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Many Chinese businessmen and wise men will tell you that major business decisions often depend on knowing the face of one’s potential partners or competitors. The eyes, nose, lips, eyebrows, chin and the overall contour of a face are the windows to a person’s character and inner soul.
Ask any Chinese about the nose and hair of Badawi and they will react instantly, that he is a man who says one thing and do another. In plain language, he cannot be trusted. The Cantonese expression is “Leun Moh, Ngow Beh”. If you still have doubts about this observation, ask any Chinese whether Badawi is “Leun Moh, Ngow Beh”.
So it came as no surprise when having a Sunday breakfast of Bak Ku Teh (a local Chinese delicacy) at a nearby restaurant, I overheard an excited and engaging conversation by some patrons a few tables away.
They were commenting on the front page of the Saturday STAR newspaper which had the photographs of the two contenders for the coveted post of Menteri Besar of the northern state of Perak (for my foreign friends – the equivalent of a governor of a state in the US).
I gathered from the conversation that the consensus was that Zambry’s face shows a person who is “calculating, conspiratorial, arrogant and cannot be trusted”. On the other hand, that of Nizar shows “humility, sincerity, a grounded personality and trustworthy”.
While I do not share my neighbours’ facial readings, it is pertinent to note that in politics, perception is a critical factor in determining whether a particular politician or leader can command the respect of the electorate.
This harsh observation of Zambry is more surprising as the STAR newspaper’s No 1 feature writer, Joceline Tan has been giving unprecedented coverage, extolling the virtues of Zambry and to some readers, a sycophantic adulation of the politician as “the cool guy”.
Yet, for all the coverage and efforts, the image that was being promoted by Joceline Tan was rejected by the rakyat. To be fair to Joceline Tan, she did conclude in her column that “Dr. Zambry has won this round of the court case but his ultimate plan is to win over the voters. And that will be a monumental task.”
Being a Chinese, is Joceline Tan conceding reluctantly that facial readings do reflect the inner core of a person?
Only time will tell whether the Bak Ku Teh patrons’ assessment of Zambry is accurate and end the political career of this aspiring UMNO politician.
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