The Asset that is DS Najib

Oleh KHALID SAMAD

Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) must be proud to have a person like DS Najib Razak amongst its leaders. He has proven himself to be an enthralling personality which the lack lustre Umno and BN is greatly in need of. In the past few months, he has proven himself to be not only a liar, a clown but most recently, a riddler of international quality. And all that in his usual ‘malu apa’ or shameless fashion.

In Parliament he made the preposterous claim that “not a single sen of the rakyat’s money” has been used to pay the 1MDB loan. This put him in the international house of fame as a liar par excellence. With a more than ‘poker face’ and as straight as a ruler, he calmly iterated and reiterated the same statement although he had been interrupted many times due to the sheer audacity of it. He has seen not retracted the statement although Finance Ministers, both current and past, from either side of the political divide have highlighted it to be nothing more than a blatant lie.

But then again, he could have been making a joke, albeit in bad taste and perchance that was why he was called to the palace. The YDPA may be looking for a court jester and DS Najib fits the bill perfectly. His claim that he did not know that millions of dollars were deposited into his personal account which he uninhibitedly spent, while not knowing it was there, made many laugh uncontrollably, until they realized it was their money of course! No one is able to make his audience switch from laughter to tears so effortlessly and seamlessly like DS Najib! He is no doubt also a clown par excellence!

Most recently DS Najib has shown his talent as a ‘Master Riddler’ with the phrase “cash is King and King is the rakyat”! This has perplexed not only many, but in truth, all who had the ‘pleasure’ of listening to him unravelling his tale of shameless lies and jokes. To be capped by a Riddle unsolved until today.

When one says “cash is King”, it is clearly understood to mean that with cash you are the King and you can buy almost everything and everyone. Including, perchance, dare I suggest it, the King himself. That phrase is easily understood and may be held as axiom by many. Phrases like “No money, No talk” are based on a similar principle.

For years we were made to believe that was what the Shameless Liar cum Clown meant. Until he recently dropped a bombshell and put every understanding of the statement into a tailspin by saying, “but the King is the rakyat!” So, this puts everything into a new perspective!

Cash is King and the King is the rakyat! Whatever can it mean? Cash is the rakyat? This is truly the riddle of the Century!

DS Najib has made a name for himself as a shameless liar and a clown, not of international, but of intergalactic quality. Yet, unbelievably he has managed to do one up on himself by showing his talents as a riddler unsurpassed by any, to date. Only Ahmad Maslan can come as a close second with his statements on the GST which has intrigues many until today.

So, what does “Cash is King and King is the rakyat” mean? The final resulting equation, Cash is the Rakyat, implies to my mind, and based on his deeds, that to DS Najib, the rakyat is dispensable, like cash, to be used to buy what one needs, for one’s interests. Meaning to say the interests of the rakyat should never ever be a consideration nor a stumbling block to you doing what you must to succeed and to remain in power.

Just like how cash can be spent to buy everything and everyone, the interests of the rakyat can also be bartered and parlayed with, when one is in power, to build your empire of billions of dollars, to be shared between you, your beloved wife, step son, cronies and partners in crime. What matters in the end is YOU! Not the rakyat and not even the King.

I had put many hours into coming to this conclusion and I hope it is of benefit, at least to some if not to all. It was I must say, requiring quite an effort for it is no small effort to decipher the thoughts of geniuses such as DS Najib. There is a phrase, I used to hear, “ingenuity mistaken for madness”. I hope that with DS Najib, it is not the other way round. Or is it?

Whatever it is, for a lack-lustre Umno and BN, still struggling to find its footing, the shameless liar and clown, now also a riddler, is an asset like no other.