Lessons From A Story Of A Little Girl

The following story is from an email that I received a few days ago. I feel that the story succinctly sums up what a lot of Malaysians feel about their politicians.

A little girl reading a book

A politician was seated next to a little girl on an airplane. He turned to her and said, “Do you want to talk? Flights go quicker if you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger.”

The little girl, who had just started to read her book, replied, “What do you want to talk about?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” said the congressman. He smiled smugly. “How about the global credit crisis or stimulus packages?”

“OK,” she said. “Those could be interesting topics. But let me ask you a question first.”

“What’s that?”

“A horse, a cow, and a deer all eat the same stuff—grass. Yet a deer excretes little pellets, while a cow turns out a flat patty, and a horse produces clumps. Why do you suppose that is?” the girl asked.

The politician, visibly surprised by the little girl’s intelligence, thought about it. “Hmmm, I have no idea,” he said.

To which the little girl replied, “Do you really feel qualified to discuss the global credit crisis or stimulus packages when you don’t know shit?”

And then she went back to reading her book.

Politicians make a lot of promises. Unfettered by the constraints of experience, they are free to say the stupidest things. That is why most sensible people understand that politicians can’t be trusted.

And government bodies too are jumping on similar bandwagons. Maybe saying stupid things is fashionable. I really don’t know.

In his recent report, the Auditor-General had found that the Marine Parks Department paid RM56,350 for a pair of binoculars not worth more than RM1,940. Enter the The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)  who found there were no financial irregularities involved in the Marine Parks Department’s purchase of binoculars for more than 28 times the market price. It is little wonder that the MACC has lost its credibility in the eyes of Malaysians.

I quote the little girl in the above story but with a slight amendment:  “Do our politicians and government bodies really feel qualified to run the country when they don’t know shit?”