In comedy, the biggest challenge is to keep the laughs coming � no stops in between. Not an easy feat, because each joke has to be better than the last, and timed so perfectly that the audience has time to just take a breath before the next joke hits.

Imagine then, the laughter that our very own cartoon debacle has been drawing from all quarters of the world. Just when the government thinks it has brought one big foot down on one newspaper for publishing the offensive cartoons, up pops another candidate for disciplinary action ... and now, we find out that nearly all our TV stations have pulled their trousers down, steeling themselves for their turns to get a swift kick in the butt!

What juicy fodder for a screenwriter. What a boon for cartoonists!

Like many Malaysians, I've often squirmed in horror watching the antics of our government and how absurdly they have tried to explain away their actions and pass them off as intelligence. However, little did I imagine that they would one day land themselves in such an embarrassing position, with mud in their own faces, thrashing in a bog of their own creation.

But a good outcome can come out of a bad situation. It is my sincere belief that after the widespread violence and destruction triggered by the original Danish cartoons, our government may actually have done the world a favour by showing just how ridiculous it can get when paranoia and unreasonableness is allowed to run amok. After all, it's not easy to go on a rampage when you're doubled over with laughter.