SAKMONGKOL AK47

UNCLE SAM’S CHOIR BOYS COME A CALLING.

"The main point for us is that the rule of law needs to stand above politics," said Tom Casey, spokesman for the US State Department.

"And we would certainly oppose any use of law enforcement or judicial procedures for anything other than legitimate purposes of the law," he said.

When I was studying at the university of Malaya, a widely read friend would always come up with wisecracks now and then. That was in the late 70s. I remember this one about comparing girls to countries. One goes like this: a woman who is 60 and above is like Siberia. Everyone knows where it is, but nobody wants to go there. A woman in her 20s is like America, young, free and inhibitive and partial to shoot outs at high noon.

Americans want all other nations to be like them. American thinkers advanced a theory that their society has reached such an advanced stage that the country will be better off, if everyone is allowed to do their own thing. This encouraged Americans to abandon a moral and ethical basis for society.

America sees in Anwar Ibrahim the standard torch bearer for liberal democracy. Whereas in fact Anwar Ibrahim despite his public pronouncements of this and that, disavowed democracy and the rule of law. Instead he would like to deep-throat everyone in Malaysia into accepting his version of how society should behave.

Anwar Ibrahim is therefore a valued friend to the US. This was part of the message sent by the uncle Sam’s people to the people of Malaysia.

Do you take us for fools or what? This is one of the highhanded methods used often by American emissaries and embassy people to teach down on people of other cultures. They presume that we do not countenance the rule of law.

How do we treat America? It is the world’s only superpower. It is accustomed of paying leaders everywhere. Because they believed that the only way to solve any problem is to bring resources to bear on them. Americans can be unprincipled too and they have no shame about that.

During the Vietnam war, they backed Ngo Dinh Diem to the hilt. Eventually when this unfortunate general did not want to do their biddings, they looked the other way when Ngo’s general did a Caesar to him. Remember Saddam Hussein? Well, he was a friend to the Bushes until he went off tangent. The US bumped him off.

The promotion of democracy and human rights have always been a part of American foreign policy. Sometimes, this promotion takes the form of unconventional ways. In Iraq, it took almost a world war to promote democracy . At the end, all it did was to leave Iraq in shambles. Iraq is a continuing story of rape and pillage by the Iraqis themselves and by the Americans on their tour of duty.

It is not possible for America or any western countries to insist their standards be universally imposed. America has not succeeded to impose its own system in the Philippines despite being its colony and under its tutelage or tutorship.

In this era of globalisation, we have to accept that any government for that matter will find it increasingly difficult to hide any cruelties from the prying and inquisitive eyes of the world. Therefore we do not need a lecture down from the US to tell us how to execute our laws. The eyes of the world are sufficient to serve a restraint upon us. Don’t you worry buddy.

Amiculae, deliciae, num is sum qui mentia tibi? Baby, sweetheart, would I lie to you?