There are never enough reporters who could hit hard and right with their questions. Shahanaaz Habib, our first journalist to enter Baghdad during the 03 invasion, could tame a lion in under 10 questions.
And so her interview with Syed Hamid Albar in the Sunday Star was always going to be entertaining, if a little lop-sided.
I enjoyed their final exchange, in particular:
Shahanaaz: Have we gone soft on Singapore?
Syed Hamid: People have confused policy with project. We have never said we don't want the bridge.But we do not want the conditions imposed on us. We are protecting our interests. It's a political decision.
These are projects, but our policy has not changed.
Now, if you are not confused by the answer, can you tell me what in the bridge's name the Foreign Minister was trying to say? Did he hear the question at all?
There were 9 questions in all and Syed Hamid repeated that there was "no shift" in Malaysia's foreign policy or that the policy "has not changed" at least 7 times.
Sounds like someone has adopted a "very defensive" policy.
He is so afraid of making the wrong statements that he has turned into a parakeet...a very dull one (un)fortunately.
ReplyDeleteAnd they say to ignore the Internet .... hehehe
ReplyDeleteThank God, he is Arab and he'll never get the blessing of Sultan Johor to be MB or Kodomo Lion will end up selling Johor like Arabs selling kain ela.
Nice meeting you at Subang teh other day. Will call you.
Don't you hate it when politicians resort to gobbledegook, verbal semantics and rethorical diatribes when asked a simple question.
ReplyDeleteThere was even a subtle dig at TDM on the Myanmar issue.
Under AAB, Malaysia's foreign policies will take a back seat, hence, a very clueless SHA on such matters (except for Singapore, maybe).
Alhamdiluallah what a great blog you have. may you be rewarded for your efforts.
ReplyDeleteSalam
I pity Syed Hamid. More so because I know his father. I was covering him in Parliament in the turbulent early days of Hussein Onn's moribund regime. The days of deconstructing the Razak Era via the ISA arrest of members of his kitchen cabinet.
ReplyDeleteWay back in sixties, Jaafar was the Lion of Umno. A title given for his strident stand on Singapore and his constant fiery exchanges with Lee Kuan Yew and Devan Nair in the Malaysian Parliament. He and Mahathir were the only two parliamentarians, the PAP took seriously.
Syed Hamid? Well, like a lion's pride in the African Savannah, the son of the king will not always inherit the throne. I am being generous.