Friends of the government

Nov 30, 2022 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

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Kaieteur News – I repeat here the exact words I uttered on last Monday’s edition of the Gildarie-Freddie Kissoon Show. When ruling parties come into power, it is commonsense, nothing else but pure commonsense, that they instruct friends, relatives and family members not to do anything bullying, unsavoury, illegal in the country.

The reason is so simple for these friends, relatives and family members to understand. The fallout will affect the government. Citizens that support the government will say: “He could do it because he is close to the government.” This reaction is automatic in any country.

This is what I heard on Saturday night from a mother and her son when we were discussing the loud noise from the MovieTowne car-park dance. These people’s house is literally a few yards from the car park.

I mentioned on the Gildarie- Freddie Kissoon Show, two examples. One relates to the niece of America’s Vice-President, Kamala Harris. Ms. Harris warned her niece to desist from manufacturing sweaters with the words, “Vice-President Aunty.” Ms. Harris knew that it could be food for mischief by the Republican Party.

The other is about President Macron of France. He suffered national criticism when one of his bodyguards was filmed beating up strikers. The press made it into national headlines with unsavoury rumours generated that Macron and the male bodyguard were lovers.

Macron fired him. The niece of Harris and the bodyguard of Macron had to know that both the press and citizens would point to their relationship with power. Friends, relatives and family members must understand that their bullying and rowdy behavior will affect the credibility of the government, an image that they should be preserving rather than undermining it.

In this country right at this minute, a judge will get into serious problem if a son goes into Bourda Market and mishandles a vendor and says: “Do what you want; you know who my father is.”

In this country right at this minute, a minister would get into boiling water if his son tells a traffic cop who intercepted him for illegal action of the roadway: “ Go to hell, you know who is my farther.”

The judge’s son and the minister’s son must know what the important roles and the serious positions their parents have in society that they will damage the reputation of their parents if they misbehave.

Charrandass Persaud has been a long-standing friend of mine but I support the decision to remove him from the position of High Commissioner to India and my moral rules would have prevented me from defending him over his verbal abuse of a woman in India.

I will not withdraw my friendship from Charran. I wish the incident was just a bad dream, but what he did, any government would find embarrassing. The political leaders of government here are well aware that there are poisonous minds out there waiting to pounce on any mistake no matter how infinitesimal.

Armed with this awareness, they have to be on guard when it comes to the attitudes of their friends. I honestly do not believe any political leader in government knew that one of the government’s friends would have held an open air concert at the Movie Towne car park and take it until day break affecting the mental comfort of folks living in Pattensen, Turkeyen and Cummings Lodge.

But they know now.  The depravity of the Saturday night/Sunday morning action at the car park of Movie Towne has given rise to the opportunity of governmental leaders and the hierarchy of the PPP to reflect on how their friends, relatives and family members must live in society.

The essential point to be driven home to these people is that their bad behaviour will reflect on the government and it drops ammunition unto the lap of the opposition and government detractors. That mother and her son used the words referred to above for me to hear.

They wanted me to know that it was a friend of the government that had the power to abuse their rights. The son had a baby in his hand that was crying. The priceless lesson political leaders in power must know is that when their friends behave badly, it puts a strain on the people who support the government.

That is a risk, no ruling party wants to take and should not take. If the police run amok in a village demanding bribes, then if not stopped, it will affect that village’s support for the government. If a supporter uses his contacts to create loud music from morning to daybreak than it will break the faith people have in their government. Commonsense will teach you that.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this newspaper and its affiliates.)

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