The Umno-led BN government is simply doing what it has said it will do – in private and by their deeds – to make Malaysia Malay.

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The Chinese and Umno hegemony

CT Ali

 | September 14, 2013

Over time I have come across numerous articles and postings in the mainstream media and on the internet that tell us much about the Chinese.

And I am always reminded that the Chinese have contributed much to any country that they live in.

So much have been written about these Chinese by the Chinese that I, a Malay, now know more about the Chinese than I do about the Malays! Or do I?

Ask any Chinese that have spent a few minutes speaking with me and they will tell you that within the first few minutes of our meeting, the question I will ask them is:

“Why do you want to stay in Malaysia?”

Why indeed!

Do not talk about the situation in China. Your forefathers left China ages ago for a better life elsewhere. And for a while the better life was in Malaya and then Malaysia.

After two or three generations down the line the current generations of Chinese who have grown up believing Malaysia to be their Tanah Tumpahnya Darahku are now again considering their options.

The Umno-led Barisan Nasional government is simply doing what it has said it will do – in private and by their deeds – to make Malaysia Malay.

They do so without any excuses or apologies that what they do can be deemed to be racist or unfair to any other race but the Malays.

They do so with the aplomb and arrogance that absolute political power confers on those who have them. And to all intents and purposes, they are doing so legally and with no regards to anything else but to ensure the racial and political dominance of the Malays over all others in Malaysia.

Without going into whether this is morally or ethically the right or wrong thing to do, let us all understand that this is the prevailing situation in Malaysia. Let me state this again with clarity.

Two questions

The Chinese are now considering what their forefathers had to consider many, many years ago when they left China to seek a better life elsewhere: ‘Where can I find a better life if not in Malaysia?’

Umno has stated clearly that their purpose in life is a Malaysia for Malays. So clearly the Chinese and Umno are not compatible.

The question that the Chinese now have to ask themselves next is this: ‘Is Umno truly representing the Malays?’

This is not an easy question for me, or any other Malay, to answer. What matters is the reality of things.

For a start, things will not change for at least the next term of this Umno-led Barisan Nasional government – that is five years. And you can be rest assured that after this term in office, Umno will ensure that they will still govern for another five more years.

That is at least another decade of being marginalised, disadvantaged and disfranchised for the Chinese.

So tell me, why would any right thinking sensible Chinese with the means of going elsewhere to live a better life, stay in Malaysia?

Or for that matter, why would any non-Malay not take that option to seek a better life elsewhere than stay in Malaysia where Ketuanan Melayu and the bumiputeras rules?

Hell even I, a Malay, would not want to stay!

CT Ali is a reformist who believes in Pakatan Rakyat’s ideologies. He is a FMT columnist.