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The lies people tell

Monday, 12 October 2009 07:35am

“There are three types of lies -- lies, damn lies, and statistics.”
Benjamin Disraeli

THE London-based Independent newspaper has compiled the list of the world’s most notorious liars and among those who get into this honourable list are two former US presidents. Bill Clinton’s immortal words were: “I’m going to say this again. I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. I never told anybody to lie, not a single time. Never.” Six months later Clinton refuted his denial in a grand jury testimony where he said he had had “an improper physical relationship” with Lewinsky.

Richard Nixon was heard formulating a plan to block scrutiny into Watergate by getting the CIA to mislead the FBI and say that national security was involved. Having claimed to have had no knowledge or involvement in the scandal before the emergence of such damning evidence, Nixon was left red faced. “I said things that were not true. I brought myself down. I gave them a sword and they stuck it in,” he said during an interview with British journalist David Frost in 1977.

Well-known author and British MP Jeffrey Archer claimed he had an alibi when he brought action against the Daily Star after it alleged that he had had sex with a prostitute. The case was found in Archer’s favour and he was awarded £500,000 (RM2.7 million) damages. Years later, his friend Ted Francis and his former personal assistant Angela Peppiatt claimed he had made up an alibi.

Peppiatt had kept a diary of Archer’s movements from around the time and which contradicted evidence he had given under oath. In a subsequent court case Archer was found guilty of perjury and sentenced to four years jail.

Jonathan Aitken, a former journalist and Tory MP sued The Guardian newspaper which claimed he had dodgy dealings with high profile Saudis. “If it falls to me to start a fight to cut out the cancer of bent and twisted journalism in our country with the simple sword of truth and the trusty shield of British fair play, so be it. I am ready for the fight. The fight against falsehood and those who peddle it,” he said. His attempt to sue The Guardian for libel was unsuccessful and he was found guilty of perjury over false claims that his wife had paid for a disputed hotel stay in Paris.

On the home front, if such a list is drawn up, it will be difficult to short-list the rich, famous and titled to just ten. How many times have we heard that famous line: “I did not say that”, despite enough people hearing such utterances or having been captured on tape saying that? How many times did one former minister challenge theSun and decreed: “The land does not belong to me. It belongs to the party.” After sending a demand letter from his lawyers and when presented with the documents, he retreated and claimed “there had been a mistake.”

When you build a palace on land meant for low-cost housing and then declare that the owner had done nothing wrong and then say that a compound fine of RM22,000 is what the law allows, it would be a lie too. When you take a helicopter ride with the prime minister to view the greenery that has been shaved off the hill slopes, and then declare: Semuanya OK! what would that amount to – a damned lie or statistical one?

When you take your wife on state-paid holiday and then declare that there is nothing wrong with it, would it tantamount to a statement of fact? When you accept a handsome bonus very well knowing you don’t deserve it, can it be justified by saying: The company made profits and I as the chairman am entitled to it?”

When statistics and data from unauthenticated surveys proclaim this or the other, would it be a damned lie or a statistical one? If more Singaporeans cross the causeway and choose to do their shopping in Johor Baru because it is cheaper does it mean that tourist arrivals are on the rise?

Almost daily, gems come out from the mouths of some people who say it with a straight face and could only be described as unbelievable. However, as long as there are gullible followers and cronies who continue to propagate the lies, there isn’t much that can be done.

How many times have we come across advertisements from developers which state “only 15 minutes from the city centre”? The only way to get there so fast is by helicopter? A lie or a damned lie? Supermarkets claim that “we are the cheapest in town” but has it been tested?

So, the claim-making goes on unabated. The lies are seldom challenged. The perpetrators get away with them. Unless we have the money and resources to call their bluff, they’ll continue being part of our lives for a long, long time.

R. Nadeswaran is editor (special and investigative reporting) at theSun. He can be reached at: citizen-nades@thesundaily.com

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