gravy train

I had the (unfortunate) opportunity to meet with a NEW “Razak Baginda” (NRB) recently in Thailand. At that point in time, the OLD Razak Baginda (ORB) (Yes, the one that got the knack to say publicly today that his one time master and his wretched wife never knew his one time lover and that bloggers are making the accusation worse!) was still under prison authority’s custody. NRB was apparently despatched to Thailand by the premier-in-waiting (PIW) to verify certain matters relating to a company that was bidding for a sizeable contract from Malaysian government. He was to ascertain whether the company was worthy of its getting such a lucrative contract. The existence of this NRB is indeed alarming but not a surprise. I was sure someone would assume the role as there is much to do. How else could lucrative contracts be awarded to the right parties that fit these daylight robbers’ profiles of brother-cronies then if not using this shameful approach? NRB is relatively young and a true blue UMNO man. He spoke with much authority and his constant blind admiration for the PIW reflects his overdependence on the PIW for his needs. Like ORB, NRB is deeply involved in “Defence Equipment Supplies”. He carried a consultancy business card, milking government-owned companies under the pretext of helping these companies to break into the world market. These companies provide a fat income base for NRB and the likes of him to live and travel the world comfortable at the expense of other fitting “consultants”. In the first place, these NRG and the likes are the very people that convinced unsuspecting but corroborative partners to aim high, think big and be optimistic in conquering the world. They are still living in a dream world created by the previous premier, the champion of privatisation. Majority of the Malaysians were caught in this euphoria only to wake up and found that their world come tumbling down. They lost everything including their sanity. And when things begin to subside and order is about to return, off they go to start another madness. This NRB is a classic example of how things are done in UMNO. It goes to demonstrate how difficult it is to bring down a long-established institution despite it being corrupted to the core. When will this all end? As long as we have the current government ruling at federal level, we can expect the same things continue to happen and the masses be ignored a taken on a ride. There is however some change happening in the country. With a stronger presence of oppositions in parliament, we are witnessing a number of moves by the government are being questioned and scrutinised by them. This slows down these robbers activity and many are crying. Used to lavish lifestyles, they suddenly finds that their pockets are thinning and their coffers are drying at such a fast rate. A friend put it quite interestingly to me that “the gravy train is simply not moving and when it moves, too few are getting a fat meal of it”. This causes a real panic. Rome is about to fall. Generators of income are not running. The robbers are now running. Helter-skelter it seems. Can this provide an impetus for a revolution? Not quite it seems. As long as people can still scrounge around and still get their three times a day meals, we would see more and more NRB being borne out of this sordid state of affairs and we continue to ride this roller coater heading for nowhere. Goodnight Malaysia, you are but a pain in my one that lives under (read it with a rhyme mate)! Kuala Lumpur, November 20th, 2008 – it’s raining cats and downing dogs!