by Daniel Anthony
Malaysiakini
Jan 26, 2013
If there is one Malaysian who can smell bullshit from a mile away, it’s him. In his latest collection of essays Ask For No Bullshit, Get Some More!, Kee Thuan Chye leaves no stone unturned.
From behind the scenes of Bersih 2.0 to the speculations of the 13th general elections, every scandal and issue in the local news has a place in this book.
Just like his previous book No More Bullshit, Please, We’re All Malaysians, Kee has certainly made a name for being able to boil the tangled mess of legal jargon and deceptive semantics down to a simple English that everyone can swallow.
Kee scratches the surface of these major issues and then pulls you into the deep side to reveal all the details you never knew.
His writing unravels the stories spun by the mainstream media and lays every thread on the table, leaving you to draw your own conclusion.
The article Was Shahrizat’s Act Really A Sacrifice blew apart what the mainstream media had twisted.
He revealed how a conspiracy of events that lead to a simple act watering down the inevitable was spun into a Kamikaze stunt, or in his words, “she merely chose to relinquish her position just a little ahead of April 8, when her senatorship would expire”.
In with needle when necessary
Even the opposition is not safe from Thuan Chye’s meticulous eye. As biased as the title of the book may seem, this is definitely not one that should not be judged by its cover.
When he wrote Why Hurt DAP by Fighting in Public, he showed no hesitation or fear in criticising opposition strongmen Karpal Singh and P Ramasamy for their skirmish that went public, saying that “if it (the quarrel) can’t stop, at least don’t bring it out in the open”.
Kee has a comical side as well. In this book he has included excerpts from plays he has written and staged.
Each of these passages further tenderise his writing and some even can make you laugh out loud.
He even put himself into the shoes of a cabinet minister and tells the satirical tale of life in the federal office with Lament of a stressed-out Minister with lines like “but we’re not always liars… wait! That didn’t come out right. We don’t lie”.
He also played on Mahathir’s behaviour in court during the VK Lingam scandal with Cut the old man some slack!”
How can he be expected to remember so many things in the 22 years of his premiership?” It is sure to bring a smile to your face.
Purgative for ridding brainwashing
Kee penned narratives about his experience in the Bersih rallies from the past with great expression.
Seasoned by tear gas and chemical-laced water, the first hand narratives written serve as a testament to what hundreds and thousands of Malaysians went through in the fight or free and fair elections.
He describes how the festive atmosphere and “strong sense of camaraderie” among demonstrators were ripped apart by the FRU with their brutality and went on to describe the overkill in detail.
However, as much as this book is simple enough for everyone to understand, it may not sit eell with everyone. There is massive shock value for the general reader.
Should one who is brainwashed by the mainstream media pick it up, it would be a massive eye-opener.
It may even be too much to handle especially for the politically myopic. An open mind is necessary to comprehend Ask For No Bullshit, Get Some More!
Thuan Chye does a good job of allowing the readers to make their own judgment. However, how many readers are ready to make the right decisions?
Ask For No Bullshit, Get Some More! is exactly the type of literature that Malaysia needs right now. It should be the prescribed remedy for the brainwashing we have received from the mainstream media.
Kee has done his job with pointing out where the dirt is. It’s now up to the rakyat to clean it up.
It is now our turn to clean up this mess together in the big gotong-royong that is the 13th general election.