“Almost all people are hypnotics. The proper authority saw to it that the proper belief should be induced, and the people believed properly.” ― Charles Fort

Foreign Affairs Minister Saifuddin Abdullah’s (photo, above)  warning that the “deep state” is out to undermine Pakatan Harapan’s reform efforts should be taken seriously but not for the reasons Harapan’s partisans think. Here is the thing, though. Is there a “deep state “ in the form that Saifuddin is referring to?

Not exactly.

In an article justifying Mahthir’s withdrawal from the Rome statute, I wrote that Saifuddin was right in that the deep state was stymieing efforts for reform...