Kuncu-kuncu

I link to this video not because I endorse its compelling message but because I want to decode or deconstruct its reading and further my Duck You Sucker thesis of Malaysian politics. The speaker, Matthias Chang was the private secretary of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamed and, regardless of the veracity of the message he appears to have been taking around the financial world, was on a mission of political and financial consequence for Malaysia when he was charged as he describes at the start of this piece.  This video, this verbal dynamite (Duck You Suckers!!) is quite brilliant in the measure and control of its demolition. It is very articulate in a very Malaysian way! It is very convincing and  makes very clear and arguments. However, I must note some points of interest and criticism. My first point can be summed up as ‘kuncu-kuncu’ – Malaysia’s truly interracial and religious model for finance, politics, shenanigans and friendship! the speaker, himself Chinese, uses a racial slur  to index two purported Chinese associates of the Malay UMNO leadership which he alleges to be corrupt and spineless.  While this slur appears to belie the fact that he himself may be just such an associate of Malay primaries, it actually underscores that fact. Secondly while all the questions he wants answered seem legitimate, and have in fact, been raised by highly credible third parties in Switzerland and the United States, his sense of timing leaves a lot to be desired, when viewed in terms of a nuanced search for truth. His attack on the 1MDB/IPIC default seems to be flawed as it obscures what 1MDB  boss Arul Kanda has described as a grace period for the payment – few short but critical days in which Kanda believes that IPIC will give in and pay up! Regardless of any corruption at the heart of the 1MDB enterprise, if Kanda is correct about this grace period, and he is holding firm in the stasis of an amazing Tarrantinesque standoff, it is seems to me that it is, at the very least, a little premature to cry default with such finality before the grace period is up – it is up this Monday.