THE DREAM...
With the nation nearly 56 years old, matters concerning Malaysia should no longer be framed in terms of individual communities but the country as a whole.
Apa lagi Cina mau? (What more do the Chinese want).
It may be understandable for such questions to be asked in the first decade of nationhood, but something is very wrong when such questions are asked in the sixth decade of nationhood.
Recent events particularly in the past three months, have given rise to valid and legitimate concerns about the success of the Malaysian nation out of the diverse races, languages, religions, cultures and territories in the country, in the sixth decade of Malaysian nationhood.
Something is very wrong in Malaysian nation-building with the recurrence of national controversies.
This is time for national reflection by all Malaysians who love this country and who have no intention to migrate to another country, how to make Malaysia more united, harmonious, resilient, developed and prosperous for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or political affiliation.
Let all Malaysians ponder the question: ‘Apa Lagi Malaysia Mau?
Prime Minister DS Najib had introduced 1 Malaysia concept in an attempt to meld the country’s disparate racial communities into a more tolerant society.
THE REALITY...
Malaysia will remain a Malay-Muslim country that has become “much more orthodox” in the decades since the nation’s independence under its first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman.
Once upon a time, they were relaxed.
Now, under the influence of the Middle Eastern states, they are much more orthodox.
Could Malaysia could become more like Turkey than Saudi Arabia, in the sense of becoming relatively open, imbibing some of the more international values?
Could Malaysia could become a “progressive Muslim country? You believe that? What do you mean by a progressive Muslim country?
That they will not wear their headdress, that they will shake hands, men and women, and sit down, that a non-Muslim can be drinking beer and have a Muslim sit down and drink coffee with him?
Malaysians counting on Prime Minister DS Najib’s 1Malaysia concept to usher in a new era of race relations are being unrealistic, while those banking on opposition pact Pakatan Rakyat were not very much less so.
The 1Malaysia slogan had failed to gain traction with the Malays.
It was “impossible” for Najib to win Chinese and Indian support without losing votes from Umno’s core supporters - the Malays.
Pakatan Rakyat is an “opportunistic ad-hoc group not held together by even vaguely coherent set of ideas but by a common desire to unseat the government”.
When it comes to the crunch, Pakatan Rakyat would not be able to do away with Malay supremacy.
The moment the bluff is called and it is handed the full power to push ahead it will either be torn apart from within or be paralysed by indecision.
Malaysia’s acute brain drain problem is due to its government’s insistence on promoting “one race” above all others.
THE DILEMMA...
The Malay rights frequently championed by the country’s leaders are the opiate of the masses, fed to divert the attention of the community from poverty and economic issues.
Malaysia’s leaders preferred to “stoke Malay emotion”, instead of focusing on upskilling the Malays, creating jobs for them, teaching them how to control their household debt, or increasing their competitiveness in schools and universities.
Our leaders always speak of Malay rights and promise to defend them at all cost.
These promises are really just opiates that dull the Malay senses. Other opiates include our leaders’ habit of rewriting history, instilling fear of the Chinese, and making the people believe that the Malay Rulers are being threatened and that Islam itself is under assault.
Such slogans “false and meaningless” distracted the Malays from their penury.
Racial and religious issues are frequently intertwined in the Malay-majority country as the Federal Constitution defines Malays as Muslims.
The urban poverty of the Malays in the city, a “high-class ghetto” and noting the “old and crowded flats, low-grade shoplots, clogged drains and unkempt playgrounds”.
The urban Malays have not changed much over the years. In the meantime, the Chinese keep up their pace of acquiring and developing the great city of Kuala Lumpur.
They take the easy way out by giving the Malays their daily dose of opiates.
The British did the same to the Chinese by giving them the real stuff—opium—and for a long time the Chinese did not care about anything about their lives until Mao Tse Tung woke them up from their stupor.
Malaysia, beneath its veneer of modernity, was no different from a country governed by Taliban radicals.
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