Thursday, November 16, 2006

Why Malaysians Don't Need Satire

Now I love Amir Muhammad's columns in the NST and his curry one is a classic (if you don't get it, you're not from here!) but ... do Malaysians need satirists at all? The Star this morning had this story:
Playing games part of space research: "Top-spinning and playing batu seremban may be some of the experiments the first Malaysian astronaut will carry out in space.

Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry parliamentary secretary Datuk Rohani Abdul Karim, who was replying on behalf of the Science, Technology and Innovations Ministry, said the astronaut would also do batik painting and make teh tarik.
What a pity that the whole space project has its detractors who moan that the money would be better spent on boring things ... like properly equipping schools. We want our zero gravity pulled tea!

Update:

Ooooh ... damndirtyangel drew the cartoon that needed to be drawn!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

He cited an ancient Dravidian saying: "The curry is sublime but the mutton is rotten" which has travelled through the centuries and entered the English lexicon, with meaning somewhat altered, to become: "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak." -- ROTFL!

bibliobibuli said...

brilliant isn't he? i do hope he publishes these columns. i will place my advance order NOW!

Alex Tang said...

It's true that Malaysia Boleh is conducive to producing satirist by the dozens. I laugh everyday whenever I read the local dailies expecially when they are quoting the local politicians. There are so many case of putting their foot into their mouths. Hmm. No wonder we have so many Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks here.

dreameridiot said...

OMG... Where on earth have i been all these years? Amir is a total genius. The references combine both 'high' and 'low' culture with a witticism both sharp, precise and outrageously 'wicked'.

I must start looking out for NST on Thursday.

Anonymous said...

Heh.. well, if the US can put orange juice in space, we can put teh tarik :) anyway what is so wrong with it ? these people have to eat and drink. If you were an astronaut, you'd be in space for months or years, of course you'd want something to eat and do right ? I don't see what the issue is.

Anonymous said...

Okay now I've read it, and I'm not sure what Amir's point is. I don't suppose you'd care to explain ?

bibliobibuli said...

a joke goes cold when explained anon. but doesn't it parody all the debate about what is meant by 'malay'?

Anonymous said...

Even I understood it! The word 'methodology' was a dead giveaway.

I think the funniest of his articles was the one on the vowel transplant.