THIS nation’s purse strings was once controlled by a lawyer who turned into a prosperous property developer before sidling over to politics to become minister. He was of course Tun Daim Zainuddin who became Tun Dr Mahathir’s right hand man, who tossed to him the keys to the treasury.
As Finance Minister, Tun Daim’s adept handling of the economy left a lasting legacy. They both presided over a page in our economic, political and financial history that is quite commendable, regardless of the naysayers.
Daim, I would like to say was the progenitor of Daim..nomics. Forget the pump priming, forget the interest rates fine tuning, forget the fiscal stimulation or the timely belt-tightening. Cue in curry puffs!
More precisely, it is the half-cut puff. No minister could have, in the history of this country, been able to show the way to scrimp and save by exercising simple cost cutting techniques by taking the knife to the catering corner.
You see, Malaysian press conferences, media events, government meetings or even the humblest minister-meet-the-rakyat session come with one “Tupperware party” certainty. The host will definitely lay on the mee hoon goreng and diabetes-inducing, teh-tambah-susu (extra sweet tea).
Speak to veteran journalists and they will reminisce the time they attended Tun Daim’s press conferences; or more likely some off-the-record tete-a-tete. They would be ushered into a room quite bereft of plush furnishings and there, laid out on a bare table in one corner is a plateful of curry puffs. Not your luscious, bulbous-richly-filled fist-sized crumpet that warung Mak Limah in Kampung Baru charges 60 sen each. Nope, you get those that I hazard a good guess costs soringgit tigo (one for three ringgit). Wait for it, whoever it was who was entrusted to look after the catering arrangements appears adept at stretching Tun Daim’s ringgit – it is served cut in half!
Kudos to you Tun. I for one whole-heartedly believe our society needs to be weaned off this crass catering mentality. Why should all manner of refreshments be laid out when we are out there, working and on duty? Who planted this idea that cabinet meetings, board meetings, JKKK meetings, PTA meetings and such like must have food on the agenda?
LOW HANGING FRUIT FOR THE PICKING
No doubt his may appear nit-picking. Ah la…sikit ajer (It’s a minor matter) is the oft-repeated justification. But doesn’t one remember the truism that from little acorns to big fir trees grow? Sikit sikit lama lama jadi bukit, is the most apt local equivalent.
Then there’s the orgy of gift giving that I have a bone to pick with. Why should guests-of-honour be presented with all manner of souvenirs. These may range from plastic plaques on granite plinths to ultra expensive songket from some lucky vendor in Terengganu.
I had the privilege to be invited into the living room of one former government minister for a one-to-one interview way back then. Sitting in the vast living room in one of the more elite of suburban Kuala Lumpur neighbourhoods, I could not help but feel swamped by the display cabinets filled to the gills with the fruits of the minister’s collection. There was all manner of plaques, baseball caps, trophies and medallions with appropriate inscriptions spelling Tahniah or Terima Kasih. Now, why should the organizers be so grateful for their presence as such visits are routinely undertaken ostensibly for the purpose of carrying out official ministerial duties.
While I am at it, the proceedings in themselves are a byword in hapless inanity – judging from the needlessly rambling introduction when everyone who comes up to the rostrum rattling off a long list of salutations. Why can’t we dispense with the honorifics by simply addressing those in attendance with a simple, all inclusive; Tuan tuan dan puan puan (Ladies and Gentlemen)?
TURNING OVER A NEW LEAF?
OK, perhaps the email the PM’s department shot off to the media late evening on the penultimate day of 2013 is harbinger of a turn for the better.
His statement detailed a list of 11 measures that will come into force in the new year (hey..that’s tomorrow!).
What caught me squarely in my gastronomic gut was measure #8 - what I call the curry puff caper. Sternly, measure #8 states: “Cutting down on catering for seminars, conferences, courses, workshops or any official government events.”
Now, how much would that yield?
What does it exactly mean?
Does it cut the lifeline for Cik Pah the spinster caring for her ailing mum on her culinary skills cooking a mean kuali of mee hoon? Or that Muthu whose vadeh is the crispest so far south of Madras would lose a supplementary source of income?
Now if it cuts off feeding time at the bovine trough from which the big fish – yup, those that provide those high value souvenirs that perhaps the AG keeps on highlighting each year in his report – then this measure would have real meaning.
Until that happens, this measure will not be just an exercise in cutting off the curry puff by a further half.
