Friday, October 21, 2011

Wong Tai Sin, the Chinese God of Healing

Wong Tai Sin is about a heavenly being who came down to earth, and wherever he went, he would attempt to cure people of illnesses. I believe some Chinese still pray to such a god and some Chinese physicians adopt his name to attract patients.

Anyway, while watching this tv serial recently, there was a scene which caught my attention: Wong Tai Sin (Adam Cheng) was chosen as caretaker King, having got rid of an evil one. Having appointed some capable and trusted people to help him rule the country, he decided to give it up. He handed over the responsibilites as an advisor to a boy king, to his own brother. In this scene, his brother (without experience) who was entrusted with responsibilities, reluctantly accepted the position of Prime Minister or its equivalent, in ancient China. A young lady who had been keeping them company said that she too would like to follow WTS wherever he goes. His assistant too, was tempted by the idea of being footloose and fancy free and wanted to join them.

The scene was so unlike what we are used to, in our modern political scenario, where people jostled and cheated to become leaders of our country. But are we all like them or are there some of us who would prefer to let others run the country with the proviso that they be clean and capable? Raja Petra comes to my mind, followed by Hussein Hamid. I am sure both these gentlemen and many others, would prefer to lead a life without the heavy responsibilities and bloody-mindedness that come with mainstream politics. In the prelude to the next General Election, the ugly aspects of jostling to be election candidates, after which, the apple-polishing to catch the eyes of the PM who holds the key to ministerial positions will be evident. Let's hope, if and when Pakatan gets to rule, those eyeing the positions are genuinely interested in working for the nation rather than for self-interest.
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