A fair number of Readings From Readings stories are surreal fables. The best is “Cat”, by prolific BM writer Uthaya Sankar SB. In it, a cat named Cat, with impressive credentials, attends a job interview for a civil-servant managerial position:
.
Anehnya keputusan temuduga menunjukkan Cat gagal. Kononnya semasa Cat bercakap bahasa Itali, Jerman, Perancis, Jepun dan Hindi, bunyinya sama sahaja: miew-miew-miew.
.
Bodoh betul penemuduga itu. Bukankah kucing Itali berbunyi miew-miew-miew?
.
Cat soon learns. He is dipped into a can of cat (paint), changing the colour of his fur; at the second interview he keeps quiet. He immediately gets the job.
.
Heh. We all know that’s how things work in Malaysia.
..
(Zedeck Siew, Selangor Times, 4 March 2011)