Dealing with Drunks, Drug Addicts and LKY

I remember when I first started work with a British plantation group in the 60s we used to have regular cocktails for overseas directors who used to visit a few times a year.

We used to joke that the directors were running away from the UK winters and often these cocktails used to be held at the le Coq d’Or a grand building in the 70s and considered the place where posh society had their fun.

Nowadays cocktails are not so popular as it is no fun drinking orange juice for two hours or more and having to make polite conversations.

My first cocktail party was memorable in that I almost did not make it home that night. Being an inexperienced drinker that I am, I decided to try as many different drinks as I could as there was a free flow of liquor.

I remember drinking the following but not the order of drinking:

Bacardi and coke (the drink not the drug)

Whisky on the rocks

Gin and tonic

Beer

In those days I lived in Section 17 Petaling Jaya and it was linked to Jalan Damansara that was an old winding road with single lane traffic only.

I remember driving that evening at great speed as my mind was feeling light and I don’t think I would have passed the alcohol test. I guess the saying that one loses inhibitions when drunk is quite accurate.

Have you ever observed the behaviour of a drunk or a drug addict or even wife beaters?
The first trait is that they usually are in a state of denial.

We have heard this so many times from someone who has had one too many and can barely articulate his words.

“Bbb—ut I’m not drunk! I-I-I had only two d-drinks.”

“NO! I did not hit her. She fell in the bathroom.”

Often the victim will also be in denial as she has got used to the abuse and will tolerate the hurt as she does not want the children to suffer.

What has LKY got to do with all this?

To me he is merely playing the role of a concerned neighbour who can see the abuse happening over the fence and made his views known.

Is he wrong to comment if there is something fundamentally wrong in our house?

Perhaps he is taking a longer term view as he knows that a Malaysia deprived of its best talents is not going to prosper and that too is not good for Singapore.

Already we have lost thousands of talented Malaysians overseas and some are even competing with our own products. One Malaysian persuaded Ford to start operations in Thailand and is now a major producer of autos.

The NEP may have been necessary after the May13 incident but we cannot have a government that does not provide fair opportunities for all citizens and the thrust of all government policies should always be to assist those who are marginalized and not those who have already been fed caviar and fine wines for many years.

Anyone who cannot see that NEP policies can cause more income distortions and marginalize many citizens who do not have crony connections is living in a state of denial.

photo:http://img.timeinc.net/sunset/food/Oscars/Caviar.jpg