Sunday, April 15, 2012

Installation, Tsunami Alert and Benign

Since last Tuesday 11 April 2012, many things have come our way. The above topic may alert one to the activities that transpired in Malaysia. The  'Installation' refers to official and ceremonial appointment of the 14th Yang Di Pertuan Agong, a historic occasion being that the Sultan of Kedah Tuanku Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah takes office for the second time.

In the evening as the people took a restful day they were suddenly jolted by a tremor that occurred  west of Acheh with a significant 8.9 magnitude followed by a tsunami  alert. It was a blessing that much sooner the alert was discontinued.

Now I come to the last quoted word ' benign'. Both Prime Ministers of Malaysia and  Britain agreed to express the shortcomings between Britain and Malaysia for the last twenty years as being a 'benign neglect'. David Cameron's visit coming after two years after his entry into 10 Downing Street , saw Britain's PM entry into Malaysia after a lapse of twenty years. That too recognizing both are members of the Commonwealth. Now what is 'benign neglect'? or as translated in 'Utusan Malaysia' as ' kerjasama yang terabai'. When two world leaders come out with such a word, it stuck and become a historical byword reflecting the advances if any that would see a fresh start or a major breakthrough. 

Reference gives the following explanation :-
 benign' an adjective; 'benign neglect' a noun meaning " an attitude or policy of noninterference or neglect of a situation which may have a more beneficial affect than assuming responsibility"; well-intentional neglect.   

Malaysia and Britain have existed with decades of attachment between one another. It leaves me attached to the word expressed expecting what the the executives in power would execute in the years to come and more so with the beginning of  a new Yang DiPertuan Agong at Istana Negara and soon enough the coming general election.  



Was there after all ' a benign neglect' ? Truly an academic exercise for historians in the soon future! 




      

3 comments:

Azizi Ahmad Termizi: said...

Tahniah di atas pertabalan Sultan Kedah, Tuanku Abdul Halim sebagai SPB Yang DiPertuan Agong.

Al-Manar said...

Leave it to the politicians to coin words and slogans. One senior official in the Education Dept tried to convince me not long ago that the best country to learn English language is no longer in England! He thought he knew a lot about a country which I think he has never visited. Putting two and two together, that explains why the standard of English in Malaysia is no longer one to be proud of as we used to before the 'benign' whatever.

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