Humpty Dumpty Once Again

Now, many of us remember the lines in Humpty Dumpty. We learnt it a long time ago. It is easily obtainable from the internet. Those of us who went to English medium schools were taught it. The rhyme goes like this:-

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the king's horses and all the king's men

Couldn't put Humpty together again.

In the original rhyme, it was not stated that Humpty Dumpty was an egg. It was originally posed as a riddle. In the 18^th century, Humpty Dumpty was also used as a slang to mean a short and clumsy person.

We all know that when an egg is dropped, it is broken. In its modern application, Humpty Dumpty refers to a generally clumsy person who if he falls, cannot be redeemed. In France the rhyme is also known as Boule Boule or Little Trille in Sweden. Throughout the English speaking world, including Malaysia where English is widely spoken, it is known as Humpty Dumpty.

I am not sure however whether children nowadays are taught this rhyme. In our times, the analogy of Humpty Dumpty sits on a wall of false promises waiting to fall off is very prescient. When that happens, that Humpty Dumpty is irredeemable.

Among us who has read Alice in Wonderland, will recall Lewis Caroll’s Through the Looking Glass, where Humpty Dumpty discusses semantics and pragmatics with Alice. .

"I don't know what you mean by 'glory,'" Alice said.
Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. "Of course you don't -- till I tell you. I meant "there's a nice knock-down argument for you!'"
"But `glory' doesn't mean `a nice knock-down argument,'" Alice objected.
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said in a rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less."
"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean different things."
"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master -- that's all."
Alice was too much puzzled to say anything, so after a minute Humpty Dumpty began again.
"They've a temper, some of them -- particularly verbs, they're the proudest -- adjectives you can do anything with, but not verbs -- however, I can manage the whole lot! Impenetrability! That's what I say!"

So our Humpty Dumpty character is not only fragile but also very confusing. A more common and appropriate term is flip flop.

Our humpty dumpty is interested only in one thing. Which is to be master. A long time ago, one day circa 2004, Pak Lah said he is the ‘which is to be master’. He said, ‘I am the prime minister’.

Once he said that, he is impenetrable. Tun Mahathir did not succeed to advise him. If Tun failed, what chances can lesser mortals have, to prise open Pak Lah’s inscrutability?

Humpty Dumpty was also applied in a famous legal case of Liversidge vs. Anderson. In this case, Lord Atkin one of the law lords gave a dissenting judgment. He stresses the need for courts/judges to remain independent of the executive whatever the prevailing circumstances.

Let us apply Lord Atkin’s dissenting judgment on a more basic circumstance. Imagine as it were, the executive in this case is the Malaysian wrecking crew of Pak lah and Najib. The judges are the 20 odd supreme council members.

Lord Atkin insisted the need for the courts to remain independent of the executive come what may. In the Liversidge case, Lord Atkin thought that the judges who administer the courts, had abdicated their responsibility to investigate and control the executive. How did the judges come to such a position? By a strained construction put on words with the effect of giving an uncontrolled power to the executive.

What were the effects of the subservient stance of the UMNO supreme council members? They gave uncontrolled power to the executive to do as they pleased. In this case, unashamedly formulating a transfer of power arrangement that sidesteps the liberty of the subject. Whereas Lord Atkin preferred the judges to stand in between the subject and executive to prevent the executive from infringing the liberty of the subject.

And by what authority did the judges use to arrive at such a position? By the authority of Humpty Dumpty. Says lord Atkin;

I know of only one authority, which might justify the suggested method of construction. 'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean, neither more nor less'. 'The question is,' said Alice, 'whether you can make words mean so many different things.' 'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be the master, that's all.'

We all know the fate of Humpty Dumpty. They will all fall.