SATIRE Once there was an emperor who was ruling a country known as Bolehland. He was living in luxury in the palace, and did not care for the people’s welfare.

The people of the nation were living in poverty, but they had to pay more taxes imposed by the emperor. Whereas his father had imposed a tax for anyone walking on the gravel road that had been built for the people, the new emperor imposed yet another famous tax known as Eat, Be Happy (EBH) Tax.

Anything that the citizens of Bolehland bought as food, they had to pay the EBH Tax, which continued to fund the luxurious lifestyle of the Emperor.

Now, in a small village in Bolehland lived a retired army general who had served the country for many years under the emperor’s late father. When he was the commander of the army, he was the fiercest army man that everyone feared - both by his own men as well as the ordinary citizens of the country.

He was also a very cunning general who had studied the Sun Tzu war tactics. He knew when to make the right moves in order to win a war. There were times when he was at peace with the worst of his enemies; at other times, he would strike them from behind when they least suspected it. He was also very manipulative.

This army general’s name was Panirkassim. Panirkassim was quietly angry with the emperor and wanted to remove the emperor from his throne. He himself had wanted the emperor to control the country the way he had the entire army under his thumb.

That was only what Panirkassim had told his loyalists, but deep in his heart, he wanted his son, Kaliyasin, to become the next emperor.

Because Panirkassim knew that he would be beheaded if the emperor knew of his plot, Panirkassim used other tactics to confound his enemy. He knew the emperor was never too alert, so Panirkassim decided to use the emperor to carry out self-destruct policies.

Adviser to emperor

There came a time when there was a small in-fighting within the palace, and Panirkassim offered himself to serve the emperor to quash the war between two warlords.

“Sire, my advice is for you to show your true colours as the emperor of Bolehland,” he humbly said to the emperor. “Because two warlords think that you are too soft, they become very bold. That is the reason why they are fighting between themselves even within the palace compound. They gave no heed to the wise emperor like you.”

Panirkassim continued. “When I was the commander in charge of the entire army under your late father, I made sure that they did not fight. Anyone who misbehaved would be thrown into the dungeon.”

The emperor listened intently as Panirkassim presented his case. It sounded very convincing that now the Emperor was prepared to implement the wise sayings of Panirkassim. “Look, when I was in the army, I was the fiercest amongst my men,” he continued. “No one would dare to challenge me.”

Panirkassim knew that by giving the emperor the rule of the game, he would be able to turn several more warlords against the emperor. In fact, he knew that there was already a lot of resentment that the warlords had against the former emperor, what more the present one!

The cunning old general left the palace that day, knowing that the emperor would mull over his words throughout the night. At two o’clock in the morning, he sent for one of the emperor’s eunuchs to wake up the emperor with the words, “Sire, at this time of the night, you should be sleeping peacefully, but please forgive your humble servant for waking you up.

“Look, your two faithful warlords are still fighting against each other. What should you do? This is my humble suggestion. The moment you hear of the fight between the two, send your third general who is stronger and more powerful to stop the fight. Do not just stop there. Instead, throw both warlords into the darkest dungeon in the kingdom.”

The emperor thought about it. The moment he heard about the fight between the two warlords, the emperor did exactly what Panirkassim had advised him.

Panirkassim realised that these two generals are more powerful than the third general, if they united against him. He also knew that the two generals hated him, and probably even more now because he was acting as an adviser to the emperor, but he also knew that they could not see eye-to-eye with the second-in-command of the army, Dihamizah.

Dihamizah was more reckless than the rest, but he was the one least trained in war strategy. Previously, Panirkassim knew that Dihamizah could only be expected to perform most brutal acts, but Dihamizah was too simple minded to realise that he was being used by Panirkassim for a wrong reason.

Released, more determined

After spending a few nights in the dungeon, the two warlords became more determined. Now, they realised that instead of fighting each other, they would now turn against the emperor.

They also knew that their major challenger would not be able to fight with both of them but they underestimated the strength of Dihamizah. For them, it is just do or die. After all, they had harboured resentment against the emperor and his late father, and Panirkassim for a long time.

Now, the emperor’s own throne was under threat. The plan was not to kill the emperor, but to banish him to the Neverland far, far away. Both the warlords would then take turns to become the emperor to rule over the other warlords.

The opportunity came, and when they had the upperhand, they forced the emperor to step down after defeating some of the other warlords, including the one who had thrown them into the dungeon earlier on.

Now, dressed in beggar’s clothes, the emperor was cast out of the palace. The warlords had prepared a contingent to transport the emperor to the Neverland, never to return to Bolehland any more.

Panirkassim was their next target, but before they could do anything, both warlords found themselves at odds with one another again. Through one of the warlords’ servants, Panirkassim had played up another hot issue so that both warlords would fight each other.

Ultimately, Panirkassim’s plan was to get Dihamizah to defeat both generals, and he would have full control of Dihamizah, and now, the throne would once again be vacated. Panirkassim would place his five-year-old son as the next emperor - and Panirkassim soon became known as the shadow emperor in the legend of Bolehland.

Lessons to be learnt

Speculate whatever you wish, but there are not necessary any direct links for every character in this story to modern history. If anyone feels insulted or insinuated as a result, I humbly apologise but there are therefore some golden lessons to be learnt from the story that I tell.

William Shakespeare is probably the greatest playwright of all time. In between the lines, I suspect he had also shared some subtle messages that the people of his times could learn, if they had listened hard enough. After all, Shakespeare was a master of the arts and I wish I could be just a disciple of his.

First, always identify who is the mastermind and study his overall strategies. In this case, it is Panirkassim, a hated retired army commander. He knew how to play up people’s emotions and turn them against each other.

He knew what it is to become an ally and then strike his ally from behind. He also knew how to use the other unsuspecting characters to fight each other, and eventually, when they are too weak, he would launch his attack from behind.

Secondly, as the emperor, if you think that Panirkassim is on your side, think twice. He is going after your blood and flesh. By throwing the two warlords into the dungeon, the emperor was creating greater enemies for himself, whom Panirkassim was able to harness and eventually led to the downfall of the emperor’s dynasty after nearly 600 years.

Panirkassim would call the new dynasty under his son as the New Golden Era of Bolehland, but it was one where the citizens of the land would suffer even more as more cruelty was being carried out by Panirkassim through his innocent five-year-old emperor son to suppress the people. Panirkassim would groom him to someday rule over Bolehland for many more years.

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.