steadyaku47 comment : posted as received. A wonderfully informed comment, almost effortlessly written by the author as he mingled and mixed with the uppermost echelon of the privileged, fabulously and insanely wealthy crass class of the Privileged Malays. Personally....it makes me want to throw up!
Attended a dinner party at a super posh KL residence last night.
Excellent cuisine, interesting conversation . . . the usual spectacle of the gouty Old Rich shuffling with latest trophy spouse in hand . . . and glazed-eyed OKBs bedecked with honorifics from glorified potentates arriving in their sleek limos and pimped supercars rolling on custom forged wheels – Forgiato and Savini and Nutek and Lexani – costing more than the average sedan.
The mealtime merriment was true to form . . . the ebullient hosts and exuberant guests indulging in joyous laughter as servants served a smörgåsbord of delectable hors d'oeuvres and apéritifs spread across the huge Burmese teak main table . . . followed by wickedly decadent main dishes and finished off with a giddy selection of sumptuous desserts as guests' palates are tantalized with the seductive flavors of a dozen of the world's best coffees.
The hosts' two teenage kids made a cameo. They nonchalantly waded through the sea of glitzy silk and ravishing songket and glittering jewelry and other ostentatious accoutrements of wealth and headed my way (incorrectly guessing I must be a character of social significance, ha ha . . . ). One lightly kissed my hand while his sis curtsied with the obligatory bashfulness . . . reflective of their Malay upper crust upbringing . . . and after a fleeting moment of pleasantries, jumped into separate million ringgit sports cars and sped off from the family mansion onto the twisty streets as they roared downhill into KL's vibrant nightlife.
After some small talk with an arms dealer and a gentleman of leisure, grabbed a cup of good coffee – it's full bodied caramelly fruitiness reminiscent of my own Lampung special blend – and planted myself in a supercomfy armchair. Began to observe the dynamics of this crowd . . . an eclectic collection of KL's moneyed class and their retinue of fawning sycophants and hangers-on. One guy that I've known since Standard Four inherited a multi-billion ringgit communications solutions group and a major oilfield services company plus a couple dozen other businesses. We were in many overseas trade missions led by the former PM . . . yes, the elder statesman now heinously maligned by the same discredited mainstream media that in years past scrambled head over heals to outdo one another in praising him. Another character, now in his seventies, gave Ferraris to each of his kids on their 17th birthdays. And another guest, a well-known banking personality, gave his son a Porsche Carrera on the kid's 15th birthday, took over the wheel on the old Seremban Highway, and duly crashed it, breaking his leg . . . and some of his pride. And yet another now super duper rich tycoon actually met me over two decades ago when he was an ambitious fledgling Kedah cattle farmer.
Eavesdropped on the various conversations. Mostly superficial chatter insulated from the many issues and challenges faced by the ordinary Rakyat out there. No complaints about the maneuverings of the thieving rascals to keep the loot that will ultimately be underwritten by the Rakyat's sweat and no mention of their multitude of lies and trickeries to avoid slammer time; no thoughts on the economic hardships faced by the common folk; no real comprehension of the ever growing economic gap between the Haves and the Have Nots; no concern of the Lost Decade for the Middle Class, where real income has been stagnant or fallen backward, purchasing power shrunk and wealth accumulation including home ownership reduced to a pipe dream.
All I hear are pricey health spa trips, exotic vacations, maid problems, inattentive spouses, insolent kids . . . and supercars, superbikes, superstars, supermodels, superstitions, superstructure, supercharger, supermarket and superstore . . . in all their puke inducing superfluous superficial goriness.
As I struggled to hold in the broiled bison balls stuffed with seared foie gras, diced truffle and poached matsutake and tangerine, along came a profound epiphany . . . a sudden and striking realization:-
These people are entrenched beneficiaries of the present system . . . . not unlike the super rich of late Marcos Era Philippines.
Welcome to the Malay Privileged Class.
Fabulously wealthy oligarchs and cronies sustained by political patronage . . . recipients of rewards and favors from THE patron and his ruling clique in exchange for support and loyalty and generosity when needed for their common cause . . . lapping up the rich spoils of public office, overpaid GLC posts, direct nego contracts, subsidies, concessions, permits, special tax breaks, government grants and the whole shebang of super-lucrative Lubangs and Jalans. Textbook crony capitalism beyond the wildest imaginings of the average Rakyat.
Indeed, these people have an interest in the perpetuation of the current regime, continuation of the existing racket intractably linking the political and business elites and their vast ecosystem of cukongs and runners and fronts and proxies. They will not rock the boat, demand reforms, fight injustice, strive for regime change . . . heck, they are the beneficiaries of the present system . . . sharing the spoils of plunder, the largess of patronage.
Now . . .
Why should we wonder when members of this Malay Privileged Class fight tooth and nail to prop the current regime, including in the social media? It is their livelihood, their rice bowl, the economic foundation of their way of life . . . of lavish homes, flashy cars, flashier superbikes, jetsetting vacations, designer clothes, decadent dinner parties, private schools . . . and handbags, lots and lots of handbags.
So next time a son of a Tan Sri or children of current and ex top civil servants or relatives or offspring of ruling politicians vehemently albeit incoherently defend the excesses of the ruling clique, understand that they are actually defending themselves, their lifestyle, their wealth, their material wants . . . their hopes and ambition and dreams, all steadfastly calibrated to the machinations of the current system of patronage and preference to those of their ilk.
These mollycoddled members of the Malay Privileged Class are typical of entrenched elites in crumbling regimes. They will go to any extreme to perpetuate incumbent rule that have enriched them all these years. These people don't care about the socio-political and economic trajectory of Malaysia, or the future of the Malay masses, or the need for a vibrant democracy underpinned by rule of law and accountability . . . all hallmarks of true patriotism. Talking about being patriotic, these people are "patriotic" only towards themselves and their personal causes as reflected in their willingness to support a corrupt clique that borrowed and plundered their way to an intoxicating cocktail of power and wealth . . . in the process increasing our nation's Total Gross External Debt to RM908.7 billion by end 2016. That is over ONE HUNDRED FOLD more than just twenty years ago, and will push towards the One Trillion Ringgit mark by end 2017.
Hutang luar Malaysia akan mencecah Satu Trillion atau Satu Juta Juta . . . Satu Juta Kali Satu Juta Ringgit. Ada faham?
I don't think so.
Siapa akan bayar? Tahu tak?
I don't think so as well.
Do they care?
Why should they care?
They will steadfastly "support the government" as long as their present lifestyle and creature comforts are maintained in their cosy little cocoons oblivious to the struggle of ordinary Malays and Malaysians. The Malay Privileged Class will party on . . . print more money and let the good times roll !
.
Now . . . are there unknowing victims in this diabolical pantomime of vain kleptomaniacs?
Yes.
The most pathetic and stupidest of them all . . . the not so Privileged Malay who form the bedrock support of the Malay Privileged Class.
These gullible fools are reduced to scavenging crumbs and leftovers left in the wake of the Malay Privileged Class . . . and often taken advantage by those people to do their bidding . . . as readily exemplified by the rabid social media pompom boyz and gurlz lapping at the feet of and cheering on the psychotic pampered kids of the Malay Privileged Class.
Kesian.
These obsequious sycophants inexplicably destroy their own name and reputation to prop members of the very clique that are stealing and eating their lunch . . . and dinner and supper and breakfast. The irony of it all . . . the excesses of these kleptocrats and their parasitic cronies ultimately rob the sycophants of their buying power, of whatever little wealth they have, of their economic well being and of their future and their children's future.
These fools fight hard to defend and cheer on the foul mouthed Anak Manja spoiled brats spewing crap in social media from cushy offices paid for by the Rakyat’s hard earned money, including the Orang Kampongs’ deposit in TH. How stupid can you get? And these Anak VVVIP types are the same SOBs who in lavish dinner parties laughingly belittle the poorer Malays for being “bodoh” and “malas” and having “bad attitude” while they themselves create zero value for companies funded by the rakyat’s money and given to them on a silver platter, often driving down the share price to penny stock status after squandering hundreds of millions of public money to underwrite runaway overhead of lavish office suites, flashy chauffeur driven automobiles, fat charge accounts and First/Business Class junkets around the world to figure out ways to actually make money.
I know these types . . . in fact since childhood . . . the maladjusted spoiled brats who will never admit to a mistake; who must always win an argument, no matter how petty; who are unable and unwilling to understand or to cope with other people's opinions; who will throw tantrums and spew insults and call others idiots and morons and pondan if they don't get their way or others contradict their stand . . . and who goes around with an air of entitlement shoved up their asses and with a smug look reeking of arrogance and contempt for the ordinary folks. These are the REAL enemies of the Malays . . . the toxic, manipulative parasites who are destroying our society from within, the free-loaders who squander their ill-gotten gains on unproductive conspicuous consumption littered with doodads and trinkets, the scums who stash their loot overseas . . . exacerbating the chronic Capital Flight asphyxiating the nation of much-needed pecuniary resources. And these are the same slimeballs supported and cheered on by debilitatingly ignorant fools who sincerely thought they are on the right side of history and patriotically fighting for the Malays and the Motherland.
Memang kesian.
In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. . . . "Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
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