I HAVE three “ikan kaloi” in my fish pond. They are therapeutic and relaxing to look at and have helped me to reduce stress, keep calm and improve my moods for close to 20 years.

Politics is like fishing. You get up early in the morning, go to where the fish are, drop bait and once the fish are hooked, they may resist. Let them and loosen your line. When they calm down, slowly reel them in.

Let’s look how idioms explain this metaphor.

Hook, line, and sinker

In any political party there will surely be members who are obsessed. They will not only swallow the bait and the hook, but also the sinker weight and part of the line. It shows how easily some are mesmerised and can be tricked or deceived by their leaders.

A fish out of water

When a member is sacked from the party, it flops around, acts awkwardly, panics, and is generally unhappy. 

Like a fish to water

Conversely, when they join a new party, especially an opposing one, it is with ease. The phrase “politics is like a river and I’m a fish” applies here to convey a sense of adaptability and acceptance.

Fish for compliments

Many politicians could be accused of fishing for compliments. It happens when they deliberately put themselves down or say something negative about themselves in order to elicit compliments from their ardent supporters.

A fishing expedition

Lately, this has been rampant. It refers to investigations carried out in the hope of uncovering useful or damaging information on political opponents. 

Fishy business

The current fishing expeditions may indicate that many politicians are questionable, integrity-wise. They look, smell or sound fishy in some ways.

Plenty more fish in the sea

There are so many political parties that when one is sacked, one can always join another party. 

Off the hook

This is very popular among politicians. When they are in difficult situations saying the wrong things or act indifferently, they will blame reporters for misreporting or they were taken out of context and freed without negative consequences; like a fish that wriggles off an angler’s hook.

Reel someone/something in

It happens during elections when voters are reeled in with promises of projects, job opportunities, economic growth and possibly cash. 

Bait the hook to catch/suit the fish

This is a proverb and an extension of the above to prepare fully and properly to be successful. This could also relate to paying a bribe for information.

Red herring

Popularly used by politicians, it is something that distracts people from the main thing.

A fish rots from the head down

This is self-explanatory. a bad leader may cause failure within a party and has been proven.

A memory like a goldfish 

Tthey conveniently become forgetful of certain issues.

Make fish of one and fowl of the other

This is a theatrical political process. Politicians like to mix things up and manipulate, especially highly emotional incidents like shark bites to influence public sentiment and protect their own interests. It appears like they are protecting the public and doing ‘good’ work but is a scam to defraud the public for political gain. The real ‘sharks’ are the politicians. The saying ‘if it bleeds, it leads’ is certainly true.

Teach a man to fish

It is rare to see this happen as most will not teach someone a skill that will benefit for life and worst still if the latter turn around and try to topple the leader who is a fat cat. 

Fat cat

This may be the odd man out but be careful of this cat who happens to be a wealthy or powerful person that may eat all the fish.

I would strongly urge politicians to take heed of “even a fish wouldn’t get caught if he kept his mouth shut”.

What say you… – January 2, 2024.

* Saleh Mohammed reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.