When the doorbell rang in the middle of the night, the ‘who could it be at this hour’ question ran through everyone’s mind. If the voice on the other side of the door said ‘telegram’ then the curiosity intensified into an electric form of anxiety that raced through the house bringing everyone within earshot to the door. One signed for the sealed envelope, ripped it open and read out the contents, all hearts clogging up one mouth. Sometimes the news was exactly of the kind that made telegrams so feared while on other, when other modes of communication were unreliable, inaccessible and slow, the telegram was the final recourse available when a message just had to be delivered with a guarantee. In its manner of use, respect for its importance was usually maintained; the telegram was never just another way of reaching someone.
Unlike the idea of always being connected that has become the norm today- everyone meaningful is either on social media or a text message away- we lived a life only partially illuminated with knowledge. At any given point in time, there were so many aspects of our own life that we had no access to. When someone went abroad, for instance, for long periods of time, one’s loved ones had no idea as to what was happening. Any meaningful form of communication was slow, so slow that by the time one received and replied, things could have changed dramatically. Relationships found a way of thriving in this constrained world by substituting imagination and yearning in the place of actual contact. The telegram was a way of ensuring that if it came to the crunch, virtually instant communication was always possible. Armed with this lifeline, the idea of connectivity focused on richness rather than frequency. Every physical contact was heightened by the anticipation that preceded it and the wallowing in memories that followed it. By itself, the telegram is hardly a great loss, but it does also tell us that the world that depended on it has also changed in a fundamental way. That we don’t need the telegram any more is a clue to the fact that we are connected all the time, but it may also point out that being connected is not the same as feeling a connection.
Former New Straits Times Group Editor-in-Chief A Kadir Jasin’s disclosure that it was Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad who personally ordered the consignment to political oblivion of Anwar Ibrahim by the NST after the latter was decapitated in 1998 brings to an instructive close the case against politically-aligned ownership of media outlets.
When the Straits Times Group, majority-owned by AC Simmons, a Jewish businessman domiciled in Singapore, was bought over in November 1972 by PERNAS, one of several government-owned corporations (the GLC acronym was not yet in vogue) set up under the New Economic Policy (NEP) to expand Malay equity ownership in the private sector, the speculation among senior journalists in the Kuala Lumpur office of the STwho were sceptical of the exercise was:
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an old politician never dies, he just, well, never dies. Much has been said and written about the need for youth in the gerontocracy that is Malay politics, something that bears no repeating . As a rule, the significant ministries get divided up between the old-timers, while the youngsters ( most of them inheritors of political estates) get the junior roles. To be considered young, one needs to be under 50, but anyone under 60 can also carry off this labelBy any yardstick, politics is a stressful profession. For those not fortunate enough to inherit political legacies , politics involves a long, hard, highly unpredictable journey to a position of any significance. Unlike other jobs, where the path to career progression is clearly defined, and a transparent process is put in place, politics offers no clarity whatsoever. Even after becoming a leader of significance, promotion to party positions or ministerial berths follows no established patterns of logic. Choices are made on factors that are highly variable- identity, loyalty to individuals, the desire to balance the influence of rivals, among others. Even after coming to power, staying in power is a time-consuming enterprise. While getting elected might seem like the politicians’ biggest concern, in actual fact, it is in managing the internal dynamics of one’s own party by keeping a host of rivals at bay that keeps most politicians occupied.Nor is everyday life easy for a politician. The job involves being available at all times, both to the unending stream of constituents and favour seekers, as well as to the party and ministry, if one is in power. Travel is frequent and at election times, arduous by any standards. Mentally too, the pressure is significant, for the job involves, almost by definition, dealing with crises of various kinds. Given the nature of the job, few people can be trusted and the burden of responsibility falls squarely on the individual. In addition, now most politicians run some sort of commercial enterprise, both legitimate and otherwise, as evident in the dramatic rise in personal wealth of our elected representatives, that undoubtedly calls for time and attention.When the tail seeks to wag the dog Here are two areas where we will remain on opposing sides of the argument unless Najib get rid of both Tengku Adnan and Ahmad Zahid Hamid i“We are not in a drift, we’re in danger of a rift,” snaky Minister Tengku Adnan can be trusted to trade diatribes on which one … Read more TENGKU ADNAN A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY MINISTER IN NAJIB’S NEW CABINET
Perhaps power is the ultimate tonic (and aphrodisiac going by the exploits of Tengku Adnan and Ahmad Zahid Hamid ). Perhaps the fact that in politics one blossoms late, shifts the deployment of energy into the second half of one’s life. Perhaps politics is best aligned with shift in faculties that accompany age; the physical becomes less important than the mental and wisdom and experience become highly valued commodities. Perhaps the accumulation of a large network of influence requires time.Perhaps a lot of this has to do with how politics and role of politicians is imagined in UMNO for in other democracies, the trend has been towards younger politicians. Politics is not seen as a job, but a business. It is seen as a way to build a power base which is then traded for significance. Most prime political real estate is cornered by existing principalities, through political dynasties, but the few that make it on their own operate in a similar way. Positions of power are devices of dispensation, rather than accountability. The ministerial berth is a recognition of one’s efforts in the past rather than a charge to create outcomes for the future. The idea of a public position as a reward that is one’s due is one that necessarily privileges age and seniority over capability and energy. This one-sided view of power also places little responsibility on its recipient to feel the pressure of performance.Margaret Thatcher, who led Britain’s Conservatives from confusion into the promised land of three election victories, believed that a political party must serve as a vehicle to capture power, not limp along as a platform for views. Ideas were a mirage unless anchored in the oasis of government.The present impasse is more complex. Both government … Read more NAJIB SO MANY CRUEL IRONIES SHIFTING SANDS MAKE FOR SHIFTING STANDS
