The grand return of the Pilot Ball Liner
BLACK, blue and red. No, they’re not the tricolour of a flag, but Pilot Ball Line pens. When I was a medical student and subsequently a busy doctor, I displayed them on my coat pocket as a trusted accoutrement, as if to mean business.
It beguiled everyone, of course, but I was inspired by Tun (then Datuk Seri) Dr Mahathir’s penchant for this particular pen. During his first innings as Prime Minister, it was a common sight to see two flat clips of this pen sticking out of his Bush jacket. It had to be two, presumably, so that if one ran out of ink, he could still depend on the other.
I never borrowed pens and I reluctantly lent my Pilot Ball Liner. The trick was to hold on to the cap so that the pen would inevitably find its way back home.
I wasn’t alone. I observed that Tun Dr Mahathir’s sartorial sense had a major impact on his cabinet colleagues, senior civil servants and those trying to curry his favour.
Perhaps, Lord’s in Bangsar, Dr Mahathir’s favourite tailor, will now see a boom in business since many will want to see and be seen there should the Bush jacket make a comeback.
What of the little black books that the Prime Minister carried around with him always? What was in those black books?
It could be points that others thought he would forget. Or his notes about his trips abroad. Perhaps, names of those on his ‘not favoured’ list. Names that were jotted into a little black book and slipped nicely into his breast pocket. “My name is listed in that little black book!” That thought alone must have sent a shiver down the spine of many civil servants.
Although many emulated this habit of jotting down notes or pretending to furiously scribble something in his presence, the little black books mysteriously disappeared when Tun Dr Mahathir stepped down as Prime Minister. I confess that I, too, have a collection of used little black or blue books. Their fate, however, was sealed, with the advent of the smartphone. Perhaps, this is the same reason we do not see Dr Mahathir with his little black book anymore.
Then there are the name tags that cabinet ministers wore but tossed aside after Dr Mahathir’s first tenure as Prime Minister but now have made a comeback.
How my senior consultant threw us out of the wards if we did not use our name tags. Like civil servants up and down the country today, I must rummage through drawers to find mine and put it on again. May as well blend into the crowd when I attend government meetings.
And I wonder, will Bersih, Cekap dan Amanah (Clean, Efficient and Trustworthy) make a comeback as the tag line for the new administration?
Then again, Mat Sabu might just chuckle and see it as an endorsement for his party.
For now, it’s time to visit a stationery shop and stock up on the Pilot Ball Liners.