cakap cakap...inherent rights?

Are there Malays who still think that we Malays have inherent rights? Inherent rights to be given scholarships? Inherent rights to be given preferences in government tenders? Inherent rights to be given discounts when buying houses?

Are there Chinese out there who still think with affection of their Motherland and dream of going back? Chinese who even now keep their homes and family as bastion against any attempts to make them any more Malaysian then they are now?

What about the Indians? How many of them are still mired up in the caste system despite being born and bred in Malaysia? Do they not understand that we are all one people?

And Sabah and Sarawak? Do they still think that they have had a raw deal when they joined Malaysia?

Sometimes I despair at the diversity of our people and yet this diversity is also our strength! It is our strength because despite our differences and the attempts by UMNO to divide and rule us, we are still together!  Somehow we have managed to get along with one another and lived our life not quiet in harmony and yet not quiet in discord.

I have looked upon the other races most time with affections and yet at times with worry. Are they looking at me with the same affection that I have for them or are the feeling within them one of tolerance and a resignation that as a Malay I am ‘on the other side?’ Whenever I am in KL I have gone about my business without worrying too much about these things but always, under the surface, I am sure we all marvel at how things are able to kept just so!

Take Bangsar at noon on a Friday. Cars are parked all over the place as the Malays go for their Friday prayers. It clogs up the traffic and the other races have to put up with the inconveniences. And they do! But do they do it in good humor or is the traffic jam just one more mark against the Malays for making another part of their life just that bit more difficult?

I know I can walk into Chinatown without a worry in the world but even as I walk through Chinatown I remember May 13^th. I know that I am vulnerable if somehow  there are racial disturbances elsewhere – then I better get out of Chinatown fast for my own safety.

I understand that today the most violent gangsters are not the Chinese but the Indians for they are the most desperate because of the poverty that engulfs the Indian people.

I still am aware that people from Sabah and Sarawak are different from us. …in the way they talk and in the way they think. Again this might just be me and the way I perceived them to be but it stays with me and it keeps that distance between me and them. Over time I hope it will disappear.

So in essence we live on a powder keg of a potentially explosive situations. What holds everything together is the goodwill and tolerance that we have for each other. We have genuine affection for each other and we continue to give and take in all facets of our lives – and all this holds the fabric of Malaysia together.

cakap cakap....two things we need of our leaders.

"Your reputation and integrity are everything. Follow through on what you say you’re going to do. Your credibility can only be built over time, and it is built from the history of your words and actions."

— Maria Razumich-Z

The next general election will be about two things. Not Najib or Anwar. Not BN or PR. What will decide the outcome of this general election will not be money or race. Our people have gone beyond that. You will not get our votes because of the promises you have made to give our kawasan better drainage. Nor will your commitment to be a better YB and spend more time with your constituencies get you our votes. The Dewan you built in the town centre too will not help. This year will be the mother of all years for you politicians. BN or PR. The two things that will get you our votes will cost you nothing and yet everything.

The two things we want from anyone that seeks our vote are integrity and credibility. It costs nothing and yet is so sadly lacking in so many of our politicians. You cannot claim to have integrity or credibility. Neither can you pretend to have it. It is for us to decide whether you have it or not.  Frightening isn’t it? That we, the people decide!

It does not matter of if you are BN or PR; race has no bearing at all in this equation. If the people believe that you have these qualities then they will choose you over others. They are qualities that will enhance your stature in the eyes of the people. They are qualities that give any politicians the right and privilege to represent us. And these are qualities that will get you our votes over corrupt politicians, over Tan Sri’s, over Dates or even the son’s of ex-Prime Ministers.

So for those politicians that do not have integrity and credibility here is how you can get some of this thing call integrity and credibility. You get it by being honest in the things you do. Only promise what you can deliver. When you have made a mistake – admit it and take it as a lesson learned – not deny, deny, deny. You get it by serving the people that have voted for you. Understand their aspirations and make it yours to.

Integrity and credibility is earned not bought. It is bestowed upon you much like the Sultans bestowing Datukship on his loyal subjects but without the kautim bit. Without the “I scratch your back you scratch mine" bit.  

It is seeked by many and bestowed upon so few. 

One Malay that has it is Dato Onn Jaafar. A Chinese would be Tan Sri Dr David Tan Chee Koon nicknamed Mr opposition. An Indian that has it would be that illustrious son from Sungai Siput….no not that guy…..the other one, Tun VT Sambanthan.

Some politicians will swear their alligience to it but it is in the practice of it that they falter. Some will use it as an excuse to deride and shame political opponents but the people will know better. We want our leaders to be people we can believe in. We want our leaders to do what they say they will do in the name of good governance. Politicians with integrity and credibility will rule our country with our permission and support. We expect nothing less of our leaders. 

And so for this election, as in 2008, it is the people that will decide. All the pundits and experts will have their theories and strategies on how to win the peoples vote. This issues and that issue. Tell the people that you will lower the cost of petrol and sugar and they will vote for you. Promise the Malays Ketuanan Melayu. Promise the Indians that there will not be an Indian living in poverty by 2015. Guarantee the Malaysian Chinese who have migrated that they will be given dual citizenship if they return. Promise Sabah and Sarawak anything you want….but you and I know that the people have had enough of being lied to. Anyway….you politicians better have integrity and credibility or it is the highway for you