When the floods were wreaking havoc on the people of Johor, Pak Lah was away in Sydney presiding at the official opening of his brother's 'nasi kandar' restaurant. Right-minded Malaysians were outraged that he didn't seem to care.

On his return to Malaysia, reporters questioned him over his priorities. The PM had a ready answer: he was keeping close watch over the situation by remote control!

Reminds me of Donald Rumsfeld's (former US defence secretary) heartless way of communicating with the families of US soldiers killed in Iraq. A computer would generate letters embodying sentiments such as would made Abraham Lincoln weep and these would be signed by an electronically guided pen. Thus from start to finish the whole process was mechanical, overseen by one of his many secretaries.

I cannot recall anything Pak Lah said or did in the past three years that was intelligent so if he were he to go to Turkey and hire a luxury yacht to take him to all the beach resorts of the world, the nation would not miss him. In fact, we would be better off.

For in the Umnoputra thinking, 'buta gaji' and free lunches are but prerogatives that must be bestowed upon the ruling elite.