Once again the twisty politics in ‘Dune: Prophecy’ sends the columnist down a rabbit hole as characters and plot points bring local manoeuvres to mind.
The Star
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Valya Harkonnen (played by Emily Watson) schemes her way to power after her family loses a war, displaying moves that many an Earth politician might want to emulate. PHOTO: HBO
January 6, 2025
KUALA LUMPUR – “WHEN I’m Mother Superior, we can do whatever we want,” acolyte Valya Harkonnen tells her sister, Tula, who is pregnant.
Valya offers to help Tula raise the child even though the rule of the Bene Gesserit requires its members to be separated from their babies.
For those who haven’t caught it on TV or read my Dec 15 column, an explanation is in order: Dune: Prophecy is a science fiction TV series focusing on the Bene Gesserit, a secret order whose members possess special powers and abilities; the Har-konnen sisters are acolytes, and they conspire to cover up Tula’s pregnancy.
It might be science fiction, and its politics might span galaxies and centuries, but what Valya says resonated with me.
Do you think “When I’m Mother Superior, we can do whatever we want” rings true in Malaysian politics? Have you seen it in play in kampung, state, or national politics?
Have you seen politicians change when they gain power? For example, before they were in power, they promised reform, but when they win power, they do whatever they want.
As a journalist covering politics, I have seen it all.
Some ardent supporters become self-appointed apologists for these politicians, saying they have changed. But I believe they have not changed.
“They are what they are when they are”, just like the Face Dancers in Dune: Prophecy. The genetically engineered Face Dancers can mimic anyone they meet – their form, personality, and voice.
It is not that our politicians can change their faces, but their “political face” can be whatever their target groups wants it to be.
Here’s an example that can apply to some politicians:
Q was one of the top leaders of a dominant political party that fought for Malay rights. However, he was sacked from his party when he tried to oust his president in the guise of an anti-corruption clean-up. As he was no longer fishing in a Malay rights pond but in a multiracial puddle, he changed his bait (from talking about Malay rights to getting deep into progressive rhetoric) to win over the multiracial fish. The multiracial fish fell hook, line, and sinker for this politician. Later, though, he disappointed them when his party went solo into a general election.
But for journalists who covered this politician when he was in power, it was no surprise. His DNA was that of a Malay rights party politician.
Seasoned journalists covering politics have also observed how power changes a person. It might be in the politician’s DNA to fight for the rakyat. But as Dune author Frank Herbert writes: “Power tends to isolate those who hold too much of it. Eventually, they lose touch with reality … and fall.”
I’ve known politicians who were down to earth when they were in the Opposition. But soon after they came into power, they changed.
They began living in a “minister bubble”. It is a bubble which contains yes men and fake friends attracted to power and position. The bubble makes the politicians lose touch with reality, thinking their positions are secure.
But not all politicians are like that.
Recently, I chatted with a young politician who won a party state chief position. Compared with his 40something contemporary from another party who no longer heeds political advice from anyone, I found this youngster refreshing.
This politician knows the challenges ahead of him. For example, he needs to rebuild his party’s popularity in the state as the leaders are more concerned about their positions in government than about the welfare of the rakyat.
However, I hope he knows this other Herbert quote: “All governments suffer a recurring problem: Power attracts pathological personalities. It is not that power corrupts but that it is magnetic to the corruptible.”
To paraphrase Herbert, politicians can never get far from wealth and all of its masks when they deal with power.
Tula has a secret son. Another Bene Gesserit sister, Schwester Francesca, is sent to seduce (to be exact, use imprinting, which is a process of obtaining loyalty through intimacy) the future emperor Javicco Corrino. They have an illegitimate son, Constantine Corrino.
The scheming Valya orders Francesca to kill the emperor because he is no longer useful in her ultimate plan to take control of the Imperium (the Dune universe).
“But he’s the father of my son,” Sister Francesca tells Valya.
“Sorry. But you knew that this day would come,” the ruthless Mother Superior replies.
Brutal. Just like Malaysian politics.
“Don’t factor in gratitude,” I told a somewhat naive armchair political analyst, who argued that a party president will not scapegoat a politician as he owes him gratitude, big time.
“Politics is brutal. Some politicians would sell their mothers to get power.”
“When I’m Mother Superior, we can do whatever we want,” acolyte Valya says, adding “Sisterhood above all.”
What she means is, “Myself above all”.
