Politics: My Favourite Politician Mr Mahathir Beats MM Lee

………..in terms of humour and other things.

This interesting figure from opposite the Causeway never fails to amaze me every time he opens his mouth. I am convinced he’s a natural-born humorist, otherwise comedian or some say Lao Wan Tong (playful old man) albeit in a demeaning way. (Maybe will compile a list of his humourous speeches soon...)

If there was an Oscar for Best-Performing Senior Statesman, he should be the hot favourite but alas he has actually ruled himself out of the race as he’s anti-Hollywood and anti-cowboy. He also prefers to eat nasi lemak than beef steak. See related article here, scroll down till the end. No wonder he has problems sitting at the same table with Mr Bush, President of USA, who comes from the cowboy state of Texas.

Mahathir underwent a heart operation recently and despite doctor’s advice that he should recuperate without interruption, he has been telling people he’s a bit bored and would like to resume, as soon as possible, his voluntary work of advising people and making public speeches. (Mind you, all these activities are not paid for by the State, unlike our SM or MM who can travel around using other people’s money.)

At 81, he’s ever so energetic, just like MM Lee KY. But there are interesting differences between him and MM Lee that makes me admire him more, though the latter should be well-respected by every Singaporean. Below are some of the obvious ones…..

1) Both are long-serving leaders of their countries for more than 20years, but one has decided to give up power while the other one is still undecided and in power.

2) The daughter of one is an activist fighting for human rights and the less privileged but the son of the other says human rights is not that important but the rights of elite people is. (Ministers and Foreign Talents must be well-treated.)

3) One is a champion of purported good, traditional religious values. He never fails to challenge the Western World when come to so-called derogatory western influences while the other embraces a special type of Confucianism which confuses people with gambling dens. (The normal type of Confucianism is no longer taught in local schools. No wonder it leads to more confusion!)

4) One faces possible termination of membership from his political party (due to some differences in opinion with current political leaders) while for the other, his party membership cannot be terminated, irrespective of what remarks he says, because nothing would have been left of the party.

5) One is not afraid to oppose Uncle Sam while the other seems to be a Yes-Man to what George Bush is advocating and is a close ally to USA. (Mr Bush even had a keynote speech here in Singapore, telecast LIVE on CNN, enroute to Vietnam for the APEC Meeting.) See also this article in which an angry George Bush looks down on Mahathir, the happy-go-lucky guy always.

6) Lastly one can crack a joke almost spontaneously with uncanny humour while the other is always stern-looking and gives many people the impression that he’s gonna teach you a lesson. When was the last time we heard MM Lee crack a joke or be outrageously humorous? No impression really. His son also failed terribly with a MAI-HUM joke on national TV. Click here for more details. (The worst type of joke is when you’re laughing but nobody in the audience laughs.)

On a positive note, we are seeing some changes amongst the post-1965 MPs from PAP. They are realising that humour is also a very powerful weapon in politics and are trying their best to engage people in a more impactful way. Check their website: www.p65.sg. Definitely they look more approachable than the bunch of older ministers (with the exception of the Minister of Health), whose poker faces give me an impression that people always own them something. They should learn from Mr Mahathir now and then on how to create sensational front-page news!

To end, maybe humor is also in the genes, just like your IQ. If you don’t have it, you simply don’t have it. I think MM Lee will surely agree. Only a select few in the world have his genes.