"Politics is filthy!" Now, how many times in your life have you heard this detestable clich? As far as I am concerned, it should rank as the Number One silliest phrase of the past century. Alongside the immortal words " Siapa Mahathir? ", of course.

Objectively, the extent to which political affairs can be seen as unsanitary, in any sense of the word, is always open to interpretation. However, one might be compelled to look at the funnier side of things.

As a journalist in the "field", I am required to do a little travelling, once in a while. A trip to a hotel for a press conference, a quick dash to the nearest bank outlet to take photos of employees in garbage bags on strike, and even a voyage on a barquentine sailing ship has left many colourful impressions of all the different people that I bump into.

The most interesting type of person that I have had opportunity to meet, in my short stint as a reporter so far, is of course the Politician. Ever the wily spokesperson, and always brimming with rhetorical, nonsensical quotes, the Politician shall forever remain my constant source of laughter and amusement.

The Politician, especially ever present in our fair land, is always a candy-striper to the occasional blunder. Perhaps the press have an uncanny ability to see through the dourness of all things, or maybe my dark sense of humour is a little bit twisted, but I think that most Politicians seem to speak first, and then think later. Yes, they tend to be rather economical when it comes to common sense, and sometimes the truth as well.

For example, a blunder may be anything from mispronouncing a simple word of English on prime-time national television, confessing to not knowing the Customs and Excise etiquette in Australia, or even sending daily press releases which contain absolutely nothing but hilarious diatribe. Who says politics is boring?

But however you look at it, the Politician has an unalienable right to be as enigmatic and incomprehensible as he/she wants to be. All the time, anywhere and everywhere.

For instance, the recent arrival of a US warship had raised quite a few eyebrows from both sides of the fence. There were accusations of secret dealings with the US military and stern denials of abetting US military presence within Southeast Asia. But what I found to be most humorous were the individual responses from some Politicians, both from within the government and from the opposition.

One such case was a press statement from a well-known adversary of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, or for that matter, all Barisan ministers in general. Without even an erstwhile attempt at trying to understand the basics of docking procedures, he impetuously demanded all sorts of things from the government, like asking to "conduct a search for nuclear arms on board the said carrier or whether the ship had permission to dock in the first place.".

Another example of unregulated ignorance was the confession of a certain Ex-Chief Minister, who happened to had been a qualified schoolteacher, that he had failed to understand how to properly fill up a Customs form! Who elected these people?

Yet another source of buffoonery was another Politician's suggestion that sex offenders would sooner cease their licentiousness if the spread of pornographic paraphernalia could be arrested. How simplistic!

One infamous administrator Politician, well-known for his special ability of transforming simple issues into complex, jargon-littered paragons of absurdity, has literally shut his gap for the past few weeks. Not a single word from him about workers rights, road repairs or party in-fighting. Probably a case of realising one's mistakes a little too late in the day.

Even the Politicians in our neighbouring countries are not spared the occupational hazards of too much rhetoric, too little brain activity. For example, a certain Politician across the straits had once said the legendary words, "If a man comes home after losing his job and beats his wife, sometimes you have to accept that these things happen."

But enough of fooling around. Surely, there are Politicians out there who can and do think with their heads often enough. Men and women of impeccable common sense and virtue.

For the sake of creating a balanced column piece, I would sincerely like to draw your attention to all the Prime Ministers that have served this esteemed nation since Independence. Now, they have all bequeathed us from the younger generation with tomes of wisdom, haven't they?

SUFFIAN ABDUL RAHMAN is a 20-year-old mass communications student at Help Institute and an intern in malaysiakini . He has about three months experience in news-reporting and two years experience in feature-writing.