…
Hamlet:
O most pernicious woman!
O villain, villain, smiling, damnèd villain!
My tables—meet it is I set it down
That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain—
At least I am sure it may be so in Denmark.
Hamlet Act 1, scene 5, 105–109
…
https://twitter.com/fabm11/status/1138001784012779520
…
…
9 May 2019
..
An NST article
THIS dearth of shame that hangs in the air is worrying. Look around us, there is so much of glee in committing crimes.
Even in court, the smiles of those who should feel the mortification put Mona Lisa’s enigmatic smile to shame. Instead, it appears that such indignity is being turned into a cause célèbre. What a commemoration of notoriety! Perhaps it is the times we live in.
Sadly, it is not just a Malaysian thing. It happens elsewhere, too.
Remember the Christchurch massacre, where 50 people were gunned down in mosques? The criminal had the audacity to live-stream the shooting. No shame here.
Remember, too, the suicide bombings in churches in Sri Lanka where more than 250 lost their lives? Those who were responsible for the carnage shamelessly took to the media. There were no wars here. Even if there were, the lives lost and limbs maimed were of civilians.
Not soldiers. What moral perversion, what a dearth of shame!
Psychologists tell us about the importance of having a sense of shame. Shame is necessary because we share a moral code with the rest of humanity.
When we breach it, we upset a cart of virtues. One such violation is the contravention of what is right and what is wrong.
This is why those who have done wrong display a blushing face and walk slumped with head down. These are external signals of remorse of those who still have a sense of shame.
But in this day and age, the accused are turning their court appearances into events. A political one at that. Granted the accused are innocent until proven guilty, but why then those who are sentenced don’t show any remorse?
Is it power which does this to men and women? Does power obliterate such sense of shame that we are endowed with? It must be. Look at how they enthuse in the office they held before even when the very authority has taken leave.
Look at those who have come to celebrate their emperor who has no clothes. Or perhaps, the emperor has “new clothes” now.
It is Hans Christian Andersen’s The Emperor’s New Clothes, all over again. There, we had a vain king who was preoccupied with his appearance and wardrobe.
Swindlers worked on this flaw by pretending to weave the finest cloth, which were invisible to those who were stupid. The king, not wanting to appear stupid himself, pretended to be able to “see” the new clothes, as did all of his courtiers.
He paraded the “new clothes” through the streets and the onlookers, also not wanting to be stupid, all admired them. A small child, who had no sense of pretence in him, shouted: “But he has no clothes!”. With the pretence burst, the onlookers repeated what the child had said: “The king has no clothes!”
The king, meanwhile, continued the parade with no sense of shame.
We must all be that small child in Andersen’s tale, every now and then, so that we can end this dearth of shame.
NST
https://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/?p=164179
…
28 February 2019
Najib has no shame being called ‘Bossku’, says Dr M
SEMENYIH: With just days left before the polling day, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad tonight trained his guns on supporters of his predecessor Najib Razak, who appears to have regained some popularity despite facing numerous charges in court.
The Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman chided those who still remained loyal to “Bossku”, a moniker that Najib is using at the moment.
“‘Bossku’ is not just any boss. He is so proud. That is ‘Bossku’. He really has no shame. No shame at all. He can smile at being called ‘Bossku’.
“I have also done many things wrong., but I have not done wrong in rejecting Najib,” he said in a ceramah here tonight.
…
8 August 2017
No shame left among the corrupt in Malaysia, says Mahathir
PETALING JAYA: Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad claims that many government officials in the country have become devoid of shame.
The chairman of Pakatan Harapan and PPBM said such individuals, guided by their insolence and greed, were not affected by criticism against their acts, or the effects on the nation, as long as they were rewarded.
“When they are found to have stolen, they do not feel the slightest shame. Even though they are accused of stealing and are proven to have stolen, it is alright for them,” he said in a blog post today.
“The world can label them thieves, corrupted, rogues – that doesn’t matter. They just smile.”
He said because of their actions, the country was shamed instead, and listed as a corrupt nation.
He also claimed that it was all right with such officials, even when Malaysia was labelled as a kleptocratic state.
Mahathir, 92, added that there was also no shame when certain officials were promoted or appointed to positions that they were not eligible to hold, even when such moves went against the law.
The former Umno chairman, who ruled as prime minister for 22 years, said there were also those who accepted stolen money, “kissing hands” to be rewarded.
After having obtained a rank or position due to their ability to “membodek” (flatter to gain favour), they had no hesitation in taking orders from their boss even if the superior was wrong, he said.
“Dignity is not important for them anymore. They allow themselves to be insulted, to be looked down upon, as long as they get money, position and rank,” he said.
“People can view them with disgust, ridicule them – but they do not care. At most, the people will lose their land and become wayfarers in their own country, their children and grandchildren becoming coolies.
“Even this does not matter because those who do not know shame will have no shame in becoming beggars and coolies in their own country.”
…
weehingthong 