PKR information chief Tian Chua is in turmoil for his French Dinner doctored photo that poked fun at Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.
I am not sure what Tian Chua was trying to show… awareness, humour or whatever… he failed miserably regardless.
The picture in question
What Chua did was stupid, but what caught my attention is the amount of criticism he received for his act… I somehow felt that the criticism he received could be more than the condemnations for the Altantuya’s murderer or any other crimes that have been rising recently.
BN leaders in particular have been critical about this photo but rather quiet in voicing about Altantuya’s murder case… it’s a pathetic situation.
Besides, it’s very obvious that the picture is being doctored; it’s so blatantly fake that people need to be really stupid to believe that it is something real… and the sad thing is, some Malaysians are that stupid indeed.
Update - A Muslim friend told me that in Islamic teaching, defamation is more sinful than murder (in his exact Malay words… “Fitnah dosanya lebih besar daripada membunuh”)… and that’s probably why Tian Chua has received those harsh criticisms.
I won’t go against any religious teaching, but the words reminded me of ISA where people are arrested without trail… and some of them might be innocent. Aren’t those wrongful accusations by ISA being counted as “fitnah” as well?
TSUN TZU’S ART OF WAR: IF YOU WANT TO MAKE THE ENEMY SOLDIERS NERVOUS; BEAT THE WAR DRUM SUDDENLY AT MIDNIGHT, THEN STOP, BEAT AGAIN AT MORNING, THEN STOP, THEN BEAT AGAIN NON STOP - BUT NO ATTACK - ONLY TO MAKE THEM FREAKED OUT, NERVOUS AND SLEEPLESS NIGHT. THE PIC OF ‘FRENCH DINNER’ IS THE FAKE WAR DRUM AND THE UMNO NO.2 IS NOW FREAKED OUT AND SLEEPLESS TOO. HELL BREAK LOSE IF THEY DARE TOUCH TIAN CHUA AS THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING. BE AFRAID ..VERY AFRAID.. AS MORE ‘FRENCH DINNER’ ‘INDIAN DINNER’ ‘MONGOLIAN DINNER’ ‘MALAY DINNER’ ..WILL COME OUT!!!
I am beginning to catch the drift, of why the OVERreactions to the fake photo ‘French Dinner for 3′ posted by Tian Chua in his blog has reached hysterical proportions. But is the trend meant to punish Tian or to flash the spotlight on DPM Najib Tun Razak’s alleged relationship with the slain Altantuya? Possibly hinting at a possibility that there may actually be one? A relationship, I mean. Let me explain.
It seems that more than sanctioning Mr. Opposition, the end game is to draw attention to the ailing Najib and his political fall-out, ensuring that the public, we Malaysians, and the world over, do not forget that this is a mysterious link, one that may not be explored (ever) in court, but may see the light of day in politicking (he may escape trial by court of law, but not the media).
The madness over the fake thingy have traveled all the way from Parliament to SUHAKAM (National Human Rights Commission), local (TV included) to International media like International Herald Tribune and BCC, and now to the MCMC (Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission) ! Suggestions to arrest the politician less he apologise have been making the rounds for days. But the man is relentless, he continues to harp on the fact that Najib needs to explain his link to the photo (God, where is the goddamm photo?)
Earlier, if we remember, the story of ‘Najib seen with Altantuya’ in a photo, exposed by Mongolian witness Burmaa Oyunchimeg ‘Amy’ in court, didn’t quite make it to the relevant, much less, front pages of the ‘tame’ local press (as Asia Sentinel puts it). In fact, Najib didn’t even want to speak about it (via his secretary who allegedly tried to black-out news about the photo from the media), but the minister later responded to the ‘fake’ photo, even making big claims about having ‘morals and principles’.
There were a myriad of responses for and against Tian’s action, which included describing the doctor of the photo as ‘bodoh’, ‘cheap-skate’ and ‘bankrupt of ideas’. There were also calls for Tian to resign as PKR information chief, and for the party’s defacto leader Anwar Ibrahim, to kick Tian out of the party. Needless to say, Tian gained hugely from it all. His blog which drew little attention in the past, now sees an increase in readership, much to Tian’s delight, I am sure.
But it must also be ‘painful’ for Tian when some commentators on his blog went as far as to suggest that he might even have been bought over as his gesture (fake photo) was not a wise move, for what if the real photo shows up, people would be disputing its authenticity, would’nt they??. And if that happens, the rest of us Malaysians will never know which is the real photo, and whether it was ever true that Najib had a french dinner with Altantuya and Abdul Razak Baginda. This must surely be beneficial to Najib.
And that was before the keris-waving Umno Youth got into the picture.
Well, my blogger-mate Black (who is now a columnist with Malaysiakini) says the recent bruhaha over the bluff photo, especially with Umno Youth and Education Minister Hishamuddin Tun Hussein throwing his support behind Najib proves that the former is in Najib’s camp, and not Pak Lah’s. That it was a typical ‘political keris (waving) gimmick’ by Hishamuddin, probably a sandiwara (famous Malaysian drama) as the country is currently in an election mode.
The minister even went as far as to liken Najib to the Prophet (PBUH), when he said that Tian’s action was similar to the western media’s display of the controversial cartoon caricature of the Prophet (PBUH) which sparked international rage among our Muslim brothers and sisters.
And now a very ‘hurt’ (sob’sob) keris waving Umno Youth, led by the famous son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin lodged a complaint with the MCMC, urging ’speedy action’ against Tian as ‘Umno Youth and citizens of Malaysia are hurt’ by the latter’s action. TRUTH IS, IT DOESN’T ‘HURT’ US BUT REMINDS US OF THE POSSIBILITY THAT NAJIB MAY BE LINKED TO ALTANTUYA! Man, if you repeat the same thing everyday, it becomes a fact, haven’t you heard? It’s called PROPAGANDA!
Honestly, I don’t see the recent OVER-reaction as protecting Najib. In fact, quite the reverse. From being buried deep in the inner (and not so relevant) pages of the mainstream press, news hinting about the possible involvement of Najib with the deceased is NOW being discussed globally. Everyday we are made to remember that there MAY be a photo. God, where is the photo? Is there a photo? No. Wait. Yes, there is a photo.
Did I hear someone ask if the worst is over yet for Najib?
I think very unlikely. He’s being dragged into public arena, day after day. He might even be having sleepless nights now, or worst, sweating in his sleep. At the rate things are going for him, he may just as well turn himself in as the STAR witness of the prosecution in the Altantuya case and put the matter to rest once and for all.
hgkill… I doubt Tian Chua was thinking that much before he published the pic. I can understand that he was teasing the cops and our government for taking the allegation against Najib too lightly… but he has done it in a rather stupid manner.
You have a few good points here hgkill… those BN politicians are treating Chua’s gimmick like the worst crime ever committed in Malaysia. I sure hope they could show as much passion when fighting real crimes and corruptions.