steadyaku47

Tuesday 15 September 2009

A traitor again?


With thanks to Asmawi Yusof for use of this image.

Yesterday I received an email that disturbed me. It disturbed me because of the venom that it spewed on me. It said that as a Malay I am a disgrace to my race. That I deserved to be put in ‘neraka’ (hell) for advocating that the Malays no longer should be with UMNO.  Do I not know that the orang Cina, India and  ‘others’ together with DAP want to take over this country  - that it is not ‘keadilan dan demokrasi’ that they want. What they want is the Political Power that now is in the hands of the Malays.

Then I am reminded of the  screaming newspaper headlines that I see in the “National” Malay newspapers.

1. “Ketuanan Melayu Tercabar”
2. “Jangan Persoal - Ketuanan Melayu bukan jenaka yang boleh
     dipermainkan”
3. “Bangkitlah Melayu - Bersatu hadapi tuntutan kaum lain yang
     makin keterlaluan”

We are the Malays! Are you not a Malay …they ask me?

To those that understand Bahasa there is no need for me to translate. To those that do not I will not translate lest I am accused of inciting racial discord. 

This is not the first time that I have received emails of this nature. In the past I have patiently read through what they send them and try to understand where they were coming from. We are all entitled to out point of view and it is not only the Malays that have these ‘ultras’ so do the Chinese, the Indians and others. 

So why did I linger over this particular email? Something clicked in my head. Why not try to reason with this person and bring him to my way of thinking? Not possible. A face to face meeting would probably result in me being verbally abused at best or physically abused at worst. Two things I dislike – rejection and pain! And meeting him will probably expose me to both. 

I made a cup of green tea and went back to the email and I decided to write this.

In the beginning my first conscious memory of this racial thing was when I was around six years old living in Pendang in Kedah. I remember clearly that our house was beside the road that the Chinese Funeral procession will take on their way to the cemetery. I remember the wailings and the long processions – sometimes with a band. And I remember that the Malays did not say “Cina mati” …but “Cina mampus” – a derogatory term of death not use by the Malays unless it is to denote disgust for the dead. That memory has stayed with me until now that I am 63 - but only the memory for many years ago I stopped using the term ‘mampus’ to describe the Chinese who have died.

Is it not natural that those who have been bought up to dislike – or even to hate another race for whatever reason – that this dislike, this hate will stay with him or her for a very long time? So what will change them? It cannot come from within them. It must come from without. For me the beginning was my education at MCKK. This was an all-Malay boarding school in Kuala Kangsar but we had wonderful teachers of all races. Race was never an issue. I left MCKK completely at ease with being amongst the ‘others’ around me. And after MCKK I never looked back to those Pendang days.

Now I am even more aware what we Malays need to do to achieve our own level of comfort amongst the others in Malaysia. But it is my own personal goal wherever I am. I always want to better myself whether I am in London, Bombay, Adelaide or Kuala Lumpur. Race has got nothing to do with it. We must each educate our children of this. How we tell our children to see others will make the difference between the Malaysia that we see now and the Malaysia that we want. It will take one or two generations to make that change but it starts with us and it starts with the right education.

Then we will know that in the time to come our children will not be receiving the kind of emails that I got this morning – an email that is a sad commentary of what UMNO has made some Malays into. A Malay obsessed with Ketuanan Melayu. A Malay haunted with the worry that PAS and Anwar will give DAP ‘kuasa politik Melayu’ and control over the Government in this country. A Malay unable to understand that for the ‘others’ to love Malaysia they must be given equal opportunity and Justice in all things Malaysian because to do otherwise would not be ‘adil’ to those that call Malaysia “HOME”. 

8 comments:

  1. Abang,

    Sorry to hear that you have been bashed. I just don't understand why these Malay's are so scared of loosing their pants!

    The Non-malays are not going to take away all of their property but want fair share and justice as equal owners of this land.

    This is what the BN government has been doing to brainwash the Malay's so that they can stay in power and grab all the countries wealth.

    Sad, I am really sad for this country and its people. Tq.

    Mohd.

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  2. Mohd...tqs for your comment. Being bashed is what we Malays can now take - even from other Malays. Let us see what the BN government will do after they are bashed in the next GE.I am proud that I am a Malay.We can take care of ourself without UMNO - but can UMNO take care of itself without the Malays? Salam.

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  3. We should make it a crime that one can be denied membership to any political club, party, membership just because of race !!!!!

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  4. Bro,

    The problem with some Malays is that they equate UMNO with Malays. Only UMNO can take care of the Malays. Go against UMNO, you will be branded as "pengkhianat bangsa". A traitor to the Malays race. Amboi...sedapnya mulut bercakap!!

    The fact that UMNO leaders are corrupt to the core and has been cheating and giving crumbs to majority of Malays is inmaterial to them. To them, UMNO is not "pengkhianat bangsa". UMNO dulu yalah, UMNO sekarang belum tentu. To them, if UMNO is not in power, the Malays will vanish from the face of this earth. This is the poison that they are injecting to the Malay mind through the mainstream media propaganda.

    There is no sincerity in their actions. Just utter hypocricy. Saya juga sayang bangsa saya. Macam sayang anaklah, kita kena tegur, kadang2 pukul pun. Jangan di manjakan sangat nanti jadi rosak. Kalau selalu pamper jadi spoilt bread kata orang putih. Being a Malay, let me tell the Malays this with all sincerity.

    UMNO now is not the same as UMNO before. Believe me. The similarity is only in name. The practice is different. They are not helping the Malays the correct way like encouraging them to work hard, master knowledge and be competitive. They are instead corrupting the Malays, offering only lip service. Most of the time however they are helping among themselves looting the country dry by being government contractors, government suppliers and commission sgents.

    Just look at the track record of the various corruption and scandals of those in the corridors of power. Take PKFZ for example. A thinking Malay will not believe that UMNO/Malay leaders are not involve. The PM is a Malay, the EPU boss is a Malay, the Finance Minister is a Malay, and many other important positions of power are in the hands of the Malays. It is quite impossible to assume that they do not know what was going on! Besides the "King" from Bintulu, many of the UMNO Malays are also laughing all the way to the bank directly or indirectly, out of this scandal.

    The fact remains that many abuse their positions for personal gains. Working hand in hand among themselves and sometimes with selected Chinese to cheat the Malays and other races of this country. Otherwise, how do you explain our per capita is 4-5 time below that of Spore, Korea, Taiwan, H. Kong when in the sixties and 70's we are better if not at par with them? It just shows that we are not managing the country well.
    Corruption and abuse of power will destroy this nation. Melayu2 ini sedar ke tidak?

    Is this what we call "berjuang untuk bangsa dan Negara?' Just look at the statistics. The Malays are No. 1 in drug addiction, mat rempit, corruption, abuse of power, highest number of unemployed graduates, etc..etc. What has UMNO done for the past 50 years? Many who are close to the corridors of power became very rich in such a short span of time. Something that is beyond my comprehension and mind boggling. The able, capable, hardworking and educated Malays are left behind due to politics of patronage.

    The majority race of this country are Malays and other bumiputras. This is the reality. Can DAP rule this country without the support of the Malays? For UMNO/BN leadership to gain support of the Malays and other races of this country, they must be honest and change their ways. But this is something easier said than done. When we criticise, we will be branded as us opposition. They have became arrogant. The days when the govermnent knows best is not over.

    The only way to change UMNO is for them to loose the next election. Then only the Malays can hope for UMNO to change. If this happen then we will see the emergence of the true UMNO Baru with new leaders that will, hopefully, work for the benefits of the citizens of this country. Then there will be light at the end of the tunnel for the majority Malays and all other races of this beautiful country of ours.

    Cheer up mate. Don't be disheartened. This is part and parcel of life. We need to make sacrifice for the good of the country and you are doing it through your writings.

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  5. Is this what we call "berjuang untuk bangsa dan Negara?' Just look at the statistics. The Malays are No. 1 in drug addiction, mat rempit, corruption, abuse of power, highest number of unemployed graduates, - I know those stats says it all - after 50 years of UMNO !

    I am not disheartened. We will prevail!

    HH

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  6. Hi Steady Bro,
    For your open hearted writings on so many Malaysian issues, I saw that coming and I am sure you anticipated it too.
    I think Kala Jengking summed it up very well. Keep it up, Bro... Cheers!

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  7. Bob - sticks and stones may break my bones, but talk don't bother me. Regards.

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  8. Hi Hussein,

    I so sorry to hear that you were bashed. And for no reason, I'm thinking: all you do is remind people to think before acting; and to remember. There must be some way to get people to stop equating 'Malay' with 'UMNO'. But it's hard to undo 50+ years of indoctrination, no?

    Politics is politics. This is real life. People need to open their eyes and realise that.

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