On the verge of...

Umno, The Malay Heartland And The Winds Of Change

By Kenny Gan

Bright sunshine pours out of a glorious blue sky and bathes the rustic scene of wooden stilted houses set among coconut palms and banana trees close to the winding ribbon of bitumen road.

Padi fields stretch into the distance on both sides like a sea of fresh, vibrant green stalks waving in the gentle breeze.

The deep grunt of a water buffalo penetrates the still air as it waddles in a muddy pool and contented cows rest under shady trees as all around flows the shimmering heat, encompassing everything in its benign embrace, keeping people indoors.

In this lush green pastoral setting, quiet and peaceful like a soothing mantle so different from the hustle and bustle of the city, the predominantly Malay village folks have lived a simple life for ages, secure in their political convictions that they believe protect their rights and guarantee their way of life.

But change is slowly fermenting beneath the lush land and a visitor may encounter some signs as he drives along the narrow country roads past grazing cows and foraging chicken. As the countryside glides by, one can sometimes spot among the coconut palms and banana trees, strung on bamboo poles and tall trees, the white and green flag of PAS or the light blue flag of PKR.

It is here in the rural Malay heartland that the dominant ruling party Umno finds their traditional stronghold. The Election Commission has created many rural constituencies with light population densities that accord the rural population a disproportionate voting power compared to their urban cousins.

Election after election, UMNO expects the rural Malays to vote them back into power and they have fulfilled that expectation. Beneath the peace and the tranquility, the sleepiness and the simplicity, the rustic countryside holds the key to the real political power in the land.

The political tsunami that swept the nation in the general election of 2008 and left BN nursing its loss of 5 states and their precious two-thirds majority in Parliament hardly touched the Malay heartlands. There was a small swing to the opposition but a bare few percent compared to the previous election. Umno still controls the loyalty of the majority of the rural Malays which is enough to cement its hold on power.

The Palace and the Port

Far away in Selangor, in the bustling urban centre of Klang stands the splendid mansion of Zakaria Md Deros in the quiet housing estate called Pandamaran, built on land alienated to his wife for a song.

A minor Umno warlord whom fate unexpectedly snatched away just after the conclusion of the 2008 polls, he represented the face of Umno arrogance and corruption. His 16 bedrooms mansion is surrounded by tiny single storey low cost houses and dilapidated looking shacks looking totally incongruous to his opulent home.

Many of them belong to the Malay working class who toll at port and the factories nearby. No, these people living in the shadow of this Umno strongman do not share his luxurious lifestyle. Forty years of the NEP has seen to it that even among the bumiputras there is no equality, only a yawning chasm of disparity.

Malaysia is rich country with abundant natural resources so where has the money gone? Just 10km down the busy highway from stana Zakaria stands the ghostly PKFZ development, its desolate offices and warehouses begging for tenants; a RM12.5 billion fiasco which will see nobody punished.

This is just one example of where the money has gone. Umno has perfected the art of combining power and money into an unholy nexus of government and business that suck from the public purse to enrich a greedy elite.

Rise of the Malay Middle Class

To Umno's credit, it has managed to build up a sizable Malay middle class where there was practically none at Independence. No more are Malays identified with economic function or with economic level but the distribution of wealth has been wholly unbalanced.

A small group of favoured bumiputras emerge as mnoputras with special access to power and privileges that catapult their wealth far beyond the average middle class while large pockets of Malays remain poor.

The objective of the NEP to distribute 30% of the nation wealth into the hands of thebumiputras has probably been achieved and exceeded but despite this many rural Malays can only look longingly from their wooden kampong houses while the banquet of life passes them by.

The same lop-sided economic progress afflicts all races with the super-rich and the hard core poor drawn from all ethnic groups. Malaysia-measured wealth disparity is the highest in South East Asia, exceeding even Indonesia newly-emerged from the excesses of the Suharto regime.

What has caused this disparity? In a word, corruption – endemic and massive – which leeches every Malaysian. Corruption is after all, a forced re-distribution of wealth from the poor and middle class to the rich so that the rich becomes richer and the poor becomes poorer while the middle class almost disappears as in Suharto Indonesia.

The class struggle is no longer racial but between the haves and the have-nots but Umno still distorts it as a Malay versus non-Malay struggle. Fanning ethnic insecurity is the key to Umno ethnic divide and rule strategy and this can reach bizarre heights.

In a country where the Malays constitute 65% of the population and hold all the political power, where the civil service and security services are overwhelmingly Malay, where their rights are enshrined in the Constitution and protected by the Malay rulers, Umno continually warn the Malays that other minority races are threatening to take away their rights.

Of course the awful strategy of divide and rule takes its toll on the nation. Fifty two years after Independence the races are more polarized than ever. Ethnic suspicion and tension remains in a racial tinderbox and a colour-blind national identity never emerged while slogans like 1Malaysia are mere window dressings to put a thin veneer over the real situation.

Racial Policies

It would be unfair to say that Umno has neglected the Malays, in fact, Umno has done far beyond the intentions of the Constitution and the NEP to pamper and assist them with special rights and privileges.

A slew of racial quotas emerge in education, employment, commerce, finance, government contracts and economic opportunities to favour the Malays such that bumiputraism is woven into the very fabric of Malaysian society. This was how the Malay middle class was fast tracked.

But the distribution of resources using racial policies is seriously flawed. It allows the powerful and well-connected Malays to grab more than their fair share and encourages a dependent and rent-seeking mentality which weakened the Malays as it shielded them from normal competitive stress.

Affirmative action by race is also almost impossible to remove. The Chinese middle class survive with their industriousness and uncanny ability to find niches of cooperation with the Malays but the Indians have become an underclass.

The response of the best and brightest non-Malays is to flee to distant shores to escape the racial discrimination, exchanging equality under the law for loneliness and alien cultures. The brain drain on the country has entrepreneurs and social activists wringing their hands with concern while the BN government seems strangely unworried.

A Feast of Ironies

As the urban Malays become more educated, more confident and more politically matured, Umno is losing them. Much to Umno chagrin, they have also become more demanding of good governance and social justice, two of the things which Umno cannot correct as to do so would threaten its hold on power.

So Umno does the next best thing, it oppresses them with tear gas and water cannons which pushes them further away to the welcoming arms of PKR.

So here lies a feast of ironies. As Umno educated and uplifted the Malays, they become more socially aware and less tolerant of Umno corruption, bad governance, racism and the unequal distribution of wealth.

While Umno aims to build up the Malays to be competitive, confident and self-assured, it also tries to keep them insecure and dependent on Umno for crutches.

The objectives of the NEP (Never Ending Policy) must never be met or Umno will lose its relevance to the Malays. Upgrading the rural Malays will also sow the seeds of their own destruction in their strongholds.

But Umno cannot perpetually depend on the rural Malays as their core support to maintain power. They can hardly stand still in time as the rest of the country moves forward.

Creeping urbanization blurs the line between rural and urban. The young generation brings awareness, critical thinking, higher expectations and the online world to the deepest kampungs with their Umno sponsored education. Time is never on the side of decadent regimes which depend on ignorance and backwardness for their survival.

But for how long? Will change happen within this generation?

On the Cusp of Change

We may be on the cusp of change. The super-wealth of the Umnoputras has not escaped the attention of the ordinary Malays be they urban or rural. Disdain for the Umno massive corruption and dubious Islamic credentials has allowed PAS to whittle away Umno support in the Malay heartlands.

Continued support may depend on the price of rubber and palm oil against the rising cost of living. At the moment, Umno baseline support lies at 55%, another 5% difference could spell the difference between holding power and being cast into the opposition.

Of course Umno fate will be tied to the unity or disarray of the opposition parties. For the first time in our nation history, a Malay leader has arisen with far-sighted aims to win power by uniting, not polarizing the races.

With his charisma and political skills, a loose coalition of the three main opposition parties has been formed to wrest power from Umno. Umno response is to attempt to put him in jail on fake sodomy charges.

PAS has been fingered as the weak point of Pakatan Rakyat, a possible source of fatal cracks for the nascent coalition but the political reality is that PKR and DAP cannot wrestle power from Umno without PAS which is critically needed to battle Umno in the Malay heartlands.

However the dependency goes both ways. Just as PR needs PAS, PAS also needs PR to transcend itself into a national party.

Change is usually gradual but Umno in its arrogance can unwittingly give it a swift kick to accelerate the process. The conviction of Anwar Ibrahim in a sham trial if repeated again will anger the Malays and benefit PAS as it did in the 1999 general election.

Change will come as the monsoon winds change direction, as awareness seeps into the rural consciousness like cool rainwater percolating into the rich Malaysian soil. The winds of change will blow away the accumulated debris and rubbish of the long entrenched ruling clique, the corruption, the cronyism and the excesses that threaten to suck the economy dry.

And the power to change the government will come from this setting of rustic wooden houses, wide green fields and brown skinned boys playing among water buffaloes, a charming and idyllic landscape repeated throughout rural Malaysia.

Source: http://en.suarakeadilan.com/current-news/politics/2009/08/13419

Food for thought...

"...who deftly tells different audiences—religious or secular—what they like to hear..." Is this true of Anwar Ibrahim...of most politicians?

An interesting article in the Economist, entitled Banyan: Malaysia's Chameleon seem to describe describe Anwar Ibrahim (or maybe just most of our Malaysian politicians) of being persons '...who deftly tells different audiences—religious or secular—what they like to hear...'

Is this the characteristics of Anwar and most of our politicians? Is that the reason why we do not see clear written positions of political parties (and/or coalitions) on various issues, especially the controversial ones. When you talk to different audiences, you can say different things - and many a time, there is no record to determine what exactly was said - but, if it was written out, then it is difficult to change it.

Transparency demands clarity in positions taken by government, including local governments, political parties and coalitions. This can be achieved by written statements. In Thailand, they have clear written cabinet resolutions whenever their cabinet makes any decision on any subject matter. Maybe, the same should also be practiced in Malaysia.

Maybe, the Pakatan Rakyat governed states can start by:-

a) State Exco Resolutions/Decisions [This will be issued and placed on the State Government websites, which will be continuously updated]

b) Local Council Resolutions/Decisions [This will be issued and placed on the respective Local Government websites, which will be continuously updated. Local Councils should also have Agenda of Up-Coming Local Council Meetings {esp. since these are open to the public}, Minutes of Local Council Meetings, etc..]

c) Political Party or Political Coalition's positions/stance...

I wonder:-

* What exactly is the position of the PKR on the existence of gambling outlets like Toto, Magnum, etc...?

* What exactly is the position of PKR on the usage of the term 'Allah' by persons, not Muslims, in reference to their God?

OR, is their position not to take a position ...and go around telling different crowds just what they would want to hear...i.e. just be chameleons..

I do not want that....Malaysians, I believe, do not want that. We want clarity...transparency - take and state your position...

When it comes to the ISA and Detention Without Trial, it is easy to take a position that we are for the repeal of those laws..

When it comes to other issues, it is a bit more difficult - but, we do have to make a stand...and thereafter, go forth and explain why we made the stand...

Today, we have the issue of the sale of Beer (and alcohol) in Selangor..., and Pakatan Rakyat will have to make a decision on this... [Percentage of Muslims in Malaysia - about 57%]

What about Beef - should it be taken off the menu of all government, political party/coalition functions...[because the cow is sacred to Hindus...and Buddhists]? Should there not be a state policy, that requires clear signs to indicate when beef is sold in food shops?

This points to a trap waiting to catch the silver-tongued Mr Anwar, who deftly tells different audiences—religious or secular—what they like to hear. The same blogosphere that helped his meteoric rise may one day pay more attention to his chameleon qualities. Malaysians would then come to ask more closely: who and what exactly does Anwar stand for? - The Economists, Jul 30th 2009, Banyan: Malaysia's Chameleon

Some may angrily suggest that Anwar sues the Economist - but let us not forget freedom of expression, freedom of opinion, etc... The Economist article raises several points that deserve consideration, and I believe it is time for Malaysian politicians and political parties (and governments) to be more transparent and clear on the positions that they take on various issues.

Source: http://charleshector.blogspot.com/2009/08/who-deftly-tells-different.html

You agree?

Malaysia's chameleon

From The Economist print edition

The rise, fall and rise of Anwar Ibrahim, South-East Asia's most extraordinary politician

Illustration by M. Morgenstern

ONE evening in mid-July Anwar Ibrahim was deep in the rubber-tapping state of Kelantan in northern Malaysia, urging a crowd of rural folk to vote for a devout fishmonger. The candidate was from the conservative Islamic Party (PAS). A tiny by-election for the state assembly PAS already dominates is ordinarily small beer (or would be, if PAS allowed such a beverage, which it does not). But Mr Anwar needs PAS. For the paradox is that without the Islamists, the alliance he leads of Malay modernisers, Indians and secular Chinese has little chance of driving the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) from power. The coalition that UMNO dominates has ruled Malaysia since independence in 1957. Mr Anwar longs for UMNO's destruction. The feeling is mutual.

That morning, Mr Anwar had been in Perth where he had met Australia's foreign minister. What had he been doing with Stephen Smith? "Plotting," replies Mr Anwar, with a conspiratorial wink. Mr Anwar spends a lot of time abroad with national and religious leaders whose names he drops slightly too easily into an engaging conversational style. He moves like quicksilver from one intriguing subject to the next, but you get the uncanny sense that he is speaking to what interests you.

Mr Anwar has been here before. In 1998 he was charged with corruption and homosexual acts. In custody, he was beaten up by the chief of police. He spent six years in jail, mostly in solitary confinement, until his conviction was overturned. Upon release, his political career seemed over.Mr Anwar thinks he will soon need international support. Two days after stumping in Kelantan, pre-trial hearings began in a case in which Mr Anwar stands accused of sodomising a political aide "against the order of nature". Mr Anwar vigorously denies the charges. He says he is the victim of a political stitch-up. International outrage might help him. Much is fishy about the case. Photographs of the former aide who brought the accusations show him with UMNO members, including people close to the current prime minister, Najib Razak. The charge has been changed from sexual assault to "consensual sex", yet his accuser has not been charged. (All homosexuality is illegal in Malaysia.)

It is easy to forget now but for many years Mr Anwar led a charmed life. He made his name as an Islamist student leader in the 1970s and was even jailed under the draconian Internal Security Act. Then he shocked his former colleagues by joining UMNO, where his rise was spectacular. By 1993 he was deputy prime minister and heir to Mahathir Mohamad, the country's long-serving leader. Malaysia seemed about to fall into his lap. "Ah," says Mr Anwar, "the good old days."

But during the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98, Mr Anwar moved too soon against his mentor, who after 16 years in power was not ready to bow out. Mr Anwar railed against the UMNO cronyism from which he had benefited. Livid, Dr Mahathir threw him out of the cabinet and launched Mr Anwar's persecution. Mr Anwar'sreformasi movement sputtered out with his jailing.

Yet the hopes which that movement represented surged again after the general election of March 2008, and especially after August 2008 when Mr Anwar won a seat in Penang. In the election the ruling coalition lost its precious two-thirds majority which gave it power to change the constitution. It has since lost five out of six by-elections to Mr Anwar's forces, which also control four of 13 states. In getting out its message, the opposition has been helped by an explosion of internet opinion that has undermined the influence of the UMNO-controlled mainstream media.

UMNO's back is against the wall. Even its own officials admit to its arrogance, with corruption bound into the fabric of its power. The New Economic Policy (NEP, introduced in 1971) instituted racial preferences for majority Malays, when ethnic Chinese and Indians owned much of business. But instead of helping the poor, the NEP has enriched rent-seekers around the ruling party, while dragging down economic growth. Resentment has spread from Chinese and Indians to poor or pious Malays.

This has made possible Mr Anwar's strange alliance. In calling for the end to the NEP, he says poor Chinese and Indians need help as much as Malays—but because there are more poor Malays than other races, they will still get the lion's share of government help. It is a possible way out from the baneful influence of race on Malaysian politics. But the real strength of this alliance is that Mr Anwar's charisma and political nous holds it together. Alas, that it is potential weakness, too.

Trials and tribulations

The challenges for Mr Anwar and his alliance will now multiply. For a start, Mr Najib, prime minister since April, has said the NEP must adapt, stealing some of his opponent's thunder.

Then there is the time-consuming trial. Mr Anwar says he will win whatever the verdict. If he is acquitted, the government which brought the case will be discredited. If found guilty, tens of thousands of supporters will take to the streets. Mr Anwar hints tantalisingly at new information in a murder case that has gripped the country partly because of its links to Mr Najib. This, he suggests, gives him ammunition to fight back.

Intriguing, but it is unlikely to be enough. If Mr Anwar does go to jail, the alliance may not survive the loss of its leader. If he calls out his supporters—for something of the martyr lurks in him—he may be blamed for the ensuing chaos. And if he appeals to international opinion, his local supporters may question that.

This points to a trap waiting to catch the silver-tongued Mr Anwar, who deftly tells different audiences—religious or secular—what they like to hear. The same blogosphere that helped his meteoric rise may one day pay more attention to his chameleon qualities. Malaysians would then come to ask more closely: who and what exactly does Anwar stand for?

Source: http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14140818&fsrc=rss

PRU-13 soon?

PR Will Not Form The Next Government

Rumour in town is that the next General Elections may be as early as mid next year. I don't know how true that is but that's what I heard. If that is true, then Najib has hit the bulls-eye. PR will not be able to control more than half the parliament. It will also lose back a few states. That's how I see it if the next GE is indeed held in less than a year's time. Let's explore my predictions a little more. 

Penang. Lim Guan Eng is a good man. A down to earth leader who looks out for the interests of the people. But he is not a strong leader. He has not yet woken up to the fact that he is no longer the opposition. Blaming predecessors and the federal government will not solve his problems. He is simply not creative in tackling issues. It will be difficult to see Penang flourish under his leadership. But he is lucky that Penangites' hatred for BN is so strong that he will retain office come the next GE. 

As to the Jeff Ooi issue, let's see how LGE tackles this. JO did a boo boo and should do the necessary - apologise. And be reprimanded so as to set a precedent. 

Kelantan. Manek Urai is not a good yard stick. With a small number of voters, UMNO was able to rain cash on the land. At a GE level, no way. But PAS has always has this faction problem. Central PAS is simply unable to control their state level leaders/representatives. And the unity government bullshit. I put that down to weak leadership. And hence the unending headaches for PASleadership. Crack the whip! PAS is a cowboy party with no discipline. 

Even a 5 year old knows that PAS is full of UMNO spies. Why that has never been tackled remains a mystery alongside the UFOs and bigfoot. Are they leaving it to god to resolve their problems? God will only help those who help themselves. Nevertheless, Kelantan will remain withPAS because Kelantan is Kelantan. 

Perak. Hopefully the fire within Perakians is still strong. How long will Nizar's popularity last? The learned ones will see him as the one who lost the state for failing to see the coup coming. The other voters will continue to give him sympathy vote but that depends on the mood of the day. If PR Perak plays their cards right, they have a good chance to regain Perak. They are also helped by Zambry doing nothing since taking over. I would also like to think that many Perakians would like to send Sultan Azlan a message on the rakyat's power. Let's keep our fingers crossed. 

Selangor. This is the ONE that everyone wants. The hub of economic development in Malaysia. But this is also the most challenging state with the highest number of urban crowd with excess to information from all ends. The problem with the Selangor PR is the lack of talent and leadership - this is of course a similar trend in the entire PR. But the 'more advanced' people of Selangor demand much. Much much more than what is on offer now. The free 10 bucks water is a good goodwill exercise but the urban crowd is much too demanding. 

The economic and social welfare of the state has to be taken care off. Sadly, both are lacking. The people may be able to close an eye on the economic woes as it is global, but the social welfare? Sigh. The crime rate is sky high but PR blames the police. Brilliant. Pass the buck again. We might as well vote in the janitor if we need someone to simply pass the buck. This is a result of weakness at the leadership level. Khalid Ibrahim is a corporate man; not a politician, and not a people's man. Thaksin did well forThailand running the country the corporate manner but it is not easy to replicate that success. Honestly, what has Khalid Ibrahim done for the state? 

Khalid is another MB who is unable to control his sub-ordinates. The YBs in Selangor are getting more and more daring to step out of the line because the MB is weak. Look at Hassan 'The Trouble Maker' Ali, the UMNO spy planted in PAS. If he is not acting in the interest of the people in general, he does not deserve to be serving the people at all. To make it worse, it now looks as though it is all PAS' fault. But no. It is Hassan Ali individually under the directions of UMNO. Action must be taken against trouble makers. UMNO will continue to create more problems. I doubt if Khalid can handle all these politicking. He is after all a novice being gifted an MB position because there is none better. 

UMNO is on an all out war to win back Selangor. And PR is 'helping' UMNO realise their mission. The people are sick of in-fighting within PR Selangor and a weak MB. How has the state improved under PR? How is PR going to take the state forward? Remember, we are talking about the most advanced state in the country. The likes of Hannah Yeoh and Teresa Kok are doing good jobs but are only fire fighting. Do you see them being able to transform the state into a Tokyo? Hong Kong? Shanghai? No. Where is the mission? Where is the talent to realise the mission? Not with the likes of Loh Gwo Burne. So, I do see the people of Selangor consider returning the state to BN. At least there was clear signs of progress and prosper in the past 2 decades. PR take heed. 

Kedah. In-fighting again. And PAS central is unable to control PAS Kedah. No clear leadership in Kedah. No activity in Kedah. No progress in Kedah. No nothing in Kedah except for petty matters. Easy win for BN come the next GE. The people simply do not fill their stomach on religion - and PAS has not realise that yet. 

Central PR. Anwar is key and we all know that. But except for Anwar, all other leaders in PR are rubbish. The Lims will never grow out of being an opposition. They will never learn how to govern. It's is their blood to oppose. The ulamas are too contented with life. No real hunger to transform. And too much 'brotherly' love among each other to smack the black sheep on their thick skulls. 

I fault Anwar on this. He has created too much respect among the 3 main parties. I don't know how they are at PR level chief meetings but I guess they are very polite with each another. There can only be 1 leader to lead - this is rule #1. Unless Anwar can clearly establish this, he will never get to be an Obama. Obama seems like a nice polite guy but I cannot imagine him not running his office with a strong fist. If Anwar can implement this (if he has not already done so), then the nationwide in-fightings in PR can be tackled. At the very least, you must be seen as acting in cohesion. Perception, people, perception. He must tell off the 3 parties to put their houses in place. No rakyat will want a party to run the country when the party cannot even manage their own house. Rule with a fist Anwar, you know how that is done. Playing Mr. Nice Guy to everyone will get you and PR no where. 

UMNO senses that all is not right with PR. Their sniping has gain momentum. They know who the weaklings in PR are and where their manipulation play will work. Najib is a bastard. He is just like his father - the darkest Prime Minister of Malaysia. Bapak borek anak rintik. Abdul Razak forced Tunku out of office. Najib forced Badawi out of office. Abdul Razak started the race game in Malaysiawith May 13. Najib is playing the same race cards - unless you truly believe that the likes of Awang Selamat and Noor Azam get to write and publish as they wish. Abdul Razak introduced the NEP. Najib is doing the same thing but giving them a whole new look and names. 

Najib will be the dirtiest PM Malaysia have ever seen. 

Najib is good at camouflaging his policies. He has a team of image consultants. If you look closely, what he has opened up are those that do not concern the Malays. What he has removed are those the Malays will not benefit. In place are fine tuned policies that will benefit the Malays more than ever before and in much more direct manners. The NEPwill be a far cry compared to what Najib is implementing. 

But when it comes to power, he knows no subtlety. All his actions will be seen smack in your face. Even Mahathir had to give face to the rakyat. Not Najib. He fears not of the rakyat. And he definitely could not give a damn about PR. Perak coup, MACC, PDRM etc. are nothing of what is to come from the Twins Effect of Najib and Rosmah. 

Expect N&R to launch all out attacks to re-gain control ofMalaysia. You will be angry. You will feel insulted. You will want to leave the country. And it will all be Anwar's fault because he cannot control PKR, DAP and PAS.

Source: http://saltpepperandalittlekicap.blogspot.com/2009/08/pr-will-not-form-next-government.html

It's getting hot in here...

RACIAL TENSIONS RISE IN MALAYSIA

The question is whether the anger will play itself out in yet another by-election.  The Pakatan Rakyat coalition has won five of six by-elections since the March 2008 national polls eliminated the Barisan's longstanding two-thirds majority in the parliament. Asia Sentinel The political aspirations of Malaysia's ethnic minorities are rising uncomfortably, threatening the country's delicate racial balance, analysts in Kuala Lumpur say. The minority communities' political discontent over 40 years of entitlement programs given to ethnic Malays helped fuel the results of the 2008 national elections that saw the opposition gain power in five states and the federal territory of Selangor.  Existing tensions have been exacerbated in recent weeks by a number of issues, including the suspicious death on July 16 of Teoh Beng Hock, an aide to a top opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) leader, whose body was found atop a building next to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission headquarters. He had been taken there to be questioned over allegations of wrongdoing by his boss but his death was ruled a suicide.  The incident is only one of many unexplained deaths at the hands of law enforcement officials in Malaysia over recent years, but since the victim was Chinese, racial overtones have become unavoidable.  In addition, the MACC is believed to be investigating an unknown number of DAP lawmakers on corruption charges, leading to allegations that the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition is using law enforcement agencies for political purposes. Barisan figures, however, argue that the MACC is after their people as well. At the same time, the umbrella Pakatan Rakyat coalition, which made stunning gains against the ruling coalition in 2008, is fraying at the edges due to squabbling between the Malay fundamentalist Parti Islam se-Malaysia and the DAP, which is dominated by Chinese, over a variety of issues including an attempt by a DAP councilor to stop a PAS raid on beer supplies at a 7-Eleven, and the destruction of a pig slaughterhouse in the northern state of Kedah.   The infighting has become so intense that Lim Kit Siang, the venerable leader of the DAP, issued a statement warning that the alliance could become a "one-term wonder" if the spat isn't settled. Malaysia has existed in an uneasy racial mix since July 1969, when hundreds were believed killed in pitched battles between Malays, who make up more than half the population, and the Chinese, who make up about 25 percent. The Chinese continue to control most of the country's economic wealth despite the 1971 imposition of an affirmative action program for ethnic Malays called the New Economic Policy.  Anwar Ibrahim, the opposition leader, has called for an end to the NEP, charging that it has only enriched a handful of rent-seekers and cronies of the United Malays National Organisation. "Overlaid with the current problems is rising ethnic awareness," said a longtime political analyst with a Kuala Lumpur think tank. "Hope that a multi-racial opposition would dilute ethnicity in politics hasn't happened. Instead, the opposite has happened. A group in PAS feels ignored, or slighted, or exasperated and is now flexing its muscles in Pakatan. And this group finds common ground with UMNO, which is prompting growing rapprochement between the two political parties." Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, who came to power in March, is attempting to pull together what one longtime political analyst called a "Singapore model" — economic liberalization coupled with political authoritarianism. Opposition rallies have been raided or declared illegal on a regular basis, even down to busting up a birthday party. The latest occurrence was an announcement Friday by Rais Yatim, the information, communications and culture minister, that the country is considering a "green dam"style Internet filter to stop access to undesirable websites, particularly pornography. Even the Chinese government has backed away from instituting such a policy in the face of international criticism.  Najib's tactics appeared to be working at first. He came into office even less popular than his predecessor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, tarred by a wide range of scandals ranging from allegations of bribery during his stint as defense minister to questions over his involvement in the murder of a Mongolian woman jilted by his best friend. However, his economic policies pulled up public approval sharply for UMNO, the leading ethnic party in the Barisan. However, continuing public fury over Teoh's purported suicide cut into Najib's good news, especially after the water cannons and truncheons came out at a massive (by Malaysian standards) demonstration on July 31 to protest the government's continued use of the colonial-era Internal Security Act, which allows for detention without habeas corpus. The demonstration drew as many as 20,000 participants; some 600 were arrested amid a haze of tear gas in the crackdown.  "If you're Chinese you'd like to believe the Malays killed him," says a lawyer connected to UMNO. "But so many Malays die in police custody. Prior to this, the MACC investigated 22 UMNO MPs and 12 were charged.  But as soon as the MACC investigates five Chinese, it's the MACC targeting Chinese. The DAP has made this into a race issue. No, we have a serious race problem in this country. Perhaps that's what everybody wanted – push the envelope to see what happens." Certainly, there is plenty of envelope-pushing on all sides.  In a flamethrowing article earlier this week in the UMNO-owned Malay-language Utusan Malaysia last week, journalist Noor Azam called on ethnic Malays "not to be cowards anymore and rise up to face the challenges being posed by the Chinese and Indians in Malaysia." The article accused the DAP of manipulating Malay leaders in the Pakatan Rakyat opposition coalition and warned that should it come to power, "Malay special rights and the NEP are no more."  He accused the opposition of stirring race hatred and called ethnic Malays "a race of stupid cowards, and people who are cowards will die before even their deaths." The temperature is set to rise higher during expected annual district and regional conclaves for UMNO, when the rhetorical pitch grows more intense. There is spreading anger among Malays over a remark by Jeff Ooi, a blogger and popular DAP activist from Penang, who called Jemaah Islah Malaysia, an Islamic missionary organization, extremist for advocating shariah, or religious law.  "That's an insult to all Malays," said the UMNO lawyer. "It's an insult to all of Islam.  All of us Malays would like shariah law." The question is whether the anger will play itself out in yet another by-election.  The Pakatan Rakyat coalition has won five of six by-elections since the March 2008 national polls eliminated the Barisan's longstanding two-thirds majority in the parliament. On July 31, a PAS assemblyman from the Permatang Pasir district in Penang died of a heart attack. The lawmaker was PAS's only representative in the Penang state. The by-election, for which the date has yet to be set, will determine whether the Pakatan coalition's political strength is still rising.  In the most recent by-election, in the heart of opposition territory, the Pakatan candidate won by only 65 votes. Permatang Pasir is part of Anwar's stronghold. If the opposition loses the seat, or even does badly, it will be an indication that its popularity is declining. Source: http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/25405/84/

Which one?

UTUSAN MELAYU ... OR UGUTAN MELAYU?

Utusan Melayu is synonymous with Ketuanan Melayu, Tuntutan Melayu, Rasul Melayu, Kongres Melayu, Kesatuan Melayu, and other forms of glorified anomalies of the progressive Malay mind yearning to be free from the shackles of feudalism, superstition, and neo-feudalistic and urban-superstitious beliefs. Azly Rahman http://azlyrahman-illuminations.blogspot.com/ What is the function of a newspaper in a multicultural society? Is it to expand the mind of readers or to instill fear of others --or even of oneself? Utusan Melayu (I am still familiar with this name rather than Utusan Malaysia) or the Malay Messenger has some good stuff to contribute to society but generally its and mission and vision is to build soul cages of the Malays. The mind of the Malay is warped, distorted, and archived into a realm of fear of itself and of others. Through the Malay language it brings thinking into a tabloidic dimension and relegates politics into a subject of advancing the backwardness of ultra-communalism. Utusan Melayu is synonymous with Ketuanan Melayu, Tuntutan Melayu, Rasul Melayu, Kongres Melayu, Kesatuan Melayu, and other forms of glorified anomalies of the progressive Malay mind yearning to be free from the shackles of feudalism, superstition, and neo-feudalistic and urban-superstitious beliefs. Utusan Melayu claims to be "Penyebar Fikiran Rakyat". But does it expand the mind nor spread the message of peace of the Malays in relation to the much-needed marhaenism with other races? By calling the Malays not to be "bachul" or "wimp" and to "bangkit" or to rise, the newspaper is showing its irrelevance and outdatedness of rhetoric. Tabloidic and tantric treatment of totalitarian thinking. The Malays are confused what these messages mean because they now have no reason to de-wimp themselves nor to rise. Against who? Are Malaysians not seeing the emergence, though with growing pains, of a two -party system that in which a multicultural coalition is gnawing the roots of ethnocentric-based political alliance that have survived on fear management? Back to my confusion on the role of Utusan Melayu. On the idea of "kebaculan" and "kebangkitan" (wimpiness and wakefulness) Perhaps there is a hidden message in all these. The call to de-wimp and rise is a call to arms against the few Malays in power that are using the media to create a false consciousness of who the real enemy is and what the real issue has been. Perhaps the call is to revolt against all forms of authoritarianism and totalitarianism that have made the Malays of these days carry an unpleasant name. Perhaps the call is to rise against all kinds of organizations, paid or volunteer, that seems to advance the "rights of the Malays" and insist on keeping repressive intact to bludgeon others. Is Utusan Melayu a threat to the advancement of the Malays? Is it still a popular tabloid that now uses threatening means to maintain readership? Or is it merely a continuation of a cultural transmission of fear and trembling, superstition and sensationalism, to get modern Malays to do shadowboxing/shadowpuppet play with bogeymen and bogeymen created from an old script of Ketuanan Melayu? I do not know. But is it called Ugutan Melayu or Utusan Melayu? Source: http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/25370/84/

What if it was the entire Internet?

Twitter Goes Down: Demonstrates the Dangers of Consolidated Communication

by Helen Overland.

 

Twitter is no longer just the place that people go to voice their most inane thoughts to people who couldn't care less. Nor, despite the numbers, is it simply a place for marketers to hang out and push products and content to the hungry masses.

People are using Twitter to find out about events, as they are happening, continents away. People are using Twitter to have a voice in countries where having an opinion can be illegal.

Twitter has evolved into a medium that now demands our respect.

Which is why today's outage on Twitter will spark changes in how we communicate online.

 

Twitter as News Source

Twitter has been used more and more lately by older, more conservative news media in their traditional TV, radio and newspaper reporting.

For going on a year now, traditional news outfits like CNN have been using Twitter as a source of commentary that has been appearing in actual news broadcasts.

Other large news organizations like the BBC are using Twitter as a source of news. During the Canadian election in 2008, the CBC used Twitter during its' televised election coverage.

 

Twitter as Critical Communications Tool

As the Mumbai bombing events were unfolding, people were finding out - well I found out anyway - what was happening in Mumbai from Twitter, not from TV or radio. People at the scene were reporting on Twitter about the situation before major news outfits could begin to respond.

It was at that moment, I believe, that journalists really stopped and asked themselves what Twitter was really all about. Private citizens were reporting on the situation and getting information out much faster than a news organization could contact a local correspondant and get them on to the scene.

More recently, and much closer to the point, is the recent situtaion in Iran. When the physical dangers of protesting in Iran became increasingly obvious, it wasn't traditional journalists who were able to get the story out. It was average people on Twitter.

Twitter became the defacto tool of democracy. To the point that it is rumored that the US State Department intervened to make sure Twitter kept running through the Iranian situation.

This comment made on mashable from a lady named Laura who claims to work for the Red Cross sums up nicely how critical Twitter is becoming as a communication tool:

"I work for the Red Cross and we use Twitter extensively during disasters to provide updates about our services and how to keep your family safe. In fact, I've used it to pass information to CNN during breaking news situations like Hurricane Gustav and the Grand Canyon flooding a couple of weeks ago. Rick Sanchez uses stuff right off our Twitter channel during his broadcast. Kudos to all the media outlets who are on board with Twitter."

People are looking to Twitter in a crisis as a source of information.

 

Twitter as Highly Vulnerable

But Twitter is a single company, run by a single group of 29 people. Funded by venture capital and yet to turn a proft, or even present a business model to date. And today, Twitter was sued for patent infringement.

What kind of situation are we creating, where a communication tool is seen as so vital to the flow of worldwide information that news and potentially government organizations need to get involved during times of crisis? Is the future of journalism in the hands of one small company operated by 29 people with no business model?

What if Twitter decides that it doesn't want a story covered? Does the site go down then? Does the story have trouble "rising to the top"? I'm sure this is not the case, but you get the idea of the possible.

The DDOS attack lobbed against Twitter today clearly demonstrates how fragile this tool is as a platform for worldwide communication. And don't think that the larger news organizations, or even government organizations, aren't watching closely.

 

Communication as Democracy

If we have entered an age where distributed communications are now the norm (and we have entered this age even if it's not blatantly obvious yet), then these tools must be reliable and decentralized, just like the Internet was intended.

Maybe there's something along the lines of a "BitTorrent for communications" in the works somewhere. Who knows.

But one thing you can expect for sure, is changes in the way that media interacts with Twitter. If Twitter wants to continue being the foremost platform for distributed communications, it's going to have to do a better job. And for that, turning a profit wouldn't be a bad idea, either.

Source: http://www.searchenginepeople.com/blog/twitter-down-dangers-consolidated-communication.html

Nah, amik kau!!!

Tidak, Melayu tidak bacul!

August 5, 2009

Syahredzan Johan

Why You Can, I Cannot?

Sekiranya matlamat Utusan Malaysia adalah untuk membangkitkan kemarahan orang ramai dengan menyiarkan rencana bertajuk "Melayu jangan jadi bacul" tulisan Noor Azam, maka akhbar tersebut telah berjaya mencapai matlamatnya. Rencana tersebut telah membuatkan saya begitu marah sehinggalah saya menyumpah dan mencela skrin komputer saya.

Kemarahan yang meluap-luap ini tidak pernah saya rasai, walaupun telah banyak rencana yang disiarkan oleh Utusan Malaysia yang saya baca. Kemarahan saya bukanlah disebabkan saya bersetuju dengan apa yang dibangkitkan oleh rencana tersebut. Saya, seperti ramai yang lain, begitu marah dengan rencana tersebut kerana ia telah meniupkan api perkauman dengan melaga-lagakan orang Melayu dan orang bukan Melayu di negara ini.

Saya tidak mahu membuat ulasan tentang perkara-perkara berkenaan dengan beberapa parti-parti politik yang disebut di dalam rencana tersebut. Politik adalah seni hentam-menghentam, kritik-mengkritik dan balas-membalas. Dan Utusan Malaysia adalah sebuah akhbar politik, walaupun ia juga memuatkan berita-berita sukan, hiburan dan luar negara. Jadi biarlah ahli-ahli politik dan parti-parti mereka menjawab dakwaan Utusan Malaysia.

Apa yang saya ingin katakan di sini adalah berkenaan dengan sentimen perkauman yang dibakar oleh rencana tesebut.

Mengikut rencana tersebut, hak-hak orang Melayu kian dicabar oleh orang-orang bukan Melayu. Kononnya perkara tersebut semakin menjadi-jadi sejak akhir ini. Tetapi, walaupun begitu banyak "peringatan" dan "amaran" yang diberikan, orang Melayu masih tidak "bangkit" dan "bangun" untuk mempertahankan bangsa mereka. Maka rencana itu bertanya, adakah Melayu sudah menjadi bacul?

Apakah yang dimaksudkan dengan "bangkit" dan "bangun", yang diseru kepada orang Melayu oleh rencana tersebut? Walaupun tampak tegas dan garang, rencana tersebut tidak pula menyatakan apa yang dimaksudkan dengan perkataan-perkataan tersebut.

Saya petik dari rencana tersebut:

Akan tetapi semua seruan dan amaran hanya tinggal dalam lipatan akhbar Utusan Malaysia sahaja. Orang Melayu tidak bangun bangun juga. Pertubuhan Melayu - yang lama dan baru - hanya sekadar mengeluarkan kenyataan marah-marah dan membuat laporan polis sahaja. GAPENA yang menganjurkan Kongres Perpaduan Melayu yang sangat besar dan penuh bersemanga pun, sampai sekarang tidak nampak sebarang tindakan. Pemimpin Umno, termasuk Pemuda pun sekadar mengeluarkan kenyataan dan amaran sahaja.

Maka "bangkit" dan "bangun" bukanlah "seruan", "amaran", "mengeluarkan kenyataan", "membuat laporan polis" seperti yang telah dibuat sebelum ini. Kita boleh membuat kesimpulan bahawa "bangkit" dan "bangun" merujuk kepada sesuatu tindakan yang lebih agresif daripada apa yang dilakukan sebelum ini. Persoalannya, apakah tindakan tersebut? Memberontak? Berdemonstrasi? Membuat rusuhan kaum? Saya tidak tahu dan saya berpendapat bahawa pihak berkuasa haruslah membuat siasatan tentang apa yang dimaksudkan dengan "bangkit" dan "bangun" untuk memastikan bahawa ia tidak mengandungi unsur-unsur hasutan.

Inilah yang membuatkan saya begitu marah. Di kala rakyat jelata sedang berganding bahu untuk merapatkan jurang kaum dan agama dan membina sebuah negara Malaysia yang lebih maju, Utusan pula membangkitkan isu perkauman. Tatkala Perdana Menteri kita memperkenalkan konsep "1Malaysia" yang inklusif dan bertujuan untuk memupuk perpaduan, Utusanpula secara terbuka telah mendakwa bahawa apa yang dikehendaki oleh orang Cina dan India adalah kuasa politik dan pentadbiran yang lebih besar.

Menurut rencana tersebut:

Orang Melayu, Raja-Raja Melayu dan Kumpulan Utusan Melayu yang selama ini sangat bersabar dan sentiasa sangat berhati-hati menjaga hati orang Cina dan India, sudah tidak boleh tahan lagi.

Saya tidak tahu sejak bila orang Melayu melantik Kumpulan Utusan Melayu untuk menjadi jurucakap kami. Saya sendiri tidak pernah dan tidak mahu Utusan Malaysia untuk bercakap bagi pihak saya. Saya juga tidak percaya bahawa Raja-Raja Melayu ada mengambil Utusan Malaysia sebagai lidah rasmi mereka. Saya percaya mereka juga sudah tentu tidak bersetuju dengan rencana tersebut.

Saya sebenarnya tidak faham apakah yang dimaksudkan dengan "hak-hak orang Melayu dicabar". Setahu saya, apa yang dikatakan sebagai "hak Melayu" itu telahpun termaktub di dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan. Ianya tidak boleh dipinda atau dimansuhkan dengan mudah dan perlu persetujuan daripada Majlis Raja-Raja. Maka retorik yang sering dimainkan bahawa hak-hak tersebut semakin hilang hanyalah mainan politik golongan tertentu.

Tetapi dengan sendirinya, rencana tersebut telah meluaskan "hak-hak Melayu" kepada perkara-perkara seperti kedudukan-kedudukan tinggi di dalam perkhidmatan awam dan kerajaan. Saya pun tidak tahu di mana dinyatakan di dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan bahawa Datuk Bandar Kuala Lumpur mestilah berbangsa Melayu.

Adakah perlu kita penuhkan kakitangan awam kita dengan orang-orang Melayu sahaja? Adakah dengan berbuat demikian, kita dapat memperkasakan bangsa Melayu? Adakah kemiskinan dan masalah sosial yang melanda orang Melayu akan terhapus hanya kerana jawatan tinggi dalam kerajaan dipegang oleh orang Melayu? Kalau begitu, mengapakah saya masih melihat anak-anak Melayu terbiar tanpa pembelaan? Mengapakah kekayaan negara masih tidak disalurkan kepada orang-orang Melayu yang memerlukannya?

Jika kita ingin negara kita bersaing dengan negara-negara lain, kita tidak boleh melihat semua perkara melalui kanta etnik. Kita perlukan yang terbaik tanpa mengira warna kulit dan keturunan. Institusi-institusi awam adalah milik semua dan bukannya "institusi Melayu". Tidak ada guna sekiranya institusi-institusi tersebut didominasi dengan bangsa Melayu, tetapi semuanya tidak efisyen, tidak efektif dan dibelenggu dengan penyelewengan. Nasib Melayu tidak akan terbela hanya kerana institusi awam dipenuhi oleh orang Melayu.

Saya percaya orang Melayu akan dapat membela nasib mereka sendiri. Jangan sangka Melayu itu bangsa yang bodoh dan malas yang sentiasa memerlukan jaminan dan pertolongan dari kerajaan. Jangan hina Melayu sebegitu rupa!

Saya percaya ramai yang telah muak dengan sentimen perkauman yang sering dimainkan oleh Utusan Malaysia. Ini bukan kali pertama dan saya percaya ia bukan kali terakhir. Tetapi sampai bila harus kita memberi muka kepada media yang mengganggu-gugat keharmonian kaum seperti ini?

Terimalah kenyataan bahawa orang Melayu telah berubah. Mereka tidak mudah termakan dengan umpan perkauman yang disajikan oleh pihak-pihak tertentu. Rencana tersebut tersasar, kerana orang Melayu tidak bacul. Orang Melayu kini semakin matang, semakin kritikal dan semakin berani. Mereka sedar bahawa arus perubahan sedang melanda dan mereka tidak takut menghadapinya. Orang Melayu kian faham bahawa saingan dari dalam dan luar negara tidak dapat dielakkan. Orang Melayu tidak lagi melihat bangsa lain sebagai musuh yang sentiasa ingin merampas hak mereka.

Yang bacul dan penakut adalah mereka tidak mahu berubah dan masih berpegang teguh kepada agenda perkauman yang sempit dan melemaskan.

Source: http://loyarburok.com/human-rights/why-you-can-human-rights/tidak-melayu-tidak-bacul/

What? An accident?

MALAY NATIONALISM A HISTORICAL ACCIDENT?

Posted by admin

Wednesday, 05 August 2009 01:43

Even the word "National Front" (Barisan Nasional) is elusive. It is surviving as long as means to cling on to power – by all means necessary – becomes more efficient and sophisticated. Azly Rahman http://azlyrahman-illuminations.blogspot.com/ What is a Malay? What is a Malaysian? What is a nationalist? What is a 'nation'? How are we becoming "re-tribalised" in this world of increasing restlessness over a range of issues that are not being resolved by the current regime. These are burning questions as we become more mature in discussing race relations in Malaysia – 40 years after the May 13, 1969 incident. Ernest Renan, Anthony Smith, Benedict Anderson, Harry Benda, and John Funston – major scholars of nationalism -- would agree that Umno does not have an ideology except to sustain its elusive political superiority via the production of post-industrial materials and human beings. Elusive word  Even the word "National Front" (Barisan Nasional) is elusive. It is surviving as long as means to cling on to power – by all means necessary – becomes more efficient and sophisticated. Its survival lies in the way people are divided, conquered, and mutated into 'post-industrial tribes'; market-segmented- differentiatedly-sophisticated enclaves that are produced out of the need for the free market economy to transform Malays and Malaysians into consumers of useless goods and ideology. Post-industrial tribalism is a natural social reproduction of the power of the media to shape consciousness, and to create newer forms of consumerist human beings. Nationalism, including Malay nationalism of the Mahathirst era, is an artificial construct that needs the power of "othering" and "production of enemies" and "boogeymen and boogeywomen" for ideological sustainability. But what is "nationalism" and does "Malay nationalism" actually exist in this century? Does the idea of 'natio' or "nation" or "a people" survives merely on linguistic, territorial, religious homogeneity when these are also subject to the sociological interrogations of subjectivity and relativity? Nationalism is a psychological and cultural construct useful and effective when deployed under certain economic conditions. It is now ineffective as a tool of mass mobilisation when nations have gained "independence" from the colonisers and when the "enemy" is no longer visible. All that exist in this post-industrial, globalised, borderless, and mediated age of cybernetic capitalism is the idea of "post-industrial tribes" that live and thrive on chaos and complexity and on materials and goods produced by local and international capitalists. Revise the old formula We are in the 21st. century. One year from now, we will arrive at the year 2010. The non-Malays and non-bumiputeras have come a long way into being accepted as full-fledged Malaysians, by virtue of the ethics, rights and responsibilities of citizenship. They ought to be given equal opportunity in the name of social justice, racial tolerance and the alleviation of poverty. Bright and hard-working Malaysians regardless of racial origin who now call themselves Malaysians must be given all the opportunities that have been given to Malays since 40 years back. Islam and other religions require this form of social justice to be applied to the lives of human beings. Islam does not discriminate one on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, creed nor national origin. It is race-based politics, borne out of the elusiveness of nationalism, that creates post-industrial tribalistic leaders; leaders that will design post-industrial tribalistic policies. It is the philosophy of greed, facilitated by free enterprise runamuck that will evolvingly force leaders of each race to threaten each other over the control of the economic pie. The claim of 'civilisational Islam' or "Islam Hadhari" must be backed with a philosophy of development that restructure society no longer on the basis of newer forms of post-industrial tribalism that accords the political elites with the best opportunity to amass more wealth, but to redesign the economic system based on an efficient and sound socialistic economic system. It might even require political will to curb human enthusiasm of acquiring more and more of the things they do not need. In short, it should curb temptations to out-consume each other in the name of greed. To be civilised means to wake up to the possibilities of humanism and not plunge into a world of more sophisticated racism. The universal principle of humanism requires the privileged few to re-examine the policies of national development that prioritise the creation of more real estate projects than the construction of programmes that meet basic needs of all races and classes of peoples. To civilise a nation means to de-tribalise the citizens into a polity that will learn to share the wealth of this nation by accepting this land as the "earth of mankind" (bumi manusia) rather that a land belonging to this or that race. In a multi-racial, multi-religious, country such as Malaysia, nationalism is a complex yet withering concept. In a globalised world of globally- and government-linked companies this concept of "fatherland" or "motherland" is a powerful weapon of the wealthy to mount arguments that hide the real intention of empire-building. The lifestyle of the country's rich and famous require nationalist sentiments to be played up so that the more the rights are "protected" the more the political-economically rich few will have their sustained control over the people, territories, natural resources and information. This, I think is the picture of post-industrial tribalism we are seeing as a mutation of the development, appropriation and imitation of the Malay feudalistic mentality. The clear and present danger in our post-industrial tribalistic world lies in old formula we are wrongly using. The essential question now is – as a 'Malaysian nation'/Bangsa Malaysia haven't we agreed upon a construction of a common history and a common destiny? Or-- did we have a wrong version of Malaysian history funneled into us, through a historical error? Source: http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/25294/84/

Melayu, oh melayu...

The Malays are cowards, says Utusan

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 4 — The Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia appeared set to raise the temperature on the race debate when the newspaper published an opinion today calling on the Malays not to be cowards anymore and rise up to face the challenges being posed by the Chinese and Indians in Malaysia.

In an opinion piece written by journalist Noor Azam, the newspaper also continued singling out the Chinese-dominated DAP as the main party manipulating the Malay leaders in the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) into achieving its own agenda.

But the article focused heavily on scare-mongering and warned the Malays that they stood to lose if the PR alliance came to power.

"Based on the number of non-Malay candidates which could win the next general elections, it can be imagined which ministries they will want.

"Who will hold the position of Chief Secretary. Secretary-generals, department director-generals. Senior officers and district officers? Who will be senior officers in the police and military?"

"Witness what has happened in Penang, Perak and Selangor. The Malay special rights and the NEP is no more."

The article does not, however, explain how Malay rights have been eroded in the three states won by PKR and DAP in last year's general elections.

It goes on to claim that the strategy of the opposition was to stir up racial issues to cause the public to be angry towards whatever powers the Malays have left in Malaysia.

The article claimed that Malays held power over the monarchy, the courts, the police and the military.

"Strangely there are many Malay-Muslims who are also expressing hatred for the powers held by their own race. The Malay race has become a race of stupid cowards, and people who are cowards will die before even their deaths."

The writer points out that "what the Chinese and the Indians want now is more political and administrative power, not justice and democracy."

He also equated Malay political power with the power held by Umno which he claimed is what the Chinese and Indians wanted to erase. The writer argues that the erosion of Malay political power by the non-Malays could only be achieved with the help of PAS and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

"The attacks and the hatred shown by the opposition and Chinese and Indian political activists towards the Malays has worsened. They are purposely showing their bravery and rude actions. Except they have not started marching and unzipping their trousers as they did during the May 13 tragedy."

The writer laments, however, that the Malays have become a race of cowards by not reacting to the Chinese and Indians.

Source: http://themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/34168-the-malays-are-cowards-says-utusan