'I Want to Make a Deal With You'

“Can we have a deal, can we have an understanding or not?”

“The understanding is quite simple…you help me I help you”

Ini bukan tipu…if you deliver me Robert Lau on Sunday, on Monday I will ask the cheque to be prepared.”

“This is our deal tonight…I don’t know how much it cost…okay la, Robert Lau menang, I ask the 5 million to be prepared Monday.”

As you may know, these were some of the words uttered by our prime minster, who is, incidentally, most interested in a so-called ‘1Malaysia.’ I have to say, I have been very confused since the beginning about this ‘1Malaysia’ idea that his mainstream media has been propagating for him. It really was very empty and shallow to me. I just did not get it how there could be so many policies that were deliberately divisive and discriminatory, but yet he tries to sell us this slogan of ‘1Malaysia.’

But his speech in Rejang Park during the Sibu by-election campaign really cleared it up for me. Now I get it. In his ‘1Malaysia’ we the people and his party are one (meaning together), when we vote for his party. We give him what he wants, then we can get a cheque. You see? He gets one candidate, we get one cheque! Therefore, ‘1Malaysia’!

Well, maybe we can also make similar deals with UMNO/Najib?

Maybe we’ll pay our taxes only if you fix our dilapidated schools, where the children of your ‘1Malaysia’ continue to suffer and are deprived and denied a basic education.

Maybe we’ll pay our taxes only if you can make sure our children don’t continue to die in the hands of the people who are suppose to protect us!

Maybe we’ll only pay our taxes – and the salary of the civil servants – if they can respect the public and treat us with dignity rather than contempt.

We’ll also keep our promise and pay our taxes if we can be assured that corrupt politicians are not swindling us and taking trips and holidays abroad at our expense.

We’ll also keep our promise to pay our taxes if these revenues are used to actually fix our chronic low-income housing shortage. 

Frankly, “I want to make a deal with you” about many other things as well. 

After all, if you can make the kind of deal you claim you made in Hulu Selangor and the kind of deal you proposed in Sibu, what’s wrong with these other deals?

Boleh?

G. Krishnan