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Are the Chinese a Subdued Race? (article) By tv3 29/5/2001 2:11 pm Tue

Assalamualaikum/Selamat Sejahtera Semua Pejuang REFORMASI We have thought long and hard about writing this. It almost never got to see the light of day. It's a heavy topic. It concerns the fate of our children and grandchildren, who will inherit this land from us, long after we are gone. We were unsure if we, the lesser mortals at tv3 are ready, much less equipped to put forth correctly in the spirit it is intended, a thought, that is hoped to alter the landscape which will be a pleasure for our progeny to savour. Check Mate The straw that broke the camel's back was the desperate act of accepting first Chinese, later "corrected" to mean only "Sino" or the AKAR Chinese of Sabah, into UMNO or Parti Kebangsatan MELAYU Bersatu (PKMB). The boo-boo to be sure, was not the only one that exited from this creature's mouth over the last year or so. Without doubt too, it will by no means be the last. All of which points to the stage of siege that this character is currently going through. (Notice we do not use "desperate", as this old creature although senile has NOT exhausted his means to grasp on to power). We must be weary of the fact that, this old creature has a new pet dog Nairon, who is ever looking for opportunity to lap-up his master! He has "the hacks wrapper supermodel" to pass judgements that he wants, or the wrapper will be discarded into irrelevance, just as all wrappers are. And he has 8 tahils of dung (4 tahils x 2) to flush opponents into view by the sheer stink of their reputation! And (ready for this?), he has the "declaration of emergency" as the last ace in his pack, which he will have no qualms using, when it becomes absolutely necessary! Remember, SYAITAN stops at nothing to achieve his aims! The truth of the matter is, the moment DSAI was sacked from position and party, it was a "check and mate!" It probably is the ONLY move in his then 18-year hold on to power, that he had simply underestimated (and was thus not totally prepared for) the backlash that was to follow. He had confidently declared then that the DSAI saga would be, "over in three weeks". And it's almost three years now! Still, there is no sign that the ghost of Anwar Ibrahim has been exorcised! If at all, it just keeps coming back to haunt this old creature, day by day! Nine out of ten people on the streets tv3 speak to, concur that, "The mess that the country has found itself in (and unable to get out of), STARTS and ENDS with the Anwar Ibrahim affair!" Old Squirrel One can never accurately predict the future. That is only for Allah, and Allah alone! But we feel confident that the injustice to DSAI brings out the truth in the old Malay saying, "Sepandai pandai tupai melompat, akhirnya jatuh juga ketanah" (literally: No matter how good is the squirrel at hopping from tree to tree, it will one day fall to the ground) How is that so? Critics of this old creature swear that when he makes his move, it is not one, but 4, 5 or even 10 steps ahead of his opponents. They testify too to the cunningness of this creature's "packaging" (or repackaging, as the case may be) skills. But is it still so? Hasn't he lost some of that sharpness? Isn't it possible that age has caught him up? Looking at it objectively, one cannot help but notice that this may well be so. Decisions made seem more and more ad-hoc and erratic. One policy announced today will be modified the next day. The boo-boo over the issue of admitting Chinese Malaysians into PKMB, (later modified) is but one classic example of this fact. Prawn Behind Stone Now, Chinese "advisers" (outside MCA at that) have suddenly become necessary. Why this sudden "love" for the Chinese community? It does not take a political genius to answer this - the 2004 elections! It is almost an absolute certainty that PKMB will NEVER again enjoy the support of the Malays, pre September 1998, for as long as the Anwar saga remains unresolved in the ONLY way logical, i.e. nothing short of declaring him innocent of ALL those trumped up charges! PKMB (and by extension BN) were returned election after election on the back of majority Malay support. (No surprise really, as the election boundaries are all designed to achieve just that!) Events that unfolded since the 1999 elections have provided clear warning signs to BN. Lunas reinforced them. The writing is on the wall. One, less than half of the Malay voters opted for the ruling party. Two, close to 80% of the non-Malay voters went the opposite direction this time around and threw their support to the BN. And three, had there been a mere 10-15% swing of the non-Malay voters in favour of the BA, we would have seen a more equitable distribution of members in Parliament. Maybe not enough for the BA to rule, but the BN would have certainly been deprived of the two-third majority. Unthinkable, let alone acceptable to this self proclaimed hero of the South! This swing in the voting in favour of the BN (when Chinese voters have historically been "anti-establishment") is in no small measure, a direct effect of the BN's advertising "ingenuity". The burnings in Indonesia where the Chinese were the victims. The sure riots that will ensue if the "opposition" wins. The Islamic state bogey. The May 69 catastrophe visited and re-visited. In short, pure and crude (bordering on obscenity) scare tactics. Tactics that would land Lim Kit Siang and Fadzil Noor in the bellies of Bukit Aman had they so much as even THINK of employing! ISA of course! On the "positive" front, "endorsement" of the now famous 17-point Suqiu Election Appeal, contributed too to the tally. But of course their true colours (for those colour blind) were revealed on the eve of Merdeka 2000, via the "communist" speech. So much for sincere leadership! Dedication, Hard Work and Minimum Expenses In my younger days and the early stages of my career, armed with the curiosity of what makes a Chinese SMI tick, I took it upon me to take a real close look. I worked into the confidence of a family outfit (as most Chinese SMI's then were) and literally camped in their shops, one on Jalan Ipoh and the other on Jalan Pudu. I sat behind the counter, lunched with the staff (siblings mainly), mingled with the customers that came to the shops and their business associates, and we would occasionally adjourn to the fish porridge stall on Jalan Silang at the end of the long day. After about three years of the routine, I understood more, the ways and (more importantly) the thinking of the typical Chinese SMI's. And I can say with enough authority that what they need most (these Chinese businesses, and indeed the entire economy) to thrive, is a conducive environment in which they can carry on with their trade. We learnt in history lessons that this was the very reason their ancestors left their homeland at the turn of the century, to come to Malaya, amongst other places. My observation then (and now) was, leave them alone and they WILL surely earn their keep! After all, aren't Chinese Malaysians doing very well for themselves, despite being handicapped by the "affirmative actions" of the last 30 years? Against this background, it is no wonder the voting pattern went the way it did. The BN's campaign strategy then was tailored towards scaring the hell of the business community with every threat imaginable. Sadly, to the detriment of Malaysia, it had their desired effect. Afraid of the Dark But every cloud has its silver lining, confirmed in the Quraanic language as, "a hikmah behind every musibah". Results of the 1999 elections have paved the way for a more meaningful political existence, transcending racial limitations. All the BA component parties declared political integration based on issues and justice rather than race. For a four-month old coalition, the BA performed splendidly, securing almost half of the votes cast, even if this was not reflected in the number of seats in parliament. The BA will do well to ride the momentum of November 1999 (and Sanggang, Teluk Kemang and Lunas). Voters must be wooed, persuaded, cajoled and convinced that the time for change is NOW. The operative word here is "change", and change, as even a first year management student will tell, is always (without exception) repulsed, or at best, frowned upon with suspicion. The BN under the leadership of the senile creature will stop at nothing to maintain the status quo until kingdom comes, and they have provided enough proofs (if proof were needed) that this is purely for personal (and crony) benefits, at the expense of the vast majority, Malays included. In the context of 2004 (some say 2003?) Chinese Malaysians clearly will be the kingmakers, barring some very drastic delineation of the electoral boundaries (a probability one must not discount). As a voting citizen, I accept this reversal of role with an open mind. Malaysia is for ALL Malaysians and I make no apology for that! It is a worldwide phenomenon, even mono-ethnic Japan. A failed attempt to help a friend's daughter (with 8A's) gain admission into a local university, because she's Chinese, makes me want to throw-up! That experience has strengthened my resolve to restore some sanity into the system. After 43 years, I am more than convinced that sanity remains a mirage for as long as we view everything from the race angle. The present BN government of PKMB, MCA and MIC will perpetuate this situation, rest assured, eternally. Because it has served them well! Proud to be Malaysians Change is inevitable in all aspect of our lives. A change in government is no exception. There will be no darkness, as they would wont us to believe. To be sure, the element of uncertainty is inevitable. But change, through sincere resolve can and will be managed. The leadership amongst the BA component parties possesses that resolve to successfully manage that change that we all seek. They have proven that within the limited opportunities available. Ours is to widen that scope. Chinese Malaysians must know that Malaysia is home, no less a home than it is to the Malays or the Orang Asli. There used to be times when a Chinese Malaysian packs it in and off to Australia or Canada at the slight sign of trouble or a difficulty or dissatisfaction. But that was then. They were, at best, second generation Chinese. Things are not the same now. Many of my Chinese friends have children and grandchildren, born and bred in Malaysia. Some have not even left the shores in their entire life. A good number of them even speak better Malay than I do. Malaysia has been their only home! Why is it that you have to feel less Malaysian than us? You have more rights than those immigrants who have been here for but five short years! Immigrants, now citizens for as little is RM5, 000. They have lesser right to be called "bumiputras" as they are NOT sons of the soil. But you are. So also are your children. And your grandchildren. Why are you not willing to change the status quo? Why don't you want to "fight" for what is rightfully yours? Why are you so contented with what is being dished out to your entire kind? Do you harbour hopes with the MCA? Naahh, they are too "full" and too "scared". Why are you so afraid of the dark? Is it really dark in the first place? Change is never easy because of the element of uncertainty that inevitably comes with it. But change we must. Especially when the ways of yore brings no hope of improvement. We gave them that chance. Forty-three years to be exact. Sure, life has been good to the most of us. But, what about the hawker friend with the 8A's daughter? Is our personal comfort THE only thing? What about our intellectualism? Do we realise that we are nowhere near the best that we can be? We are a blessed nation. We have no major disasters. We have oil underneath us. We have excellent yearlong weather. Oil palm, rubber, fruits, vegetables - just about anything grow from our soils. We have a manageable population. We are well educated. In short, we have all the ingredients that can make us stand tall in the world. Really proud to be Malaysians. Instead, we have to hang our heads in shame every time we are asked, "Where are you from?" We have to wriggle ourselves through a senile PM, a deeply rooted crony capitalism, a pathetic judiciary, a "non-existent" cabinet, impotent enforcement agencies, and last but not least a moronic police force. Really, how much more must we take? The Time is NOW! To all Chinese Malaysians, I say this. Let us, as one, say enough is enough. You and I, we are both the victims of deceit and manipulation. They lied to me when they say that they are helping ALL bumiputras when they care for only the same select few. They lied to you (with the full blessing of the MCA, mind you) when they say they accept the Suqiu Appeal when they had no intention whatsoever to even consider it. They twisted and turned, guided by the dictum that "man have short memories" or the one that was made famous by Goebbels. We must shift our paradigm, a concept in Islam we call hijrah. We must look back on race and colour and look forward to justice, fairness and equity. We must be pragmatic in our approaches towards everything Malaysian. The Malay ground is ready! Ready to bury the BN into the annals of history. I call upon all the Chinese that I grew up (or worked) with to let us join hands in and involve ourselves actively into making this dream a reality. We have been manipulated and battered beyond recognition. It is hard to imagine that anything else can be worse. And when we are "sugared" with the sun and the moon as we surely will be, we Malays (Muslims) will always remember the treatment accorded to a once No 2 man in the country, to remind us of "justice". And when you are threatened with calamities of the unimaginable kinds, PLEASE, PLEASE remember Suqiu and the speech on the eve of Merdeka Day, the year 2000, to remind yourselves of "equity"! And most of all please empathise with our grandchildren!