FEBRUARY 11 — Gaffes or faux pas are the usual descriptions for blunders committed by VIPs. Senior politicians in any democracy are more than acutely aware how “politically incorrect” pronouncements or actions can end careers abruptly. 

Even sincere apologies often come together with resignations when the gaffes are considered inexcusable. There is admission and there is accountability.

Honour code is serious in Japan

Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yuko Obuchi (Abe administration) resigned last year over allegations that her support group used embezzled funds for supporters’ vacation trips.

Justice Minister Midori Matsushima also resigned for violating an election law — distributing 22,000 handheld paper fans to members of her constituency.

It is not difficult for Obuchi and Matsushima to blame their aides lower down the line. It could even be that they had no idea of the specifics involved. 

Maybe it is precisely because of the non-complexity involved that they took it squarely on the jaw. That it was just too silly a gaffe to have been committed — what more the complexities of government?

Or maybe it was for a simpler reason — that the Abe administration has a bigger mission than to be bogged down with explaining and defending their faux pas. There is an honour principle evidently floating around. 

Perhaps the Japanese honour benchmark is too high for most to emulate. Remember the Seppuku, commonly known as Hara-kiri, the samurai bushido honour code of disembowelment for bringing shame? 

The most recently recorded acts of Hara-kiri were in 1992 when a 58-year-old company manager slashed his stomach over early retirement and in 1989, a cook took his life because of Emperor Hirohito’s death.

The last celebrated case of Hara-kiri was in 1970 by poet, playwright and film director Yukio Mishima, in a military camp, in protest against Japan’s pacifist leaning policies. His accomplices performed the Kaishakunin (decapitation) duty, which follows the Hara-kiri ritual.

When gaffes are comic relief

The Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip (b 1921) would have the biggest collection of gaffes. Some classics are:

• While meeting British expatriates in Abu Dhabi: “Are you running away from something?”
• At a project to protect turtledoves: “Cats kill far more birds than men. Why don’t you have a slogan — Kill a cat and save a bird?”
• To a Nigerian president in a national dress: “You look like you are ready for bed.”
• To a Scottish driving instructor: “How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to pass the test?”
• To a matron at a Caribbean hospital: “You have mosquitoes. I have the press.”
• At a Bangladeshi youth club in Britain: “So who’s on drugs here? He looks as if he’s on drugs.”
• On how difficult it is in Britain to get rich: “What about Tom Jones? He’s made a million and he’s an awful singer.”
• To black politician Lord Taylor of Warwick: “And what exotic part of the world do you come from?”

Prince Philip has been known for his gaffes for some 50 years that it is treated like his “trademark” rather than as any serious faux pas. 

After Italy’s biggest earthquake for 30 years making 17,000 people homeless, then Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said: “Of course their current lodgings are a bit temporary but they should see it like a weekend of camping.” That was in April 2009 under freezing temperatures.

Berlusconi once hailed US President Barack Obama as handsome, young and suntanned. 

In advising investors in New York to relocate to Italy, he said: “Another reason to invest in Italy is that we have beautiful secretaries … superb girls.” 

Berlusconi’s gaffes are manifestations of his boisterous personality and I suppose over time people do look forward to his next howler. In a liberated society if the state or the party is not compromised, gaffes are considered comic relief.

Resignations owing to accountability

David Blunkett resigned as Work and Pensions secretary of state (Blair administration) in 2005 because of a conflict of interest claim. An independent inquiry later exonerated him.

South Korean prime minister Chung Hong-won resigned last year over the Sewol ferry disaster. 

“The right thing for me to do is to take responsibility and resign as the person in charge of the Cabinet.”

The disaster had no direct linkage to his work performance by any stretch.

Kader Arif, a junior minister (Hollande administration) for veteran affairs resigned last year to ease the investigations by financial prosecutors over allegations of improper contract awards. I am not aware of any outcome of the investigations.

There are many cases of political office resignations when allegations of improprieties arise. Invariably this happens only in developed economies, where free press exists. 

In summation

At home, I am horribly disappointed with the official treatment of the “racist boycott” affair. We can translate the text to French, Portuguese, Italian and back, the essence will stay — Malays are majority, boycott Chinese business (red line crossed), Malays don’t learn, Chinese will continue to dictate (red line crossed, read with the boycott call). Only expletives were missing.

At the utmost minimum, the author must offer an unqualified recant (forget stupid explanations) and the Cabinet must censure. They chose to serve but accountability is not a choice!

Talking about the coffee shop chain ownership, the Perak DAP and “anti Islam” is his prerogative. The 92 divisions in Umno can support him — that’s their prerogative. His continued explanations are laughable but not funny. I just feel like the nation is being ridiculed.

Pulai Umno MP Datuk Nur Jazlan, was quoted as saying: “All PM has to do is say Ismail Sabri is wrong.”

Looks like we’ve still got a few good men for sure.

Can we expect the Cabinet meeting today to provide some relief?

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.