I woke up to this picture this morning and had a chuckle! I swear I did not mess with the colours or shading! See the original at New Straits Times. Someone at NST must have a sense of humour for adjusting the shading of the colours, because I am quite certain the curtains in His Holiness’ summer palace are coloured gold, not yellow.
And if the Prime Minister had been properly briefed by his coterie of advisers, he should not have worn a purple tie and handkerchief. The colour purple is reserved for Lent, the season of fasting for Catholics and Anglicans, which was four months ago! It is also the symbolic royal colour of Jesus Christ as head and King of the Church, and Catholics in particular would not deign to wear the colour purple in church, let alone in His Holiness’ presence. Only cardinals wear purple! But then again, one would not expect the Prime Minister to be surrounded and advised by experts on church protocol. (Should employ me next time!)
However, I did think that our Prime Minister’s idea of presenting a book about himself to the Pope was not elegant and grossly ill-advised. Must have raised some eyebrows in the Vatican, especially when Europeans prefer the understated style. Self-promotion is just not classy.
As for claiming Malaysia to be a ‘moderate’ model of an Islamic country, our Prime Minister must think the Pope a nincompoop! Here is a well-read scholar who has spies in every nook and cranny of the Catholic universe who keeps abreast of his flock’s well-being. The Malaysian government’s heavy-handed reactions to various Christian issues lately have definitely been reported back to the Vatican. Who is Najib kidding? The Prime Minister would do well to resolve the outstanding issues affecting Christians in Malaysia first before having superficial photo-calls with the Pope. The Christians in Malaysia are not stupid.
From Buckingham Palace to the Vatican, Putrajaya has only managed to elicit total disdain. How truly embarrassing for the country!
4 comments:
Najib has brought dirt to a holy place.
To all Christian voters of Malaysia,Beware of this....new tactic by Najib to gain sympathy.
failed the elementary course Asian Studies 101
I find your writings pedantic. I once upon a time looked up to you as a role model but those days are long gone and long dusted. Use your energy wisely, reflect gratitude, wholesomeness and get your bearings right.
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