A Nest of Vipers – by Rajitha Ratwatte

The usual way to describe something like what passes for the parliament in the pearl would be a nest of vipers. Vicious, small-brained, reptiles attacking everything in sight and concentrating only on their survival and propagation of their species. Judging by recent comments by an eternally unashamed former leader of the opposition and now “chit” MP, it seems that even this persons’ standards have been violated. I beg to differ.

I would describe the present house of representatives as a bed of earthworms. Feeding off the rotting compost that is what remains of their country. Totally blind and unable to see a way out for the country and not having the thinking power to even venture into any area except their own survival. They are crawling around in this compost heap and not even their excreta (read as words that emanate from their mouths) serve any purpose, unlike the humble earthworm. In fact, even this description may be taken as an insult to the earthworm! The present parliament serves only as a source of cheap entertainment for those who bother to follow its episodes and treat it as something to publish in the reams of newsprint that is wasted on it.

The real nest of vipers seems to be all those Billionaires and millionaires who have been hiding their wealth and spending it on giving themselves and their families a great time at the expense of the majority of the populace who slave for them. Now, this is not the first time such antics have hit the headlines. It will also not be the last. A furore of sorts is created, and it quickly dies down to nothing because it is money that creates power and power is what runs the world. I seem to recall that a certain Thirukumar was exposed last time in the Panama papers as well as this time in Pandora’s. Absolutely nothing was done last time but this time since the need for sacrificial lambs may be a little more urgent maybe, just maybe another retired judge will be commissioned with the responsibility of conducting an inquiry that has a predetermined verdict. Meanwhile, others who bear such names continue swathed in sheep’s clothing while harbouring the ideologies of vipers and even some other mammalian predators with stripes.

You may observe dear readers that this week’s missive bears many innuendoes. Not my usual style but in these days of increased intimidation of the fourth estate, innuendoes may be a way of sparing my editor the charms of the 4th floor and also getting something of what I have to say published.

What of the millionaires and billionaires most of them in mere Rupee terms but some actually in hard currency terms, who are squirming around in the great compost heap? How to deal with them was told to me over 40 years ago by the father of a great friend of mine. That gentleman a well-established businessman (who paid his taxes) and a very keen golfer once told me (he may recognise himself or his son may) “All the tax department has to do is raid the huge mansions that these people live in and ask them how they paid for them”. Another even simpler way would be to stop the multimillion-rupee limousines they gad about in and ask for proof of legitimate income that was used to pay for them. There is no need for tax returns and the “disappearing” tax files that plague such investigations. Simply look at the house from outside (and the cars parked in the driveway) and invite the owner to prove his credentials. Is that really so hard to do? Maybe in a truly democratic country with a strong human rights base but in the Pearl of today, no way. It is the will that is lacking, not the way.

Moving onto cricket, the only sport that has brought us world acclaim (except for a couple of sprint silver medals in the Olympics over the ages) and the picture of one of our best cricketers with his shirt off that adorned the sports page of the Island. Now I wonder if this picture was published just to show this person’s atrophied muscles and bulging belly or as a sarcastic reminder to all fans. (The latter I think, judging by what little I know of the possible perpetrator of the publication). Is this the level of body conditioning and fitness that is expected of our prime professional athletes?! I know that some of our superstars of the past had rotund figures but that was not in the days of professionalism when players are paid millions and have nothing to do but play cricket. What’s more those rotund players have records that today’s “stars” can never match and they certainly didn’t get injured as often.

Back to Aotearoa – New Zealand, where we poor denizens of the largest city Auckland, have endured 6 weeks of the most stringent lockdown conditions in a two ponged attempt by the Government to get as many people vaccinated as possible and reduce case numbers while doing that. The case numbers refuse to go below an average of about 20 new cases a day. The vaccination statistics are interesting. The Asian (this includes South Asian and Chinese) population has a 98% vaccination rate. The Maoris and Pacific Islanders lag far behind with only around 60%. I did not see any statistics for the “Pakeha” (white population) but I presume it is high. Another interesting statistic is that the infection rate among members of motorcycle gangs is one of the highest. Probably an indicator of their total disregard for any and all lockdown rules. It is the Maori first and then the Pacific Islanders’ who claim the right to run this country. The former say they came first, and latter say NZ is in their backyard (the Pacific Ocean). Can you imagine what would have happened to this country if it was governed by these “indigenous” people? A nest of earthworms springs to mind.

I can use less innuendo here as no one in this country of a mere 5 million people reads anything written by this scribe. Although the audience covered by the newspaper, I write to (the Island) covers a population of over 5 times that number it seems that no one without a Pakeha name can qualify to be published in the hallowed tomes of Aotearoa. Some bitterness, a little self-pity and frustration you may say, true but alas the just desserts of those living as second-class citizens in other countries due to their own country being ruled by mostly earthworms and a few vipers.

Source: From Outside the Pearl ( https://www.facebook.com/Fromoutsidethepearl )

Contact the author: fromoutsidethepearl@gmail.com