Dear Editor,
I am reluctant to admit certain things, but in the interests of openness I confess. There are some people and some things that I miss by their absence and the bland void left. There is this unexciting dullness left in the wake of their exits in an increasingly dull time.
I miss the contributions of the former HPS. Given the sometimes lengthy (and forced) silence of his equivalent replacement, I sometimes wonder if the incumbent has not followed his predecessor through early retirement. The man now gone had two decades to entertain this nation. He did. He was a character, albeit a cartoon one for many a thrilling moment. I would not pay money to hear him, but in some respects I did, as I pay for Stabroek News’ print edition to be greeted weekly by his labyrinthine linguistic lustre, in which situation a distortion or two might be present, either by commission or omission. Like that American obfuscator of renown, Alan Greenspan, the local one’s star lost some of its jagged sparkle during his reign, and then descended rapidly before the glares of new days. Such is the fickleness of power and might. I know he is gone, and it is as should be; but the rare altitude flights of imagination, contortion, illusion, and obstruction did leave some memories, even though they were mainly corrosive. The laff lines compensated for the acids.
Another fine gentleman from the still disbanding old political jury who is missed is the former number two man; well, at least he was so identified on the charts. I know that the change in status has removed the ‘honourable’ from before his name, and I believe that his present comportment would not attract any criticisms if it was still used unofficially. Those full page dissertations (never a diatribe) indicated a still fluent mind at work. It is a real sharp mind, given that those political gospels were really full-page political advertisements placed in the letter columns at no cost. As said earlier: a real sharp player.
Through the measly differential of a mere 5,000 voters, the mighty are laid low, and banished to the obscurity of the boondocks. If only this gentleman and his brethren had learned from the deliverer: to share the loaves and fishes more expansively, their names would still be on the lips (and not the overactive bile ducts) of most. But I forget that the man is an engineer and not a historian. Still, he is missed for his calming measured contributions.
Such is the roll of the dice of power, and many a terrible reckless general litters the pages of history for the odium and calumny reaped. One self-glorifying Field Marshall still prances around as though he is in the uniform of commander-in-chief. Some are slow learners; that one is not missed by any save for sycophants, dividers, and milk drinkers of the worst sort. He is not missed in the least.
There are some others no longer on the political scene similarly not missed. I do not mean the chaps who took the cash and ran; word is that some documents ran with them. What I do regret is that the opportunity was missed to offer them some prime state-owned real estate for accommodation with free clothing thrown in for good measure. Well, they can run, but they cannot hide. Here come the special prosecutors.
Then there are those who are present but might as well announce publicly their MIA status for the scantiness of the contributions they deliver. Nestled in the pantheon of the pathetic are those lost in the parliamentary maze and reduced to that time honoured Guyanese pastime of heckling to disguise their bumbling and stumbling. Nobody is fooled. From where do they get these people?
Incidentally, it came to my attention that a handful of these so-called legislators had occasion to both refer to and quote me (yes, me of all people) from the printed media record during the 2017 budget debate. Clearly, these guys are too lazy and mentally encumbered to do their own heavy lifting. There could have been some copyright violations, but there is no challenge, as I count this as part of my ongoing public service to render a helping hand (letters) to those devoid of the acumen, industry, and sagacity to construct their own arguments and fight their own battles with their own instruments. Still, I feel somewhat tarnished that three of them found it necessary to call my name. How in this country so many of these remain for so long is a mystery to me.
The final instance on which I comment has to be about that fellow who must be missing something. I am astounded that anyone can be so limited and so naïve to believe that that Gecom appointment could be resolved by voluminous offerings in the media as to the merits of their position, when case law and precedent are meaningless in political junkyard dogfights. And this is what that is. It is a matter better polled in the rum-shops and marketplaces, for those are the places where the real people of this country live. Nobody is moved or impressed, though there could be some who are amused. Just check with the Head-of-State. The posturing and ranting are nice, but not necessary. I suggest a recess for counsel in honest private practice. He will not be missed.
Yours faithfully,
GHK Lall
