The
“you” that I am referring to here are the Malays! We Malays have to be afraid…be
very afraid because each day brings us closer to the edge of the cliff. When
you are at the edge of the cliff discretion is the better part of valour. We
must step back. But why wait until we are at the edge of the cliff? Why not
step back now?
Just think. We are having enough difficulty trying to stand shoulder to shoulder with the non-Malays. On top of this we have 3 million Indonesians who have migrated to Malaysia to become Malaysian citizens with Bumiputra status. In the not too distant future we Malays will have to worry about 2nd or 3rd generation Indonesian bumiputras who would have been taught the virtues of hardwork and thrift by their parents or grand parents. These Indonesians bumiputras go out to work before you are awake and they are still not home when you go to sleep. It is obvious that we Malays cannot survive without changing.
Right
now in Malaysia the very Malays whose responsibility it is to help the Malays change are too preoccupied trying to ensure their own survival. UMNO is in its death
throes. UMNO has lost its moral compass. UMNO no longer has the unquestioning
support of the Malays. The end of UMNO is themselves. It ended when power to UMNO became not the means to advance
the Malays but power became to UMNO an end in itself….and this started the demise of UMNO as we have known it in the past.
For us Malays it is now warranted that we abandon UMNO for our self-protection.
We Malays have to take care of ourselves. The Chinese, the Indians the people
in Sabah and Sarawak will not do that for us. They have enough on their plate
just to survive under UMNO.
Do
not believe what UMNO has been telling us about ourselves. The Malays are not
lazy. The Malays do not need to be spoon-fed. The Malays need not be protected
against the other races. The Malays can survive against any odds if we are
given the opportunity to know these odds. Let us quarrel with the other races
if we need to for it will only strengthen our understanding of each
other. Do not let anyone accentuate our differences rather let us celebrate
these differences as being the very fabric that will bind us together as
Malaysians. For I know that in the end we will remember not what UMNO told us
but what they did not tell us. UMNO
did not tell us that the other races share the same aspirations as we do of
living a decent life, the opportunity to earn a good living and the ability to live
in peace with their family.
Remember
that these non-Malays are in the arena with us. They have to face the same
difficulties that we face in living under a corrupt government. They too are
faced with the arrogance of their political leaders from MCA and MIC as we
Malays face the arrogance of those from UMNO. When the Barisan Nasional
government took the subsidy from sugar they took it away not only from the
Malays but also the non-Malays. We have faced this and other indignities from the Barisan Nasional government together.
We
all have a devotion to our country that transcends ethnicity. For the truth is
that we are all Malaysians. There will be some who will question our right to
call ourselves Malaysian. Some in ignorance will claim to be the first among
Malaysian and they will want to celebrate Ketuanan Melayu…but in the end they too will know that we are all Malaysians!
There
was a time when UMNO meant a lot to the Malays but that was then. Now we Malays
simply have to let go. It is not the end of the world; it is the beginning of a
new life.
And
if you want to know how the end will look like then look at our beginning. Look
at the time when we got our independence in 1957 – Merdeka - maybe
even before Merdeka. That was our beginning. Hopefully by the time all this
ends we will all again become the best of friends. One Malaysia.
Meantime remember this:
Meantime remember this:
“Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me”
Andy Warhol.
( part 2)
ReplyDeleteSomeone once said, given the performance and inherent qualities of a team like MU, they would still do well even if a donkey were to manage them. My contention is just because Mahathir brought about superficial development, does it necessarily mean he did well. Look at other nation’s with barely a fraction of the resources Malaysia had and still has. Do you not suppose that any nitwit like a Samy or, even an Ibrahim, could have done the same given the immense wealth that we have been blessed with?
Do the Malays dismiss that possibility that any other political party could have done better, if they were less arrogant, less indifferent in their responsibility and accountability to the public and, showed more patriotism and concern for the welfare of the nation and its people? Will any government abandon the needs of the poor and not ensure that the a country is developed in tandem with its resource capabilities and that of their surroundings? What government disenfranchises half its population, treats those that have an inherent claim to their rights as citizens with scorn and as outcasts, manipulates the election process and practically the entire civil service to remain in power and, brazenly disguises its rights to govern with the sham democracy that is widely condemned and rejected by both its own and international societies?
Would any government retain draconian and archaic laws, which, while they may have been required, to relieve the growing pains of the nation but, have now loss their purpose and are being liberally and crassly misused to intimidate and threaten into silence those who dare voice the conscience of the nation and, without due cause or justice 'illegally' detain and those who legitimately oppose the government, even when the official religion of the land, Islam itself, proscribes sentencing without due process. If there is no respect for Man, is there no fear of God?
There arte a great deal more instances that may be offered to better inform the Malay electorate. I am convinced that most of them see the veracity of these arguments and are themselves flustered and embarrassed at the way the Malays are being manipulated and treated like a race without any substance or pride by those who will stop at nothing to advance their selfish and self-serving ambitions.
(part 3)
ReplyDeleteDo not the Malays themselves realize, that if UMNO was in fact concerned about their well-being, than why was it that until now, those Malays in Kelantan and, at one time, even in Trengganu, were completely neglected by UMNO just because these States were held by the opposition? Is this not evident enough that UMNO's interest has never been the Malays? The Malays were simply being used and abuse as mere ponds in their political scheming.
For UMNO it has been nothing more than interests and power. They would have traded their mothers to retain power, what less the nation and its sanity. As I said before, my faith and confidence in the Malays has not been diminished altogether by the brutish machinations of UMNO and its illegitimate offshoots. There is still hope on the horizon, and it may not be in too distant a future that changes will take place and, we will all, once again, be able to accept Malaysia as a safe home, to invest in it our own, and the future of generations to come. Yes, and, I am not saying this out of wanting to pander up to nor seduce the Malays into supporting my call for action, I am truly convinced, and am saying this from my own experience, the Malays are among the most gentle and caring, polite and cultured people that I have known. It is only those counterfeits and those that UMNO's racist meddling and years of educational neglect that are damaging the dignity and the undermining the values of the original Malays. But, there is hope. As someone had once said, no matter how you try, the internet generation cannot be kept ignorant of their surroundings, and once exposed to the comparative political and socio-cultural values and norms of other societies, there is little hope that they can be influenced into abandoning all that they perceive as good. Most racist, fascist and abusive practices of those regimes whose survival is desperately dependent on their success in closing their societies from all external influences, had better beware. Change will come, and you will be made to answer for your abuses.
3 million indonesians granted citizenship with bumiputra status? Has anyone ever considered that these 3 million immigrants may be a potential gateway for more dependents to enter the country either legally or illegally?
ReplyDelete