Day 10.
It has been raining a bit today. When I say, 'a bit', I mean raining in a tropical way a bit today, which really means a lot because we're in the tropics. So I should have said, it rained a lot today. I should have said, it has been raining a lot ALL day.
Enough
prittle-prattle! We hired a cheap hire car, about as cheap as chips (if
you've ever had expensive chips, that is) and droveded round this
sun-kissed island of Langkawi. Ah, the beautiful bays and beaches, the
green mountain summits, the radiant forest tree blossoms could all have
been seen had it not been bloody raining so hard. We dodged raindrops
between gift shops and mountain stream walks, between a cheap lunch of
Phatprik next to the deserted bay of Black Sand Beach (Pantai Pasir
Hitam) and the unbelievable Galeria Perdana.
I will have to stop here and rant a bit about this place. You may question my motives because we didn't actually go inside, but I just couldn't bring myself to dip into my pocket and pay for the privilege of seeing the gifts awarded to the Prime Minister Yang Amat Berhormat Dato' Seri Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamed and his wife.
I've
never met Mahathir and if I did I'd no-doubt be won over my his 87
years of political guile, but I cannot abide this man because of almost
everything he stands for. To have held the position of prime minister
for 22 years alone must make him one of the most corrupt, self-serving
political reptiles on the planet. He did little to avert put
inter-racial conflict in 1969 and once in positions of power promoted
Malay interests over all the other ethnic groups in the country. He used
religion, ie Islam, as a means to maintain power and legitimacy and
smeared or jailed any serious political opponents. He sold off as many
as 50 government-held utilities and firms each year to whoever was
paying and made Malay compulsory in educational institutions, thereby
making Malays largely unemployable outside the country. And then there's
his interference with and jailing of Anwar Ibrahim, which deserves a
whole-other blog.
Yes,
many recent policies and initiations have brought success within the
country, but many would argue that these were achieved largely in spite
of him. He's an anti-Western, anti-Semitic bigot who seems to have acted
on the wider world stage merely to meet his domestic ambitions and stir
the pot.
So, we did not go to see all the lovely lavish gifts awarded/given to this man. Having said all that, the attraction was packed with Malays. I presume they all saw a different side to the man and the motives behind these lavish expressions of love and admiration. Maybe he really is a darling who has only the dear, dear love of his country at heart, but I think not. He's the kind of bastard that makes me want to rant and fume and uncontrollably swear!
So anyway, I bought a silly hat and two smashing, large coconuts. That's the right sort of gift for a bloke like me...
