PERHAPS in wanting to see Parliament shed its image as an arena for primates and frogs, PAS deputy president Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man preferred metaphor to invective in denouncing the DNAA (discharge not amounting to acquittal) given to Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in the Akalbudi court case.
The DNAA has become a lightning rod for criticism of the unity government. The tardiness of the government in implementing the Pakatan Harapan (PH) manifesto of reform has given impetus to the critics to have a field day denouncing the DNAA.
The matter’s sundry critics cannot be blamed for joining the bandwagon of criticism and having a good time doing so.
Critics from all shades of political opinion in the country have rounded in on the DNAA, denouncing it as a mockery of the supposed anti-corruption drive of Pakatan Harapan, the main component of the unity government.
They have used strong language in their denunciations. But Tuan Ibrahim disdained invective for metaphor, deploying the Malay term “bola tanggung”.
Literal translations from Malay to English do not help convey the real meanings of metaphorical terms so that “bola tanggung” more nearly connotes a “full toss” in cricket or a “sitter” in soccer.
These mean an opportunity that should be put away or hammered with dispatch. Tuan Ibrahim should be credited for resorting to a vivid metaphor in denouncing the DNAA for Zahid.
If it were his senior in the party Tan Sri Hadi Awang, the chances are the PAS president would have dredged up an Islamic term to reflect his disdain for the DNAA.
Not that Islamic terms would be ineffective in these circumstances; it’s just that they don’t translate as readily.
Tuan Ibrahim’s “bola tanggung” is more accessible in terms of meaning and hence more effective in making the point. More might to metaphor and credit indeed to Tuan Ibrahim for elevating parliamentary disclosure. – Sept 15, 2023
