MERDEKA
– A NEW DAWN
The beautiful and magical years of
innocence have fled this good country. Each individual citizen can’t absolve or
escape from the responsibility that we allowed ourselves to lose all that is
most precious to us.
I remember life from the tail end of the
fifties. As children we never knew anything about differences in religion and
colour. Our parents never spoke about what distinguished or set us apart from
the other. We were protected from the ills of the world and words such as
apartheid and division were just words to be used in language studies. The
physical meaning of such words was a rare experience. There was it seemed a
common unbreakable bond that held us together. The public bus drivers knew us
by name, the traders in central or Chow Kit Road market knew our families. When
one purchased from them they would actually choose vegetables, fruits or fish
that was of quality which would last. This epitomised the age of
personalization in business way before corporate entities conjured such
language. It was not uncommon to have to
find neighbours sharing and giving what little that was acquired with each
other. Neighbours gave each other
vegetables from their own garden. There were no peculiarities in sharing; a neighbour
who possessed a fridge would share the fridge space with another on occasions
where that family had a special function. Families would get together and help
each other out in cooking meals for big groups. Something as small as a new
plant would be shared with a neighbour either by means of a giving seeds or the
grafting process. DIY or do it yourselves which are found in products and
stores were common within families, fathers and sons would as far as possible
fix fences, bulbs change a faucet, or paint a house themselves and sometimes
the friends from school or the neighbours would help. Hired help or external
labour was not required. It was not unusual to use one contractor to do all the
work in a house over the years thereby developing personal relationships, the
workers of the contractors shared meals with the family. Recipes, gossip, the triumphs and tragedies
of life were shared across fences. It was amazing but our cab or taxi drivers
would actually have a drink when they send a customer home, this was common
courtesy and respect at its best. The landscape of life would be incomplete if
we do not mention the young Chinese ladies usually coming door to door direct
from the farm weekly to sell eggs or toothpaste and this eventually progressed
to variety of other items, there was the market on wheels where one could buy
the daily vegetables, fish or chicken and the mother’s would congregate to
speak over the latest happenings, and of course the bread man and ice cream on
wheels which are still the only reminders in some parts of urban KL of how every life impacted us in the circle
of life. A simple piece of bun was a luxury and
a red bean ice cream was heavenly that was consumed ever so slowly while
it was shared by quite a few licking
tongues, magnolia or walls was out of the world. One could play casino wheels with the ice
cream vendor and if a lucky person hit a jackpot, the ice creams were
shared. There was also the local vendor
who had the facilities to make and stock ice. Household’s without fridges would
buy Ice on Sundays to make lime juice and it would take three person to
purchase an ice block as carrying it
back was an ordeal and pleasure, the ice was packed in old newspapers and each one who carried it shared the load
so as not suffer frozen hands. Along the way the cold water that dripped
would find it way into the mouth of each individual. Newspapers were shared, by the end of the day
a whole block of eight houses would have read one English news daily. It was
also not an uncommon practice to remove the newspaper packaging and read the contents, the news and information
was old but yet it was read. If the article was of sufficient interest it was
retained and passed around. There were
occasions when a home did not have electricity as they defaulted on their
bills and a neighbour would make the
necessary payments to reattach the supply. The television set was one that brought persons together, there were Guitar lessons on TV, Rawhide, Gun Smoke, Lone Ranger and the
unforgettable moon landings that received a full audience of standing persons
outside one house gates to watch the extraordinary event. Movies cost anywhere
between forty to ninety cents. There were also the free movies, Indian, Malay
or Chinese before an inoculation jab in a football pitch or a road was blocked
off. Families brought their chairs and stools and watched such movies. Festivals were never known as belonging to
Malaya’s, Indian’s, Chinese or others – the celebrations were cleaved into each
other’s lives, we anticipated the celebrations with energy and zest.
Recycling was the norm not the exception,
furniture, beds, pots and pans were used beyond their shelf life and necessary
change would only take place when there was an acquisition of wealth
some marginalised person got the second hand or if one in the family got
married they acquired some of the family
belongings. More often than not clothes were a common possession and was passed
down to younger siblings or relatives and friends. Acquiring new furniture or an electrical
appliance was reason enough to celebrate
with the ice ball sugar coated delicacies or anything else that was available. Where there was a gathering we were there
as one. In a hospital’s we enjoyed equitable care and shared common concerns
and looked after each other. If a friend’s parent or sibling were to be
embraced by the arms of death, we would spend the night over with them to
provide solace and consolation. The
desolation of any tragedy was bearable as we faced it together. Friends,
relatives or neighbours had the liberty of dropping by unannounced, no
formalities observed and no permission was required.
School was a remarkable environment we
could fight with Ah Kow, Jebat Ali or Robin and yet it was never mentioned as a
person from a certain race fought with me, it was just another guy with a name.
God forbid if we got punished in school for misdemeanours, exclusive punishment
was reserved at home. If report cards were not passed up with the signature of
parents, either a phone call or a visit from the teacher was a matter of
time-usually sooner rather than later. If a teacher came over to visit a family
and there was some handiwork or manual labour that was taking place the teacher
would leave everything aside and pitch in to help before the discussion on the
son or daughter in the family who was literally quivering with great
anticipation and fear. Teachers were respected and admired and yes also
feared. Creative punishment and
rehabilitative detention of washing the school toilets, cutting grass or
working on the agricultural patch was the norm.
The Teachers seemed to know the name of each and every individual
student.
We could go to the homes of our poorest
schoolmates and have the hospitality of a good meal. This would usually be the
reality that stabs one’s heart of how one who had so little could give so much.
There were achievements attained by the effort of individual students and this
was always something that was scrutinised and the applause was something that
was earned on the backbone of real talent or hard work. Many a young person was
self taught with regard to music on the Guitar or any other instrument, such
knowledge was also shared. We could go to a restaurant and share a roti chani
in three equal parts and one drink was shared between three in a group. If a
student had one ringgit he was deemed to be rich, five ringgit he was a
millionaire and ten ringgit was
unspeakable. Innovation was seen in the
toys that were constructed from nothing
but any available material that was around. A badminton court was built over a
weeks by teenagers coming together and constructing a court in jungle land.
There were forays into the nearby jungle to make tree houses.
Music was also a common catalyst for developing
relationships. There were the young teens especially who would try and pick up
a cheap Kapok guitar and try to imitate the stars of the day. One would cycle
or walk to a friend’s house just to learn how to hold a certain chord or sing a
certain song. One could find the young placing their ears close to a radio set
to copy lyrics of a favourite song. The collaboration was strong in the sense
that each one was assigned to obtain a specific line of the lyrics to get the
complete song. More often than not musicians were able to sing in a few
languages. I personally know of young musicians who could sing Malay, Chinese,
Tamil, Hindi, Portuguese, French and occasionally in Italian. The talent pool
of young was incredible – who can forget Paul Ponnudari, Hillary Ang and Razak
Rahman. Each of these musicians were noted as among the best in the world.
We cheered for our sportsmen and women
who came from varied backgrounds, they were never know as being from a
particular race or community. We only knew them as Namat Abdullah, Soh Chin
Aun, Mokhtar Dahari, R.Aruguman, each and every Malaysian had a personal claim
over their sport personality. When the Malaysian football selection entertained
the Arsenal Football team with a renowned goalkeeper. There wasn’t an Arsenal
banner or Tee shirt worn by any of that team’s supporter’s. It was a sea of
Malaysian urging their team. The collective crowd were in effect the thirteenth
player on the field, no matter how strong or powerful a team against Malaysia
we were a serious threat as we had unity in diversity. This was a powerful and
eloquent example of togetherness that a political party could never sew
together.
There were among us weird or oddball kind
of individuals but none were ever categorized, despite each one having the
extravagance of displaying their small individual preferences. This was
accepted with loads of teasing and occasional fights. On the global front as
young eight years olds we were united in grief when JFK was assassinated. On
the home front we were very sympathetic towards our police force or army
personal when they were killed in the line of duty. It was a personal tragedy
akin to a relative dying. This was a precious and special bond between the
people of the country, rivers, seas or mountains never separated us. The burden
and sorrows of a few was felt and borne by the nation as a whole. Nothing could
defeat the spirit that gave birth to this nation. One could actually express
that we were closer than brothers.
MERDEKA
– LOST INNOCENCE
What is it that broke the yoke of this
magical formula and robbed us of our innocence? Can we feel the pulse beat of
what really broke the backbone of the family unit in the country? There are
varied reasons and I may not be correct about the whole scenario, but this is
how I see it.
·
Materialistic
greed was not yet realized in the era of the 60’s. The concern in fighting the
insurgency and winning the hearts and minds of the general population was a
binding force. It was the pragmatic realization that the bread of equality
offered was the only plausible and acceptable way to win a battle. There was
never an issue of a majority race with inalienable rights. Each and every
individual was an important component in building the infrastructure of the
fledging nation. There were various major races and persons of ethnic
background who were involved in the army, police and civil service. The legal
system was that of the highest order.
·
Power
was never realized as concept to rule but rather to serve. Our early leaders were
not persons who were of exceptional intelligence or creative talents. They were
just individuals who carried the hopes of a nation on the shoulders of rational
thought and supported by the morale principals of rights and wrongs. The rule
of law was rarely abused. The taxpayer’s money was never squandered on dubious
ventures nor were there politicians who just enriched themselves or their
families.
·
Religion
was a beautiful concept, we Catholics used to fast rigorously for the lent
period, quite a few of us cheated on the fast but it was never a dramatic
issue, our Muslim brothers and sisters would also fast during the month of
Ramadhan and likewise the Hindus. No one questioned the other- it was accepted
as a simple fact of each one’s life. Our friends from the various religious
backgrounds would come the Church for some music and likewise one could go to
the mosque or temple. There never were issues with serious or dramatic
consequences. There are friends who gave me books on their respective faiths
and this was read and it most certainly helped in building the walls of the
soul.
One cannot claim that racial segregation
was not evident, there were occasions especially that some segments of the
Chinese community would show their prejudice towards others, by giving items at
cheaper prices to members within their community, or telling other races that
certain items were beyond their budget, or even keeping the best items for
members of their own community. The Indians likewise had their own share of
prejudices and stereotyping against the Chinese. Can we blame the individuals
involved for such racism- I think that there wasn’t sufficient education or
knowledge on racial equality as such this can be attributed to ignorance more
than malice. Nevertheless one cannot
run away from these weakness but just hang our heads in shame that we had this
in our past. Acknowledgment and the resolve to improve will always make us
better persons.
On the political front we had in our
midst a brilliant and far sighted visionary in Dato Onn Bin Jaffar, while
America and Europe where still struggling with racism, we had a man with
conscience and moral wisdom. This was a person who could see the country beyond
the lenses of ethnicities, culture or creed. In Malaysia the ‘ I have a dream-
speech ‘ was in reality being promoted by Dato Onn long before any leader other
than Ghandi in the world was advocating such causes. When his cause was
rejected by those who were his closest aides it had already consigned us to the
eventualities of a future that would compromise us as a nation in the wrong
hands. The architects and engineers of Dato Onn Jaffar’s fall were around to
show themselves in the future. Realistically, it must be realized that Dato Onn
could never have succeeded against the prevalent sentiment of his aides, to
obtain a new mandate would have been so very difficult in terms of
communication logistics as he would have had to create new branches over the
length and breadth of the country in the shortest span of time. UMMNO branches
were already in place, having been built over a number of years. There was no way that Dato Onn Jaffar positive thoughts could
have reached the masses given the many disadvantages. It is such a pity that
the mainstream parties and important political figures could not see and
appreciate the vision of this great man. Dato Onn Jaffar may have been one our
very first of our unique original minorities, his compassion, rational forward
thinking, conscientious voice was lost in the wilderness of self interest. The undeserving, inglorious, ignominious end of
Dato Jaffar was an implosion with tragic consequences within UMNO where leaders
are never secure. This is clearly evident in the way Tuanku, Dato Hussein Onn,
Tun Abduallah Ahamad Badwai were all
dispatched in an insidious manner. When a good ideology or leader or thought is
forsaken and sacrificed- anything in the future can be compromised. The
precedence for good is overtaken by the brooding forces of dark that only fight
for themselves other than the citizens of the country.
Tuanku would have experienced and must have felt the same way as Dato Onn
Jaffar had felt, there was no place in the politics of this country for men or
women of calibre who cared about the common dignity of the citizen. The Advent
of May 13th 1969 did not separate the country and it now an
indispensable knowledge available as the truth unravels that it never was a
racial disturbance as we were led to believe. It was a combination of elements
the circumstance of which emanate from the politics, and various other factors
that came together by intention, engineered incidents and some that were sheer
accidents or ill luck. This is borne by the simple fact that it was not
widespread and contained within specific parts of the country . It also seems to be an excuse engineered by
the political elite to keep and take power. Once the baton or torch of
leadership was passed from our beloved Tuanku Abdul Rahman in a
manner less than dignified. The wheels were already set in motion and the trajectory of ills that would degrade and
depreciate a nation were already in place. Even those who assumed powers would
never have foreseen the destruction and havoc that a single incident can impact
a nation. All other negatives that followed were just the follow up consequence
of what may be the single biggest mistake.
Removing a leader, especially a founder and one accorded the title of
Father opened the Pandora’s box of how
easy it was to obtain power. If one can do it to the Father of a Nation, one
can do it to anyone – nobody is safe. Everyone can be removed and everyone has
a price. The security of an unassailable position could be broken and breached
with relative ease. Now we ought to reflect ,what was it that made the Tuanku a
very special individual. He did not posses exceptional gifts or extraordinary
leadership capabilities, he was respected for his common touch, empathy,
honesty and the skeletons of corruption can never be found in the closet of his
life or any of his living relatives. Neither was he a manufactured leader who
needed public relation officials to prop him on a charm offensive. His weakness
and strengths was an open book and he endeared himself to the common citizen.
If one were to compare him to our all leaders who followed after him it would
be an equivalent of holding a lighted candle against the brilliance of the sun.
His faults that cost him the leadership were simplicity, honesty and a naïve
trusting disposition. The leaders that
followed after Tuanku stepped down may have been more capable, astute or
intelligent and would have thought they would receive support and loyalty of an
equal standard. The magical ingredients of
nobility, dignity, concern, care, humility and simplicity could never be
replicated and could never be bought. Tuanku’s wealth was his good natured
character in excess. Many who toiled to make the country successful were
inspired by the Tuanku. My father used to refer to him in Malayam as achan –
translated as brother. This is the affinity and esteem that Tuanku established
in the relationship of trust with the citizen. With Tuanku’s removal no PM who
followed could retain the full trust of his cabinet, party members or members
of other component parties. How does one trust the acquisition of a leadership
when it may be tainted with an act of dishonour? There was an article of Tuanku in the Readers
Digest where it was expressed that he was the happiest PM in the world, and we
may have been the happiest citizens in the world. In this current day and age
when a political scientist expound the latest theory of a good Government being adjudged by the happiness
index of the citizen. We already had this concept in our leadership and
especially in our first prime minister, No genius, political scientist or
analyst were required to give us a complex jargon of happiness – we lived it
through live experiences.
MERDEKA
– DARK CLOUDS
With regard to May 13th 1969,
If we Malaysian especially parties that holds stewardship of the country are
unable to deal effectively on the platform of simple evident truths about what
transpired we will always be enmeshed in the quagmire and ghost of the past
with never ending recriminations, accusations about who did what to who, why
this or that happened without cementing and appropriation of responsibility to
the parties, groups and individuals concerned. We must be greater than the sum
total of our mistakes by acknowledgment of all parties concerned. - It is one
of the many ways to move forward. Innocent persons whose lives were snuffed out
in that tragedy and whose families were traumatised and destroyed should have
the right to justice, closure, peace and the dignity of restitution from a fund
undertaken by the Government of the day in collaboration with other political
parties who were involved in the incident. The perpetrators who were influenced
by the political leaders and those responsible for this day of infamy and shame
must be accorded mercy to enable that the truth set’s us free. It is easy to
claim innocence and moral high ground on account of defending one’s party or
oneself . Before offering defence or excuses
consider the following:
·
Quotes
that were aggressive and proactive which would have created deep set animosity,
anger and injury as follows are
registered in documents during the various protest.
-
Malays
return to your villages, we are now in power
-
Hey
Sakai, you can return to the jungle
-
Death
to the Malay aborigine- go back to the jungle
-
Death
to the Malay
-
Blood
debts will be repaid with blood
·
Obscenities
and offensive gestures were directed at the policemen
·
Both
Chinese and Indian groups were intimidating and shouting insults at Malays in their vehicles near the
roundabout leading to Maxwell school, while cars with Chinese and Indians were
allowed to go through without harassment.
·
A
poor and unfortunate Malay gentleman by the name of Kassim Bin Omar was killed
for no rhyme or reason on the 24th April 1969 for no rhyme or reason
in a degrading manner – his perpetrators were never brought to justice.
It is rather sad and ironic that the
opposition and its supporters in victory
never knew how to be magnanimous and gracious to the defeated who were fellow
Malaysian. The affrontary gloating, taunting, arrogance and insults were
unacceptable despicable conducts that the opposition parties may have
perpetrated and instigated by omission or commission. The frenzy, massacre and
mayhem that followed should never be thought of or accepted as plot that was
conceived, constructed and masterminded by cold calculated scheming brutality.
Looking at all available facts it just seems like a build up of tension was the
consequence of our politicians- nobody would have expected matters to get out
of hand including our politicians, it was a naive terrible and grave
miscalculation on their part.
The political responsibility of the
leadership and discipline of its supporters was a serious infringement. Is UMNO
innocent and absolved in this matter? I believe they are just as complicit and
must consider accepting the responsibility. Just view the matter objectively
and ask oneself the following questions:
·
Why
after forty four years we don’t have as many Malay’s in DAP or Gerakan? Despite
the parties having essentially good political structures, and leaderships with
open policies, they are unable to attract a groundswell of Malays or persons of
other ethnicities?
·
The
insecurity on the ground has ensured that the political ruling party goes into
survival mode or the siege mentality syndrome. The following actions though
detrimental were instituted over a period of time to ensure one ethnic group
dominated
-
The
civil services
-
The
police
-
The
army
-
The
judiciary
-
Key
Government positions
-
University
intakes
-
In
education
Just about every segment was infiltrated
in such a manner. I believe in taking such an extreme course of protective
action, which though understandable, had direct consequences and implications
on the loss of potential of the best human capital of outstanding persons from
across the ethnic groups who potentially could may have made us a world class
nation par excellence was forsaken by motives that started off on a noble
foundation but eventually was enmeshed by sinister, insidious and dubious
thoughts at the best. The fact is the policies of our ruling elite have systemically
deprived, destroyed and depreciated the country. The lack of courage to show
the world the best in Malaysia will be the defining legacy of the ruling party
in years to come. We are tethering and languishing at the rungs just above the
foothold of the countries deemed to be lowest.
I believe the future viability and
credibility of political parties will be attained if they on a common
principal, conceive the effort, commit their collective goodwill throw their support behind a truth and reconciliation
committee or commission on the tragedy of
May 13Th 1969. If one honours the simple commitment to truth,
it honours those who died, honours those who living among us were traumatised,
honours the survivors and the citizenry at large – they would exercise the
conscience from the eye of the soul and record the truth. Anything less is a
desolation of ideals, a desecration of hope, and an abandonment of the
entrustment of each one’s votes.
MERDEKA
– SHAME IN ANGUISH
The first two leaders who followed Tuanku
were essentially good men who did their utmost to develop the nation. Each had
their own style, there was nothing brilliant, exceptional or extraordinary
about their capabilities. The face of
corruption which manifested itself in the popular and powerful Selangor Mentri
Besar Datuk Harun Idris was met
with the resolve and constitution of
steel by the PM of the day Tun Hussein Onn. The moment he allowed for rule of
law to be enforced within his own party the dice of destiny on the roulette
wheels of politics would ensure that this principled man was doomed to leave the
office of PM to a successor who though a successful PM in terms of structural development but a dwarf
in terms of nation building, unity and bridging the soul of a nation. In this
respect the Prime Ministers before the Doctor were persons who brought humanity
to the citizens.
The Doctor brought about development and
as such is awarded the title ‘ Bapa Moden’. One would not find leaders of other
nations having titles with the exception of the North Korean leadership. Such
worship or adulation is contemptible as it
deleterious in implying that Malaysia suffers from a deficit of
intelligent citizen. Given the resources any person with sufficient knowledge
and will may have improved and advanced Malaysians in far more progressive
manner. I contend that greatness is earned when you knit and sew the
differences together by recognizing the strengths of appreciable diversities we have in our midst.
Greatness is earned when a real leader can extend protection and care to
minorities. The measure of a leader’s strength is known when he can accord
equality to all sundry. The era from the 1980’s onwards was when the soul of
the country was torn and ripped to shreds, it witnessed the decimation,
degradation and sell out of traditional values. The conceptualising backbone of
the Doctors era is what I would call
instant gratification of economic, social and deformed developementalism. Most
Malaysian fell for this hook, line and sinker. The execution and deception were
simple enough but the might of the state against the right of the citizens was
a disproportionate and disadvantageous to the citizen. In
simple language, one can express as follows:
·
A
road was more important than a river.
·
Mountains
and Forest were sacrificed for buildings
and developments.
·
Grass
gave way to pavements
·
Fields
and badminton courts were decimated for growth.
·
Shore
lines and seas were barricaded for hotels and resorts
·
Hazed
grey skies overcame clear blue skies
·
Freedom
was enjoyed best behind bars
·
Race
and Religion ,pawns reduced to rhyme and riddle
·
The
simple traded for sophistication and sinful.
History must always seek to express the
truths and wrestle with the positives and negatives of what transpired. With
regard to development
·
The
NEP was designed with the best of intentions in the 60’s to alleviate or
eradicate poverty among the Malays. It enriched very few and left the masses
still in poverty. Some of our poorest citizens are Malays. A moral policy of
unconditional assistance would have united people but because of the insidious
and cynical manner of implementation – disillusionment and division is what has
been reaped. The giving was a chain to support to ruling party.
·
Placing
the wealth in the hands of a few was a grievous error or an act of criminal
negligence, I would choose the latter . A housewife, a fishmonger and a burger
stall operator would know that they have to invest their monies in various
securities to receive returns. The financial politics of developing people here
is unsophisticated and unthinking and it actually borders despairingly on
laziness. The structure was a blanket approach to just give contracts to one
group or individual which is a serious infringement of basic governance. Any
idiot with some level of education can
do this, the specification is almost fail safe. The manipulation with the
finance institutions and taxes was at an unprecedented level which continues
unabated until this very day.
·
Trusting
the wrong people was a colossal blunder with the exception of one legendary
finance minister, all others were dismissal and had failed miserably.
I believe that this country was and is
blessed with natural resources that even a mediocre or ordinary leader whose
intellectual capacity is found wanting will not have a difficult task of
governance. We have never needed a leader of exceptional brilliance to do the
maths to make us a developed nation. We have also had resourceful and creative
individuals and a hardworking population. This is precisely the reason I
believe we must not fall over each other to worship or pay tribute to our
leaders. Each citizens hard earned money was used to support our leaders and we
expect that they will serve the people well. This is akin to being employed and
given command of a company and its operations, one is expected to fulfil the
specification of the job according to the contract and leave when the contract
is fulfilled. There is no hero worshipping or according a person God like
status.
Have our leaders represented us well on
the International stage? It is appalling, embarrassing and shameful that we
have the leader of country expressing views that are caustic and so horrendous,
not just once but consistently on many occasions. It is reprehensible to note
that nothing could evoke sympathy for the innocents that have died. How can
such a person be considered a statesman or a national leader ? It is very
painful and shameful but we must acknowledge we had a leader who was and is a
bona fide racist in equivalence to those who perpetrated the atrocities in the
2nd world war and other times in History. I just wonder how many
innocent lives were lost due to the hate filled speeches which would have
inspired some lunatic in some part of the world to kill another human being on
views promoted by one of our ex-Prime Minister.
Some of the views espoused were
as follows:
·
The
Jews for example are not merely hook-noosed, but understand money instinctively
– 1970.
·
“The
Jew’s have always been a problem in European countries. They had to be confined
in ghettoes and periodically massacred. But they still remain, they thrived and
held a whole government to ransom… Even after their massacre by the Nazis of
Germany,(Jews) survived to continue to be a source of even greater problems for
the world…. The holocaust failed as a final solution.”- January 2010.
This is
one of the most reprehensible, vile, and uncouth expression from a statesman of
so called international stature. The above kind of statements or expression in
the world are virtually extinct, persons are castigated for such expressions.
In our country we have been subject and exposed to some primitive fossilization
of thoughts and philosophies that are demented and vulgar against life. I
cringe in embarrassment and deep shame when I think that Malaysia was
represented on the world stage by such crass remarks.
It is abhorrent but we as members of the
public were through a combination of
propaganda, marketing, salesmanship, brinkmanship, media, want of security,
education and legal intimidation through every available apparatus were intimidated
and awed in a comprehensive manner. A
small and conscientious vocal minority were effectively shackled and repressed
by various means and methods.
In a most systemic manner the safeguards
were dismantled and decimated to suit the needs of the politics of the day. The
constitution which is deemed the vehicle of ownership of each community’s
legal, political and social aspersions was torn asunder. That which protects
and accords each person the inalienable right to citizenship and the security
which accompanies it have in the face of multiple vulnerabilities: have had
their confidence, shaken, devalued and destroyed to such an extent that we
experienced migrations. We do not need to hire million dollar consultants to
tell us what is wrong, just send out a brief two page letter list of questions
asking people the top five reasons for leaving the country- the top three
answers though anyone’s guess would cement what people require. It is very
painful but I have heard so many parents tell their children, “ stay where you
go, don’t come back, there is no future here, given the circumstances” . Now
these are parent’s who know that such decisions would eventually consign them
to face the twilight years of life alone with the accompanying inconveniences
and deepest personal tragedies. Only people with no choice would drink the cup
filled with the concocted potions of bitter choices. Is this not a sad reality
?
Another jolt of reality was the death of
our beloved gregarious, noble and simple Tuanku Abdul Rahman who passed away in
December 1990 suffered when he chose to oppose the Government of the day. The
man who had understood and stood for a
real substantive democracy and forged the unity among races and promoted strong
institutions in Malaysia was treated in
a shabby manner. To this days we do not have a day in our Malaysian Calendar
assigned either to honour his birth or death . From various sources it is made
known that he died virtually penniless and this is the sword that really cut
deep among us common folk. It is simply heartbreaking that our avuncular Baba
Kemerdekaan was not accorded greater dignity or respect. If a founding father
can be treated in such a contemptible manner, what hope is there for ordinary
Malaysians? Do we have anyone with his vision and calibre to resuscitate and
calibrate the beautiful dream that we call Malaysia with aspirations of the
people?
MERDEKA
– PAINFUL AWAKENING
The irreconcilable might of the state was
seen is in direct conflict against the
rights of common citizens. Operation Lalllang, Memali and reformasi brought the
simple truth home to some citizens who understood the draconian measures that
were instituted against the citizens. Under the darkest clouds a nation witnessed in
shock and horror the gut wrenching sight of the sons of the nation in the
police force especially beating, brutalizing and suppressing the father’s and
grandfather’s whose lips uttered the words ‘ reformasi’. The same was witnessed by the older members of the
force who directed the security apparatus to curb the young in the same brutal
manner, the dreams of the young who are
the repository of a nation’s hope were simply cut to pieces. The so called
father’s of our nation who are to be regarded as the sentinel of the citizen’s
trust – betrayed this trust.
Hindraf and the first Bersih moments
simply reinforced the reality that our Government will not listen to the voice
of the masses and would use every opportunity to subjugate, suppress and oppose
with all available instruments and institutions that were supposed to protect
the citizens of the country.
July 9th
2011 will in the minds of right thinking Malaysians be remembered as a day of
infamy. There are various perceptive I propose must be considered to understand
and encompass the diverse range of thoughts and feelings that people may have
about the attempt to crush Bersih 2.0 on this day. The implications and ramifications on the
actions of the Government I propose must be dissected, scrutinised and
presented to enable our intellectually impaired Government to understand the
feelings and aspirations of the people that they have failed in dismissal
manner to fulfil, respect or realize the severity of their actions.
The simple
fact that Government which is essentially elected to serve and protect the
people, have with arrogance and impunity attacked the masters who elected them
and paid them for services was a realization that eventually sunk in.
To state
the obvious the taxpayer’s funds from the earnings of all citizen’s have been
used to
-
Mobilise the security apparatus of the state
that in essence is supposed to protect the people, but have been ordered to
attack the people it swore to protect.
-
Tear Gas canisters, batons, guns, uniforms,
trucks and training have all been procured from taxpayer’s funds.
-
The salary of each and every security personal
is from taxpayer’s funds.
The
protectors of the people have instead become strange bedfellows with the
servants and have followed the instruction of the servant to deny the masters
or rather their employers the right to walk on their own property. The issuance
of a simple permit with the necessary assistance would have averted or avoided
an unpleasant confrontation. To put it in another way: assuming the Government
is the Father and we the children, would a Father deny his child the space in
the home on any pretext. Even if there is some unseen or unknown form of danger
lurking the Father as protector of the child’s interest would accompany the
child. In this instance the Father provided weapons and gave specific orders
that if the children attempted to enter any part of the house the Father deemed
as not appropriate for the child, the instructions were clear maim, injure or
kill.
The most
repugnant, appalling, painful and
disdainful conduct was to allow that the ranks of protectors who chosen from
among the people were with tacit approval and under the guise legal convenience
as a shield were instructed to allow that a son could fire upon his father or
grandfather, a father likewise could baton charge and kick his son or daughter.
The masters who marched as one, irrespective of race, creed, status or age were
treated worse than animals and hounded in an unthinkable and cruel manner.
The
security apparatus that go by the name ‘Polis di-Raja Malaysia’ which directly
implies that in this service one is imbued with the sense of nobility that is
drawn from conduct that is royal. The conduct of the police was anything but
Royal or Nobel. The training and so called discipline that the police received
has been used to subjugate and trample upon the basic rights of the
people.
Though I highlight the excess of the
Police in this and many other instances, the force cannot be faulted as each of
the structures that form good governance have been intentionally weakened over
the years. Our police have shown the professional capacity and capability
against real threats when they are free, unfortunately they are crippled by the
years of political abuse.
The abuse has now become a way of life,
we have criminals who meet their end in a dubious manner, we have fourteen
years old who drive a car without a valid licence being killed, we have prisoners
in lock-up’s throughout the country dying under the watch of the police. If
this is not premeditated execution, murder or
legalised barbaric acts against citizens- what shall we call it ?
The naked power of the executive breached
the dreams of each and every citizen. I always share with friends that
robber’s, rapist, prostitutes and paedophilia’s(whom I think are the worst)
could not hold a light of comparison against a bad politician or be a
politician, but a politician is such a chameleon they would easily fit into any
of the mentioned demented, degrading occupations in a seamless manner as would a
person who use a new pair of glove when the old is slightly soiled. The moment a Prime Minister’s decision in his
official capacity is responsible for the death of even one of its citizen or cause grief without
justification – the holder of this office has failed by all accounts. Should we
accord the title of ‘ Father or Bapa’ to those leaders who have turned us sons
and daughters against each other, stripped us of our dignity, robbed us of our souls,
crushed our conscience on the deception of market development and advancement ,
and made us a disparate nation of individual beggars who crave the harmony and peace
of brotherhood and sisterhood on so little- How poor and desperate we have
become! If I could forsake and trade modernization, advancement, progress and
development of structure’s which is a curse for the precious and irreplaceable
value of a simple and beautiful life, I would in the blink of an eye trade
everything that I have.
Do we have a grievance remedial mechanism
against the excess of the executive? Yes
we do and it is with us, though not in the form we would have liked. It is
known as people’s power, if the citizen’s hold peaceful, non-violent protest it
would reflect to the executive the needs and wants of the masses. The morality
of legislation, justice or reasonableness even if it is entrenched in the
constitution should be challenged and changed if it has a negative impact on society
at large. If there are existing laws
that are harsh, oppressive and do not display in any manner a propensity
towards justice, fairness or mercy it should be dismantled in its entirety or
renovated with clarity that cannot be breached. The constitution has been
tempered and changed on so many occasions – changing it for the better to
improve lives, security, unity, preserve harmony, justice or any other cause of
dignified moral trust, should always be a considered option. We may vote for an
opposition in the hope of change but we must never trust the political animal
on whichever side of the divide and keep the options available to change by the
sheer will of the people.
With regards to titles ‘ Bapa Pemodenan
or Father of Modernization’ – we must be very clear on the honorific titles
accorded, our fathers never hurt us with imprisonment, differentiate between us
or rob from one to give another. It is most unfortunate but the travesty is
that whoever has followed the Doctor are unable to steer us away from the
excess that have characterised his governance
in the opposite direction.
I do not think the main agenda or
motivation of the powers of the day is a blind act of blatant racism, religious supremacy, or any
other reason. Looking at it through the history of such occurrences,
anything that was authentic to race or religion would have eliminated a
majority of us. This is nothing more
sinister than greed which runs our politics. Protection of race and religion are the layers of excuses
that are used to cover the greed, Look at it from this angle the manipulation
and deceit are that which belong to business trying to outdo each other. The
politicians have become businessmen. The political parties especially of the ruling party is a business
entity masquerading as a political party.
Why not a straight approach like Hitler or South Africa of the
past. Such an approach would have collapsed
like a deck of cards. The community of
the world would have immediately instituted
and passed sanctions or an embargo against our country . The current approach is fine
tuned to such an extent this it is difficult
on the surface to state what is
precisely wrong. We point our fingers at corruption, race, religion
without seeing that the backbone which
has destroyed this nation is plain unadulterated greed followed by power.
MERDEKA
– A NEW DREAM
Taking into account and recognizing the
fact that democracy may be the strongest among the weakest options of
governance and service to the citizens. In knowing that a system is weak we
must search for viable options that can be assimilated to strengthen our
existing system without compromising on the safeguards. Let us engage in some simple wishful thinking
on the ideals, possibilities and expectations of what could be done if we had
the Government that we desired. This is not in any particular order.
EDUCATION
·
Have
the same quality of dedicated teachers that we have had in the past.
·
Ensure
that the key Education portfolio inclusive of ministers is not a political
appointment. Keep politics totally out of the education system.
·
There
must be a good balance of teachers from the fabric of our ethnic, social and
cultural diversity.
·
The
cream of Teacher’s with more than ten or fifteen years of experience should be
selected as headmasters or headmistress.
·
Enforce
a high and indisputable standard of discipline.
·
No
Chinese, Tamil, or Malay schools, even religious schools – just nationalize all
schools. This may be a very controversial of matters but it should be
negotiated with the specific guarantees and accordance of rights to each race.
God Help me on this I will be castigated and my skin literally peeled from my
person.
·
Build
and equip the best schools in the most
interior and inaccessible of regions for the most disadvantaged of communities
and I express this for the Orang Asli and other ethnic minorities. These
schools must have a complete concept of boarding, food, clothing etc to enable
the best possible is accorded for no charge.
·
Remove
or renovate the national services programme. When a child is at an age twelve
allow for an internal home stay programme of one month between the various
states. When a child reaches the age of fifteen or seventeen, introduce them to
a mandatory one year programme of volunteerism in a conducive and safe
environment outside Malaysia. This should be considered an integral part of the
education system.
·
House
the schools for the disabled, mentally handicapped, blind etc within the same
perimeter of the national schools to ensure that our children grow up in the
midst of differences and cultivate empathy and deep sense of reverence for the
special ones among us.
·
Have
a Teachers exchange programme with the countries that have the best education
system.
·
In
as far as possible keep the Teachers family unit together with them wherever
they are posted with adequate compensation factored for the partner of the
teacher on loss of income.
·
To
draw and acknowledge the best in the education system, pay the best
professional salaries.
MEDICAL
·
The
same salient points as advocated for the education system should be applied to
the medical system.
·
The
doctors who are in Private practice should by law accord
a specific number of working days in a month to serve in Government
hospitals where they should be paid accordingly. This should cover the Private
medical hospitals.
·
Those
who serve as housemen in Government hospitals should also be seconded to
private clinics for a specific number of days to provide hands on treatment.
·
Specialist
centres within the Government hospital structures should be encouraged to
enable that the best doctors can command professional fees within the system.
·
The
development of specialist centres for the most common critical illness must be
considered.
·
The
most disadvantaged, marginalised and communities who live in the most
inaccessible or remote areas must be accorded the highest quality of treatment.
·
All
charges of Private hospitals must be controlled and treatment must be of an
affordable quality.
It is unacceptable when citizens die due
to lack of medical care or sufficient expenditure being allocated to medical. A
death or disability due to not having accessible medical care is tantamount to
negligence and can be equated to murder.
We are facing needless deaths as the ordinary citizen cannot afford medical care.
PRIME MINISTER & ASST PRIME
MINISTER
·
These
portfolios it is proposed must be a direct mandate through the electoral
process and the citizens chose their Prime Minister and his deputy. The office
of Prime Minister does not necessarily have to be a person from a winning
party. The qualification for this proposal is due to the fact that there seems
to be a loaded gun of politics against the PM’s head and he is literally
paralysed by the alliances that he has formed in detriment to the wishes and
rights of the citizens. We have changed the constitution so many times to meet
the needs of the various times and it is time we relook this very important
governance/service structure. The most important consideration is that we have
a PM who is there for all Malaysians.
·
This
portfolio need not be race, religious or gender based, anyone elected by a
majority should be accorded the position.
·
The
term of office should not exceed more than two terms of five years.
CIVIL SERVICE
·
Restructure
the civil service and reduce the size.
·
Chose
the most qualified on merit
·
Pay
dignified income.
·
It
must be contractually written that they will serve the whichever party is
elected to the state or federal government.
·
Political
appointments should be taken out of the system and strategic positions should
be on merit.
·
Pensioners
must have their pensions revised according to inflation rates.
INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES.
We as a nation have moral choices: we can
either on the premise of decency accord our indigenous communities every
conceivable engineered advantage with a reasonable time frame
·
To
restore and respect their rights to their lands
·
Promote
their traditions and way of life,
·
Ensure
they are financially secure
·
Have
accessibility to education and medical treatment.
Or we can choose to lose the treasure and
gifts of our indigenous communities and decimate them with the same conduct
which destroyed the Red Indians in a reprehensible and shameful manner that
gave birth to the USA.
JUDICARY
·
This
requires a comprehensive transformation and revamp. It is spine chilling to the
bone when we have ex-members of the judiciary promoting racial and religious
superiority.
·
I
really feel a an RCI must be established to ensure that the judiciary in never
tempered and remains an impartial institution.
·
The
law has been demolished, destroyed and decimated to such an extent that respect
for the law is eroding right before our eyes. There is an evidential gap
between the rich and poor that is increasing.
·
There
is conspicuous consumption at the highest levels of governance which borders on
vulgarity, which is so obvious to even the most thick headed individuals. The
profanity of common sense where one can rob the citizens with impunity and have
legitimate immunity is an example of the degradation and depreciation of the
policing authority and the judicial system.
CORRUPTION
There has been so much written and
expressed about corruption that just about everyone is exposed to all aspects
of this. Our young eight year old children are well aware of this word and the
implications. There seems to be very little in the way of real concerted effort
to seriously address the concerns. There is no way that we will resolve this
unless the key institutions which can act against this are protected and set
free. The existing Penang and Selangor state governments though not exceptional
or brilliant in governance are the examples of windows of opportunities and
glimpses of what can be done for the citizens if one is able to curb this ill
that has plagued the country. Without exception an independent MACC would have
its hands full investigating prominent individuals especially politicians and
the elite of the leadership who have become wealthy and are unable to
substantiate their wealth.
GOVERNMENT LINKED COMPANIES &
OTHERS
All government linked companies should be
sold lock, stock and barrel. The essential structure of a government is not to
operate from a profit and loss standpoint like a business entity. It’s
responsibility is to manage the country- period. The profit’s from the sale of
GLC should be used in a comprehensive and prudent manner for the benefit of the
marginalised and poorest among our society.
The crucial or strategic services that
were privatized must be returned to the citizens. It is an appalling contrast of profanities when one thinks of the salaries of SYBAS and
TENAGA head honchos who are receiving millions and how the ordinary citizens struggles with bread
and butter issues. All highway concessions must be renegotiated or just bought
over. EPF should be a direct representation of the tax payers. In each of these
we can have their finances and tenders scrutinised by MACC, treasury and bank
Negara.
ELECTORAL SYSTEM
There is also what I would term as a
significant prostitutionalisation of our electoral system and process. The
representation in parliament is of such an imbalance that we do not have
adequate and meaningful representation. We also have major federal cities
voting the opposition and yet the key management portfolios are Government
controlled. It is an anomaly and the citizens as such are inadequately
represented. Here again there have been varied and creative suggestions
proposed but it a brick wall of indifference.
MERDEKA
– HORIZONS OF FREEDOM
The electronic and print media are
paralysed with fear. We are not immune to fear of death, loosing friends,
family, property, earning, poverty isolation, ill health or failure. I feel
however that the security blanket of progress, advancement, harmony has lulled
us and made us complacent . The media becomes a voice and mouthpiece for our
politicians and the subsequent result is to
plant in us so called common
sense of conventional wisdom – do not rock the boat and all will be well. This is the most insidious form of fear masquerading and
cloaked in the picturesque harmony. It is akin to being dogs on a leash, the
length of the leash is how far one can run - this is the reality.
Small daily acts of courage by unsung heroes and heroines from the late
Irene Fernandez, the late Karpal Singh, bloggers Raja Petra Kammaruddin,
Mariam Mokhtar, Steven Ng, lawyer Datin Ambiga, National Laureate Pak Samad,
Bishop Paul Tan, Catholic priest Lawrence Andrew, social activists Marina
Marthir and countless other sacrificing
their lives are condemned as foolish, reckless, insignificant or futile.
Insults and abuse are hurled at these individuals. Their crime is that
preserving ones self-respect and
inherent human dignity are very real threat. Why do we have a person with
impartial knife edge opinions of critical sensibility in the calibre of Raja
Petra Kamaruddin who for better or worse to his detractors or supporters is
hounded out of this country? Our country has successfully developed a specialization
in a specific area of talent ; it is
able to use every conceivable method and apparatus to massacre the voice of
freedom and sensibility. Our bloggers especially the ones who are impartial and
independent of affiliation to political parties have rendered a great service
are viewed with contempt as traitors to
either race, religion or country or if they point out opposition faults they
are categorized and accused of being government lackeys.
It is most difficult for a population conditioned by a
combination of fear and handouts to ignore the crushing might of the state and
free themselves from the enervating miasma of fear. Yet we find under the darkest circumstances
women and men of raw courage rises up from the ranks to fight for simple truths
and freedom which is a far better option than fear. In one of my songs, I have
written ‘ There is a greatness in the unknown’ .This unknown can only be known
when we find the courage to better lives of our fellow citizens whom we ought
to call brothers and sisters, this also means engaging the worst opponents of
our ideals in a constructive and respectful manner. I feel that we will suffer irretrievable
intellectual backwardness and become unsophisticated and unthinking when we
allow that a disposition of unquestionable, unchallengeable and unaccountable
governance is allowed to exist. A strong government will never be afraid of
challenges. A clear example is the recent tragedy of the MH 370 that placed our
Government in the limelight, I do not doubt that our Government tried to handle
it with all the efficiency and sensitivity it could muster – yet it was a
spectacular but sad failure which highlighted the glaring weakness in our
Government structure. The threats against citizens, the foreign media and
general handling unfortunately exposed the incompetence under real life
situations. Some of the key reasons that I would attribute are as follows:
·
The propensity not to
listen and arrogantly think one know best.
·
The insecurity of
never accepting challenge and resolving it decisively to the benefit and
advantage of two parties. When dialogue or communication is either a shut up or
locked up scenario, one never grows or matures.
·
The lack of transparency
·
The quality of
personnel in strategic positions.
·
The siege mentality
and tunnel vision approach
It is a fact that every challenge is an experience and
opportunity to grow and hone one’s skills. In failing to accept challenges the
Government has fallen and failed very badly. This incident also revealed the
immaturity of some opposition members Instead of presenting a united front, we were
compromised when they simply attacked the Government in an opportunistic
manner. The government should have also recognized that a responsible
opposition should be accorded due respect and invited to work together in
times of National or International
tragedies.
Much our heartache, insecurities, discord and aggression seem to
gravitate towards God, faith and religion which is an indispensable structure
of our lives. We can safely absolve God of hatching a diabolic plot of such
complexity that the best intellectual minds and spiritual souls are unable to
solve. Have our lives improved through the belligerent, bickering, aggressive
and disrespectful arguments. It is important enough an issue to address and
must be acknowledged as contentious and
divisive . We are all trapped and caged by an impoverishment of goodwill that
has crippled us, and the irony is that it is just a three letter word called
God. And this arguments is perpetrated
on behalf of a God who is acknowledged
to have created all of us. It is ludicrous but we have engineered all kinds of
complexities, probabilities through the pitfalls of conversions, the
prohibition of the Allah word and others elements creeping in quietly. This has
ensured that we will have an endless possibility of eternal arguments which will use our
valuable time and it is also a proliferation on the shocking degrees of
insanity between so called rational educated individuals which exist from all
strata’s of society.
As a nation our politicians are quick to bring
God into the picture of existence for whatever reasons that best suit us. We
claim to love God and use our religious people, organization and related NGO’s
to express our love of God. It is really pathetic and shameful when one’s soul
search reveals.
·
Our
love for God is of such intensity that in our obsession we claim exclusive
right to Him and forsake our brothers and sisters. We injure our citizens in
the name of God.
·
We
are the only nation in the world that offers God protection, how offensive is
this? It shows God as a weak pawn incapable of taking care of Himself.
·
If
we really love and honour God we would try our utmost to stamp out corruption,
we would promote equality, we would reach the marginalized and down trodden, we
would care for each child, we will look at women’s rights, we will accord
dignity to the weak and the prisoners as well. We will accord the highest care
to the special needs and socially marginalised, we will treat the foreign
workers with respect, we will ensure that refugees are well sheltered. We will respect the laws and the constitution
and change what is disadvantageous to our citizens. We will not abuse our power
in any manner whatsoever.
·
We
will not insult the minorities of the various races or religion. We will accord
the deepest reverence and respect to all without exception.
·
Will
we by the grace of God respect our opposition in politics and acknowledge that
they are a necessary check and balance and fundamental vital requirement of
challenge for betterment?
·
Will
we have the courage to accept the unconventional approach and simple wisdom of
the many Ambigas, Pak Samad and Karpal Singh’s in our midst?
·
Will
we ensure if our lives are ordained and guided by God we will use the wealth of
the nation in an equitable and responsible manner.
·
Are
we the kind of nation that in acknowledgment of God’s greatness not flaunt or
display our religious believes or race
as superior to our brother and sister.
·
In
our belief of a compassionate God will we agree to disagree and still hold the
deepest respect for each other?
I believe that if we examine our conscience,
where our spirit resides and search in a meaningful manner on our root position,
of our personal relationship to God, We may find that differences are as thin
as a paper. If we are subservient to the natural dictates of that water of
goodness which flow from our respective faiths we will find appreciable
qualities. If we represent our faith with the calibre of sacrifice, to break
our hearts and tear our souls, for the brothers and sisters of various faiths,
or the atheist, we will undoubtedly touch and shape lives in an eloquent and
powerful manner. But if we choose to fight over religion or God, we are simply
a nation of persons who do not understand faith in manner or spirit it was
conceived and I am sure our hearts and souls will be darkened beyond recall. Is it better not to have faith at all ?
The concern is not exacerbated nor exaggerated
when we have National politicians and well known religious figures spewing excrement
of production line public statements; championing racial and religious bigotry
like swaggering drunks. It just makes one wonder how low is low?
I believe that a good faith can never be
destroyed or decimated. If it can be destroyed then it is lies, if it is not
strong enough to protect the dignity of other faiths it simply is not worth the
following, due to its insecurity, if it tramples on the rights of other faiths-
it is no more evil than the creed of the devil. A faith that injures, divides
or separates is a gross violation on the concept of what constitutes God. We
must recognize that only lies are afraid of being broken and only lies need legal
or political protection. God, faith or religion have been hijacked in our
beloved country. We ordinary citizens of various faiths must link hands and
reclaim the noble virtues of our respective faiths and see each other with
purity and innocence which emanates from real faith.
Sometimes the best and most unconditional
manner to challenge , evaluate and seek
the best in us and establish the credentials of our character is to
serve and do good on the presumption that God does not exist, that we will all
die to nothingness. Will we courageous and strong enough to be good to each
other without the motivation of heaven, renewal or the hereafter? What if the
personal benefit of being a hero is absent; the benefit of physiological
betterment of ourselves in helping another is absent, assuming we have to die
to save another’s life, even if that person has only day left to live and we
have fifty years left, will we give our lives for another, on the premise that
it is good for the other person. Is there a love and giving stronger than our
personal desire and politics? If there is I have yet to see this in the current
politics or politicians of this nation. Our ills are also the
responsibility of the citizens, on so many issues our silence has been taken
for acquiescence or fear and our passivity and calm taken for acceptance. We
ought to be more vociferous and demanding of our government, politicians and
political parties that each person’s
faith is a personal matter and it should never be dictated to the citizens.
We must question our nation when the leader
who essentially wants to be known as a Father and loved as one, will dictate to
one child how to address God and give another child the propriety rights to
address God in the manner that he feels. I am a father and within my family I
have my children and there are some who are stronger in an intellectual manner
than their sibling and I will not allow their intellectual ability to beat
their sibling, likewise if one child is stronger in a physical manner, he
should protect the ones that are not as strong. Is not our nobility and grace
determined in how a majority would dignify and protect the minority, or is the
majority of such a squalid and weak disposition that they would suppress,
trample and undermine the minority. Where are we? Who are we? What are we?
Racism and racial stereotyping are always have
an extension and new life. Some of what I have heard is as follows:
·
Drunk
and wife beater is bound to be an Indian
·
Sexual
abuse and incest would be Malay
·
Lazy
or stupid people would be Malay or Indian
·
Having
mistress is the realm of the Chinese
·
Money
lender and ah longs are Chinese
·
Good
business acumen Chinese
·
Gangsters
would be Indians
·
Drug
takers and amphetamines users are Malays
The list is endless and there is always some
imbecile who will come up with some new concoctions of racism. No one it seems
is immune, from the highest ranks of Governance, religious bodies, Lawyers,
Doctors, Teachers, intellectuals, rank and file professional to the ordinary citizen , will in some way somewhere
will find some justification or rational to pass statements.
Despite
our advancements and progress in all spheres that ought to make us complete, we
have this inexcusable, repulsive and repugnant conduct of shame. It has no
place in this day, age or time- we must resolve to eradicate this in its
entirety. We must acknowledge it is
widespread and we must institute laws against racism in every possible
environment and situation. It is something that I foresee is going to be
exceptionally difficult as it is institutionalised and woven into the fabric of
our Governance and society , and has been legitimised by laws. The hope here
lies in the fact that the DNA of our respective conscience, and various faiths
challenge do not allow for justification
of superiority under any pretext. We
must have zero tolerance and acceptance of this plague.
We
propagate, catalogue and stereotype the monopoly of weakness or negative habits
and categorize, designate or assign them to specific ethnicities to monopolise.
This is so very sickening and self-destructive. Without the slightest modicum
of evidence or substantive evidence we in such a flippant manner desecrate and
defame our nationhood by attaching to the rich cultural diversities unfair
negatives. The consequences and repercussions are that we will taint our
innocent population – the children who inherit this good country.
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