Screwed By The French

I would have dismissed this article had I not noticed that it is the French we're talking about here.


I usually roll my eyes when I read news reports like this, but I'm learning to read between the lines these days.

France wants to make Malaysia a 'privileged partner'
(AFP) – 19 hours ago

PARIS — France wants to make Malaysia a "privileged partner" in southeast Asia, French President Nicolas Sarkozy told Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Wednesday, according to an official.

A "privileged partner" is a very ambiguous term. Like "friends with benefits", where neither party is considered committed to the other.

Najib told reporters he had a "very, very productive and very friendly and warm meeting" with Sarkozy at the Elysee Palace.

Productive? Looks like Monsieur Président has the legendary touch of the amorous Frenchman. I only hope our Prime Minister had protection from his warm friendliness.

Probably not.

"The message is that he wants to deepen and strengthen our bilateral ties. He considers Malaysia as a friend and he wishes possibly to visit Malaysia in a near future," he said.

Let me tell you a story from French history, about a woman named Madame de Pompadour.

Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, later the marquise de Pompadour, who met Louis XV in February 1745 at a masked ball given in honour of the Dauphin's marriage, was the most famous mistress of the reign.

She was the daughter of a chief agent of the powerful Pâris family of financiers who became embroiled in the intrigue that ousted the duc de Bourbon as head of the Regency council in favour of Cardinal de Fleury.

A beautiful woman and sincerely attached to the king, she nonetheless possessed one major shortcoming in the everyone's eyes: she was a commoner, from the bourgeoisie, and even worse, a commoner who meddled in royal politics.

Dear Najib is not the daughter of a powerful financier; he is merely the unspectacular son of a former Prime Minister, whose only claim to fame is racism, May 13 and deposing of Tunku Abdul Rahman, his predecessor.

Sadly, he means nothing to the French, except that he has at his disposal, the purse strings of an entire third world country.

Economic ties could involve the transfer of technology and French services in the nuclear sector if Malaysia wants to develop that type of energy, the source said.

Ah, but yes. We did rather recently buy a couple of second-hand diesel submarines from the French. A huge commission was involved and someone got blown to bits with C4 explosives.

I think 'economic ties' is the keyword here - and a one sided one at that.

France also proposed that Malaysia buy 18 Airbus A330 airplanes on top of the 14 already owned by Malaysia Airline and the six A380s jumbo jets it has ordered.

No sh!t, sherlock. No one else wants to buy airplanes during these economically trying times. Most have deferred purchase to a later date.

But for Malaysia Airlines, our national carrier, the cost of buying new aircraft is borne by the tax payer.

That's you and me, Monty.

Now suck it in and bear the pain.