Mahathir Mohammad's body language of lies.

To all journalists and politicians who consider Dr. Mahathir Mohammad as one of the most wise politicians in Malaysia. Please don’t be fooled by the master at fooling others, Dr. Mahathir Mohammad. My advice to journalist is to learn to read the indicators of both the verbal and the non-verbal indicators of deception whenever you get to question him at any press conference and persist with probing questions, you would then see him fumble.. Always then look and listen for indicators of deception whenever Dr. Mahathir Mohammad speaks, it comes in clusters. Better still attend my courses on deception detection.

For a good example even our fellow bloggers who think they are not easy to be fooled can be easily fooled. Looking at the clip below, Dr. Mahathir Mohammad was seen and heard speaking to assembled bloggers at the Perdana Leadership foundation some time ago. (There are many such clips I could show, but this is good enough for the moment)

In the clip below he was seen exhibiting within seconds a cluster of deceptive behaviors. 

1st A gaze aversion (Looking down and moving his head, getting ready with the lie)  

2nd An expression of fear in his eyes of been caught lying. (Afraid he would be caught lying)

3rd Exhibited the Pinocchio effect of lying after telling the lie. 

4th He then flashed himself with a duping delight. (A duping delight is the pleasure of being able to lie and manipulate someone who is usually difficult to lie to, often the flashing smile is at an inappropriate moment.) 

In the clip Dr. Mahathir Mohammad shows he does not like bloggers. Because bloggers often call him names and of their straight forward articles often disapproving his views and policies. Despite all that negative feelings about bloggers, Dr. Mahathir Mohammad cunningly takes a shot by deceptively meaning that bloggers are important people when he says, “That is why we NEED bloggers.” 

When the truth is, we all do know that he does not believe he needs bloggers, neither does he like bloggers and therefore he was verbally and physically not-congruent. He was subsequently caught and seen through his non-verbal indicators (body language) to be lying.

The truth is he feared that if the bloggers were shrewd enough they would not be completely tricked or deceived by him and instead they would have booed him for that. Instead of all that, the bloggers were fooled by him when they responded by clapping in approval at his lies. So my fellow journalist please don't be easily fooled by him next time always ask probing question to know the truth.

The first part of the clip before the deceptive behaviors of Dr. Mahathir Mohammad is from the drama series Lie To Me, it is to establish the truth of the indicator on the Pinocchio effect of lying. 

Latheefa Koya’s Body Language of Lies

Latheefa Koya’s body language and her verbal behavior shows deceptive behaviors that was so obvious in her media expose on the audio recordings. Exposing some of her lies here is not to degrade, debase or dishonor her but the intention here is to teach journalist to read deceptive non-verbal and verbal indicators that would help journalist persist in their questionings rather than to stop questioning after an interviewee has lied. 

A trained journalist on the other hand would be able to see the non-verbal as well as hear the verbal aspects of deceptive behaviors and continue their questionings to be able to stay one step ahead of the game, usually played by lying politicians and others. 

To what I hear and see in Latheefa Koya, I suspect that someone other than the MACC had gone through those tapes of identifying those in the tapes before MACC’s claim that they did all that work. In my opinion and examination on deception of her media expose, I believe the work was done before MACC got those tapes. 

When asked, “Why after the prosecution had long begun its case that you are only now exposing these tapes?” She answers the question by saying, “Because we received it only now,” this answer alone if truthful was good enough, but since there was something to conceal or hide, she further adds with a string of convincing statements (powerful lies) to influence our perception on the timing of the release rather than convey information that addresses the facts or the truth of the situation that is, “Because we received it only now,” 

These convincing statements are when she says, “Look the case can continue, as far as we are concerned, the conversation is about cover ups, of the ongoing cases, so we are talking about a new set of offences that are taking place throughout that recording”. These convincing statements are spoken to influence our perception on the timing of the release. I think that the release could be because of the upcoming Kimanis by-election in Sabah

At the other point when Latheefa Koya was asked, “When did you receive the recordings? She answered: “Just after the New Year.” (A verbal indicator of deception, a failure to answer the question) While she slightly performs a gaze aversion. (Non-verbal indicator) Just after the New Year can mean 7th January or even 6th January, it is also still after the New Year! Further to it, these are dates that are highly improbable for the amount of work like going through forensics that had to take place before a scandalous tape of such Watergate magnitude was exposed. 

A truthful answer to the question would have been, “On the 2nd  or 3rd of this month” or any precise date. Not concealing it by saying, “Just after the New Year.”  The answer was deceptive as there was a failure to answer the question. A truthful person would have answered the question specifically with a date.

Just after the New Year does not make sense, as her early morning expose on the 8th January is too early for its implication and huge consequences. Probably some other government authorities (or deep state) had the tapes first, before her receiving it, or it was in her possession for a longer period, or probably she was only given instructions to expose the audio recordings at the beginning of the New Year.

At that point of answering the question, her face turns away abruptly from the questioner to the opposite side (a non-verbal indicator, gaze aversion) and her face had an expression of an angry look, angry possibly at the questioner or the question. Soon after that, she licks her lips (licking lips is another non-verbal lying indicator) truly better than her other lip lickings.

The other deceptive behavior I will discuss here is when she was asked, “Have you informed the Prime Minister?” Latheefa Koya denies the question by saying, No! At the same time she pretends, by fumbling at the question. She then repeats the word Prime Minister, when saying which Prime Minister? The former or current Prime Minister? She was buying time to answer that question.

At the same time her hand gestures were inconsistent with her words as they were incongruent, this is because you can see her pointing her hand down meaning present while at the same time saying the word former. 

Then there is these word that she repeated what the audience had said earlier, she repeats their word by saying, “Media is the first.” Here again, how could media be the first when MACC and all those handling those tapes before submission to the MACC was already in the know?  

After denying by saying, No, she commits another gaze aversion and has a facial expression of contempt (The corner of her right lip moves slightly up) and does an inappropriate smile, a duping delight. A duping delight is an expression of delight, a puzzling relief shown after a lie has been told to others by performing an unusual smile and at an incongruous instant. Usually this expression of delight is shown after a lie is told to one who is especially difficult to lie to. 

There are other aspects of lies in the expose, like unintended messages or the truth in the lie, when what she said was a truthful statement but when analyzed, that statement conveyed information that she does not realize she was conveying. Similarly there are other aspects of deception which I would identify but would do at a suitable time and at a later date. At this moment I will rest my case.