IS APCO CALLING IT A DAY?

HUNTU II just back from Washington DC seduced, or rather, tempted me into having a nightcap with him last night at……….. never you mind the name of the joint. I had intended last night to be a spiritless night as I had an early blood-test appointment at the Uni Hospital. I allowed myself to be seduced/tempted for two reasons: It has been long overdue our meeting and because he was buying….this chap whose most difficult journey his hands takes is to his wallet.

On every occasion we meet he is always escorted by some matahari type. Need I elucidate? After the preliminaries matahari smiled and left us alone. This was prearranged for sure. The old devil knows that I would be talking more to his date than listening to him. Thoroughly a spoilt sport.

“APCO is calling it quits,” he sneered.

Before I could speak he continued: “We are beyond repair. Irreparable image if we can call our mess, image . Uncoachable. More like what your friend Wenger J Khairy said: ‘the problem is the Government for its part does not have a single "trustable" face to sell to the global community, whether it is for investment or to present the case of the Government vs. Anwar Ibrahim.’”

He gave me no chance and continued: “Back home in the US of A, APCO has lost loads of credibility associating with us. They can’t get a credible blogger to malign DSAI. They got a nondescript hilly-billy instead. Even a hobo or even some street-people in Akron, Ohio, could have made a better attempt. They couldn’t get either NYT, WSJ or Washinton Post to do an op-ed for them. Washington Times did ……at worst a puppy-poo paper!”

I still had not put in a word yet and he banged the table, “Next drink on you. Double Yamazaki. Need to celebrate. You need to pay this round. Dean Johns counted you as one of his Favorite Malaysian in his last column. Don’t pretend you do not know. Darling (everything with breasts is darling to him), two double Yamazaki….ok your turn now.”

“But I have no choice but to pay,” I retorted.

“Your turn to speak now, lah”, he guffawed.

“What broke APCO’s back?” I asked.

“That stupid Youtube!”

As I drove him back to the PJ Hilton, he told me to slow down at Jalan Changgai and said….”see that house there…..check it out tomorrow. It could be a Special Branch new safe-house!”