaysia has been having a dearth of international media coverage.

In comparison to the fervour in which the shenanigans of our elites bring in international infamy, it is incredulous that any attempts to hold the wrongdoers accountable fail.

It has come to the point of ridicule that the biggest crusader of truth in the country is none other than former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The irony of the rakyat championing free speech for Dr Mahathir is thankfully not lost on most of us. Here’s the man, the godfather of suppressing freedom of speech and expression, whose legacy has landed us in the mess that we are in now, getting a taste of his own medicine.

Instead of the people rejoicing, he has people rallying for him. Such was the public’s hunger to hear what “Dangerous Ideas” he has that he was accorded a slot at The Cooler Lumpur Festival a couple of weeks ago.

But then again, the comedic wit of Dr M is hard to beat, and despite his politics, the man can make us laugh.

It does seem that in order to be relevant in Malaysia, you have to be blessed with a sense of comedy – the more outlandish your shtick, the greater your success. – June 28, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.