Sunday Times 2
Appointment of ministers:Give an ear to the story
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I was wondering what I should be musing about during October when I remembered this story that I had been told about way back in my childhood.Once upon a time, so the story goes, the king of this fair island of ours wanted to go for a walk along the lake with his queen. He summoned his Minister of Weather (also known as the Royal Weather Forecaster or the RWF) and inquired what the weather would be for the next day.
Now even in those days, the king of this island had a whole host of ministers, much more than our little nation actually needed! You see, the king was in the habit of appointing minions to ministerial office so they could revel in high sounding titles and portfolios that made them feel that they were Very Important People. He had even appointed one minister for Rural Industrial Development and another minister for Industrial Rural Development!
The Royal Weather Forecaster (who was a senior and highly paid minister) consulted his astronomical and astrological charts and assured the king that there was absolutely no chance of rain for the next 24 hours.
So early the next morning, the king set out for a ride along the bund of the lake with his wife and their entourage. The weather was not too hot – it was quite comfortable, in fact, with the rising sun gently drying the dew off the grass and warming the earth.
Along the way the king met one of his subjects, a farmer leading his pair of water buffaloes along the side of the bund. Upon seeing the king, the farmer respectfully made obeisance and sought to address the king. On being imperiously (but not unkindly) bid by the king to say what he had to say, the farmer bowed low and said “Your Majesty, may I respectfully suggest that you return to the palace. In a short while I expect a huge fall of rain in this area.”
The king (who was actually a kind and considerate man) politely thanked the farmer for his words. “I appreciate your concern, my good man, but do not worry. It is not going to rain today at all. I hold the Weather Minister (who is one of my trusted and cleverest ministers) in very high regard. He is a highly educated and experienced professional and I pay him very well. In fact he is a professor of weather forecasting! He gave me a different forecast and I am confident that he will be correct.”
So the king with his queen and their retinue continued on their way.
A short time later a torrential deluge of rain fell from the heavens. The king and queen were thoroughly soaked! The members of their entourage managed to keep straight faces and look straight ahead – but inwardly they were feeling sorry for their king who had been given a dead rope by his trusted and highly paid minister the Royal Weather Forecaster. After all, isn’t it the way of many highly paid ministers to behave like true sycophants, telling the king only what they think the king wants to hear?
The king was furious – and as soon as he returned to the palace, he gave orders to fire the RWF.
He then summoned the farmer whom he had met earlier that morning and offered him the prestigious and highly paid role of Minister for Weather.
The farmer respectfully declined. “Your Majesty,” he said, “I must tell you that I do not know anything about weather forecasting. I obtain all the information I need to know from my two loyal buffaloes. They both have big ears and these, as the ears of most water buffaloes do, stick out on either side of their faces. Normally, their ears stick stiffly out – but if I notice that their ears are drooping, then I know with certainty that it is going to rain very soon.”
The king was most impressed – and promptly appointed the two water buffaloes as Ministers of Weather, because they had proved much more accurate in predicting the weather than his previous highly qualified Royal Weather Forecaster.
And thus was set the precedent for the practice of selecting dumb mee harak to hold high and influential positions in the king’s government!