A peacock and its feathers

Let’s face it. If they leave for nothing then they are of no value. The higher the figure they get for leaving, the higher their value. So if they can get RM5 million or RM10 million then it shows how valuable they are. And that is certainly befitting the big man status they imagine they possess.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Many people have left Parti Keadilan Rakyat over the last decade or so even back when it used to be called Parti Keadilan Nasional. Some of these people were the pioneers who joined the party the day it was launched in the Renaissance Hotel on 4 April 1999 (remember that birthday: 4499). Others joined along the way and left again. And some much later only when they thought the party was going to form the next federal government together with DAP and PAS around dinner time on 8 March 2008.

Many came, many went. And each had his or her reason why he or she came and later left. Some are valid reasons. Some are personal reasons. Some because they felt they were not being appreciated. Some because they felt they were being neglected. Some because they were not treated as important as they would like to be treated. Some because the spotlight was not on them so they were not being credited with superstar status.

To be fair, not all who left did so because they were bribed into leaving or were bought off. Many actually spent a lot of their own money for the sake of the party and did not ask for one penny in return. If they were in this for profit why spend all your life savings on the party and then leave? I personally know many who spent tons of money and then walked away almost broke.

Yes, many joined, many left. Not all joined and left at the same time though. And not all joined and left for the same reasons. And not all joined and left in the same manner.

You can detect the ‘problem people’ in the way they join. If they expect an announcement, a welcoming party to be thrown, champagne to be popped, etc., when they join, then be prepared to have to treat them like superstars. They have made a grand entrance and they expect VIP status and first class treatment all the way. And when they leave they will make sure it is with as much fanfare as when they joined.

You are now seeing these ‘VIPs’ leaving PKR. And they leave like all VIPs leave -- with bells, whistles, trumpets and a choir singing in the background. These are people who imagine themselves very important. They came in with an air of importance. They leave as if they are even more important than when they joined. And they left because they were not treated as someone important.

These are people with huge egos. Their egos are larger than their dicks (or tits if a woman). And since PKR is not able to inflate these egos even further then it is time for them to move to greener pastures.

These are people who love being called Yang Berhormat, Yang Berbahagia, Yang Mulia, and whatnot. I suppose since I was born a Yang Mulia I prefer to be called plain Pet, Pete or RPK. But these people stand on protocol and ceremony and the right manner of addressing must be accorded them. And they stand on protocol and ceremony because they were born a ‘nobody’ and now have suddenly become a ‘somebody’.

“Why doesn’t the Sultan of Selangor give you a Datukship,” my friends ask me. Of course, that was in the days before I durhaka with the Sultan and went into exile. Now he would order my head removed from my shoulders.

This is what my friends do not understand. Why would I need a Datukship? Even if I receive a Datukship the Datuk title would come after my born title. I would be called Raja Datuk Petra, not Datuk Raja Petra. So who cares about the Datukship? I do not need one and would not want one even if they paid me RM250,000 to agree to accept it -- instead of paying RM250,000 to buy one like some people I know.

These orang biasa (normal people) who were born into ‘lower class’ families and now suddenly feel that they are somebody are very dangerous. They demand a lot. They demand you lay the red carpet. They demand you address them with high titles. They demand you allocate a seat for them at the high table. And if they do not get the attention they feel they deserve, they will leave.

And they will not leave quietly. They will call for a press conference and will announce that they are leaving. And they will tell all and sundry that they are leaving because the party is no good and they are too good for the party. The party is beneath them and they are just too high up and too important to stay in such a party.

That is the trouble when you give importance to unimportant people born into unimportant families. I do not face that problem because I was born into an important family and I prefer to be treated as Pete rather than as Yang Mulia.

Do I sound pompous? I hope so because I intended to sound pompous.

Be careful about giving power and titles and positions to small people. It goes to their head. While I am happy being just plain Pete, these plain people are not happy unless you treat them as big people. And when you don’t, they will leave. And they will make a lot of noise when they leave. They will announce how bad the party is and how they are too good for such a party. And they will make sure that when they leave it is valued and treasured with at least a couple of million Ringgit from the other side.

Let’s face it. If they leave for nothing then they are of no value. The higher the figure they get for leaving, the higher their value. So if they can get RM5 million or RM10 million then it shows how valuable they are. And that is certainly befitting the big man status they imagine they possess.

I suppose I do not appreciate why they are like that because I was already born important. So being treated as an important person does not give me an orgasm. But for an orang biasa turned Yang Berhormat, it is important.

So now you know why so many leave PKR. It is because they imagine themselves as special people who must be treated special. But they were not treated special. So now they want to leave. But they do not want to leave quietly. They want their exit to also be special. And they want people to know that they are too special for the party and therefore have no choice but to leave.

I love it when I am arrogant.