BOOK REVIEW | Kee Thuan Chye has been a journalist for as long as I can recall and he is still prolific at the age of 63.

His latest book titled “You want this Goonvernment ah?” was released recently, probably just in time for the coming general election. Full of satire, Kee pokes fun at ministers whose comments sometimes make us squirm.

Perhaps, spoken in a different context, they may make sense, especially to those from whom they are fishing for votes - but to most of us, they are nothing but goons who occupy Putrajaya and decide on the country’s future.

When I checked the Urban Dictionary for the meaning of ‘goon’, it only said: “Generally slow-witted, or goofy.”

‘Slow-witted,’ I disagree but I think the name ‘Goofy’ of the 1932 Disney cartoon character, with whom many of us have grown up with, does indeed ring the bell.

And I like the way Kee describes it in the preface of his book: “If you are sharp, you would have noticed how unqualified some of our ministers appear to be and not only from the stupid things they say or do.”

Kee positions himself as an observer to point out the things that are being said that appear to be unpalatable to the general Malaysian public. The topics covered by Kee’s book have, in fact, become the talk of the town (some have indeed been shared around as short video clips)...