VETERAN journalist and blogger Datuk A. Kadir Jasin has deemed as “grossly unfair” attempts by certain quarters to liken non-performing ministers in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government to “dead wood”.
In the reckoning of the national journalism laureate, dead wood, fallen trees and sunken logs have a multitude of uses and benefits.
An old tree dies, young trees will grow in its place. The forest is regenerated.
Before a dead tree falls to the ground, woodpeckers would make nests to raise their chicks and a host of insects burrow into its bark and trunk. They in turn become food for the woodpeckers and other birds.
When it finally falls to the forest floor, the ants, worms, fungi, mushrooms and mosses take over. The decaying process begins and the soil is fertilised.
Dead wood from a valuable species can be harvested to produce high quality timber. In America, “mining” sunken wood is a profitable business. In fact, dead wood buried deep in the ground for millions of years turned into fossil fuel.
“As such, the non-performing ministers could not be in the same class as the dead wood. Pardon me if I say, I don’t know what they are good for really,” the former Bersatu suoreme council member who has pledged allegiance to Pakatan Harapan (PH) teased in his latest Facebook post.
Added the former editor-in-chief of New Straits Times: “As for reshuffling the Cabinet, I don’t know if it’s the priority of PM Anwar Ibrahim. If it is, he would have filled in the vacancy at the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry a long time ago. It has been three months since it fell vacant.”
To re-cap, the said vacancy exists following the demise of minister Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub on July 23. – Oct 26, 2023
Post-script: The main pic above shows harvesting sunken logs. “In America, timber from sunken logs cost 10 times more than normal timber,” revealed Kadir Jasin.
