Potpourri – Freddie Kissoon, Vishnu Bisram and AG Nandlall

May 24, 2024 Letters

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Dear Editor,

Guyanese must be thankful for Kaieteur News. It is the ultimate in ‘free press.’ The publisher has no ‘dog’ in this political battle. He just allows free range to both pro and anti government opinions. No wonder it has the largest readership and sales, and dwarfs the Guyana Chronicle and Guyana Times, both being mere PPP/C party propagandizers.

Editor, I have two pressing issues to touch on, and they are inter-related. First, I have problems with the article, “Jagdeo and Irfaan remain enormously popular,” by Vishnu Bisram, May 22, 2024, in the Guyana Times. In this piece, Bisram stated that “One should not attach much meaning to the ranking of the PPP Central Committee vote at its Congress. (Where) President Ali is ranked number one, higher than party leader Bharrat Jagdeo, who is number two, as the vote at the PPP Congress revealed. The two are a team.”

Bisram continued, stating that “My conversations revealed that Irfaan is more liked than Jagdeo among certain categories or groups of voters, such as Muslims and Africans. I travelled around the country last week, and again last February, November, October, August, and May, to conduct surveys on popularity and various contemporary issues. I can attest that both Irfaan and Jagdeo are enormously popular, almost equally among the population, especially among supporters of the PPP. Now these are my questions: Conversations with whom, with how many, what areas in the country, and where is the tabulation?

Unless a poll or survey is documented, it is mere guess work, based on commonsense and everyday observation and street talk. The obvious needs no investigation. Look at this piece of stupidity: “…  Irfaan is more liked than Jagdeo among certain categories or groups of voters…” Is this a finding? Does this require a poll or survey? This is as silly as saying ‘Some people like Shivnarine Chanderpaul, while others like Brian Lara. Another no-brainer: “Many groups prefer Vivian Richards, while others prefer Sunil Gavaskar.”

This is nonsensical and most unworthy of being published.

Secondly, I hope readers go back to Freddie Kissoon (on Bisram) on Jul 10, 2008, in his attack on Vishnu Bisram titled, “Mr. Bismuth Bisram in Grenada is due in Guyana.”  In this error-riddled and envy-laced attack, Freddie Kissoon got so personal, his minutiae of a point got lost. First, he tries to make a mockery of Visnu Bisram, telling readers that “Just in case you don’t know, bismuth is a chemical in the periodic table. It is outside the scope of this essay to describe its properties but one of its values is its changing form. I am using the word here in that context.”

What a joke? Any Chemistry student will do the ‘Presidential Jiggle’ on this. Why?

Fact: “Although bismuth-209 is now known to be radioactive, it has classically been considered to be a ‘stable’ (yes indeed) isotope because it has a half-life of approximately 2.01×1019 years, which is more than a billion times the age of the universe.” That man Freddie is either a dummy, or he knows that people seldom pay attention to him and his ‘supposed’ irrefutable facts. He noted in that piece, and in fact anticipated that “It may come across as funny to you (readers) to read me referring to Vishnu Bisram as Bismuth Bisram but I have no jocular intention. I believe Vishnu Bisram’s ‘changing forms’ have caught up with him.”

Now, talk about change!

This is Freddie before his venal conversion.

“I don’t see the PPP surviving in a physiological state that would allow it to be an energized competitor in the next election in 2020. In my column of December 19, 2014 titled, “The PPP will physically die should it lose power,” I explained why the PNC survived after 1992, but the PPP will not after May 2015.”

Laugh the protean ‘analyst.’

His boast was that “Once the PPP falls from power, it will die. All PPP leaders are scared of this reality.” I recall too in June 2008, Freddie in “Time for the PPP to rein in Mr. Jagdeo,” stated that “One of my vexations, which I relayed to all those PPP insiders that I have confidentially discussed Jagdeo with, is how could the PPP allow someone WITHOUT ANY ‘intellectual erudition’, ‘strategic brilliance’, ‘political finesse’, ‘visionary ideals’, ‘philosophical smartness’ and ‘unique ideas’, like Mr. Jagdeo, to have humbled the entire PPP leadership the way he has done.” Well, this is the time to champion this, as Jagdeo is not the President, and he, Freddie Kissoon, can urge his chief deity, Irfaan Ali, to do his bid. After all, he, Freddie Kissoon is a hypnotic, almost fetish devotee, of President Irfaan Ali.

Now let me make a quick remark concerning Prescott Mann’s letter, “Is AG Anil Nandlall on his way out?” (May 22, 2024). The writer quite rightly said that “I will need too much time and space to itemise Anil Nandlall’s ‘golden role’ in delivering the PPP/C from the throes of APNU/AFC and keeping them in power…” (adding that) I will boldly claim, that in Guyana’s history, legally and politically, Anil has no close second.”

Editor, I do agree, but with a note of explanation. Anil Nandlall, during this post 1992 era, has emerged as to the ‘ultimate’ not just for the PPP/C, but the country as a whole. His example in public life, neutrality in pronouncement on issues, and his willingness to serve, pro-bono, remain unequalled. He does not need the PPP/C, nor even the country, yet he serves faithfully, and has indeed racked up a very enviable resume. Jagan and  Burnham are from a different era. Their roles were far removed from Anil’s and there is no need to compare and contrast. Anil ‘saved the day’ when it most mattered. How he mustered this mental energy is beyond me.

However, there will come a time when he will have to comment on the many clandestine issues within the PPP/C, the reasons for keeping him out of the inner circle, the Dharamlall matter, the Mahdia cover-up, Critic’s contract, President Ali’s academic authentication and maybe a host of others. His silence now is understandably strategic, but if and when dumped, he MUST finish the good work he has started, whether or not he accedes the Presidency..

Yours truly,

Gaylord Riley

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• AG Nandlall, Freddie Kissoon, Gaylord Riley., political, Vishnu Bisram

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