The rhinocerine politician
700 years ago Marco Polo came to Burma and discovered the unicorn, which was in essence the rhino. If he would have come here today, he would have discovered many with the skin of the rhino. But if a future incident could have been used as a reference, I would have cited one particular rhino skinned person missing the UN General Assembly session as a means to protest the punishment I received in school for missing assembly.
But rank has its privileges. Aung San Suu Kyi addresses not only the UN General Assembly, but the whole world in the form of addressing her own nation in the Queen's English. Who cares if many of her local audiences don't understand the actual words, they are already dancing in front of jumbotrons strewn across the city while the world collectively groans: "Surprise, surprise!" The plethora of euphoria exposes a lot of oral cavities. That's a first—I thought most Myanmarese go to India for dental checkups because at home, they are NOT allowed to "open their mouths"…
The State Counsellor also doesn't open her mouth on the atrocities in Rakhine. Did we really expect anything else a day after the speech of the military chief? Remember, 25 percent of Myanmar's parliament is reserved for the military. Thank Heavens that 25 percent of the members of the incumbent National League for Democracy are not reserved to receive military training. One thing is for sure, a hell of a lot more than 25 percent of the mind of the Myanmar's State Counsellor is made up on where she stands.
I wonder if Suu Kyi was ever the client of the famous Myanmarese astrologer, E-Thi, aka, ET, aka, Extra Terrestrial. ET was blind and with a speech impediment. Thus, with Suu Kyi in front of her, ET saw no evil and also apparently heard no evil and spoke no evil.
Meanwhile, the exodus from Rakhine continues, not without leaving many a dead behind, probably lowering Myanmar's already low average life expectancy of 57. I'm sure the Myanmarese authorities would deny this and say it is still 57 as their measurement sample includes ONLY those who are "defined" as citizens of Myanmar.
Meanwhile, our PM rightfully stays clear of asking President Trump for any help on the Rohingya refugees, as he would have answered: "We will provide all the resources…to build a wall on the Naf and Teknaf would pay for it." While on the subject of the POTUS, if he can name Kim Jong Un as Rocket Man, he can perhaps at least name Aung San Suu Kyi as Balk-it Woman.
Lesson learned—give the Nobel Peace Prize to someone NOT during their incarceration, but AFTER their release AND AFTER a healthy "probation" period. Look how well it worked out in the case of Nelson Mandela. If Suu Kyi can get one Nobel Peace Prize, Suchitra Sen deserves three—one for being under house confinement herself for way longer than 15 years, one for being under this confinement on her own volition and one after getting out of her house while not forcing anyone else to leave his own home.
I guess we have to come to accept that Aung San Suu Kyi is no longer a little girl with a little doll called the Nobel Peace Prize. She has matured into a seasoned and rhinocerine politician.
Naveed Mahbub is an engineer at Ford & Qualcomm USA and CEO of IBM & Nokia Siemens Networks Bangladesh turned comedian (by choice), the host of ATN Bangla's The Naveed Mahbub Show and ABC Radio's Good Morning Bangladesh, the founder of Naveed's Comedy Club.
E-mail: Naveed@NaveedMahbub.com
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