Has Chandra not heard of Unity in Diversity or is he defending Ketuanan Melayu

Going through Chandra Muzaffar’s Merdeka wish list, I had to read it 3 times before being able to grasp some of its meaning. Frankly, I had trouble understanding his flowery words.

He talks about the lack of bridge builders and the fostering of national unity, about bridge wreckers and people erecting walls, and that national unity lies with the rakyat (populace) and not the with the government only.

He goes on to say that no country in the world can claim achievement in inter-ethnic unity, which will never happen as people are of different religious and cultural backgrounds, different histories, memories and with different experiences.

And according to Chandra, there is also a need for Malaysians to understand in greater depth what the Constitution and Rukun Negara is all about and not placing politics above national unity.

"That will never happen, not only in Malaysia but also in any multi-ethnic and multi-religious society in the world. Why? Because we are talking about people with different religious and cultural backgrounds, different histories, different memories and with different experiences," Chandra told a government news agency.

"It is a very complex situation. There are differences and they will always be there. Every now and then something will happen.We will have to continue to reduce these differences, we have to continue to work out some sort of arrangement for us to live together."

Very strange coming from the Chairman of the Yayasan 1Malaysia Board of Trustees. Has he not heard about Unity in Diversity?

Is Chandra, who used to be a PKR leader before deciding BN policies were better, trying to defend Prime Minister Najib Razak? Is Najib now trying to excuse away his own failure at unitng the country?Or is UMNO trying to justify its infamous ketuanan Melayu or Malay Supremacy?

Reality

As far back as many old-timers can remember Malaysians were always united. Since 1957, Malaysians were so united that no country in the world could split the nation. Communism could not, neither could the threat of race and religion. If one were to pause for a moment and ponder, the Malays, Chinese and Indians do respect each other. Not so much because of skin colour but the fact that we are all different from each other. It is an inherent courtesy.

Secondly, if we recall the past, the Chinese gangs in most of the cities of Malaysia would fight each other, but they would not pick a fight with Malays or Indians. Malays may go on a rampage, sometimes with parangs (machetes) but they will attack their own kind and not the other races. Indian gangsters too make mincemeat of each other but seldom try to pick a fight with other races.

Obviously, there are the exceptions and one of the most notable was the May 13, 1969 riots, which is widely acknowledged to have been politically instigated and manipulated by none other than the current Prime Minister's dad, Abdul Razak Hussein.

In Tunku's days

But in the early days of the nation's birth, long before the advent of the 'new batch' of illegal foreign workers (from the 1980s onwards) so to speak, the unspoken respect for the other races was high, akin to an unspoken compromise that a Chinese thief will not rob a Malay or Indian house. Neither will a Malay rob a Chinese or Indian home. They rather rob or quarrel with their own kind.

Only in Primary schools, did the children fight each other as they were too young to realise the importance of racial respect. Of course, there are random cases of racial attacks but the fact is that Malaysians are too nice to try and rouse disagreement with others than with their own kind.

Thirdly, a Chinese or Indian could go into a Malay village without any fear. The inquisitive pakciks and makciks may even invite you in the house for tea and kuih. The same when a Malay goes into a Chinese new village or an Indian village. There is absolutely no fear unlike in democratic USA where an Asian or a White is highly likely to get lynched, robbed and waylaid if they wandered into a black ghetto in New York City.

Fourthly, the unity and understanding was strong enough that Malaysians of all races could live, work and play together.The fact that we are all different in skin colour, culture, religion and language is the reason why it was interesting for us to bond rather than to divide.

Too idyllic? Perhaps so, but by and large if one were to ask the old-timers, they will recall an era much like what has been described. How come? Was it really possible? Yes, it was possible because UMNO leaders like Tunku Abdul Rahman had focused on uniting the differences amongst the races. But when leaders like Abdul Razak took over, and later on Mahathir Mohamad, this was when Malaysia downspiralled into the disaster it now is.

The real bridge-wreckers

These days, UMNO leaders including Nazri Aziz, Rais Yatim and Muhyiddin Yassin seem to delight in pointing out the differences between the races. They are seen to be actively warning the races not to mix. On TV1, a program timed for Hari Raya that falsely depicts apostasy is shown nationwide to warn the Muslims not to trust the other faiths. There is only one thing to say to these people, May God forgive them and may God save Malaysia!

So far, despite their worst efforts, Malaysians remain united although this unity is becoming increasingly fragile as it has not been properly welded. So Chandra is right when he warned about "Bridge Wreckers". There are certainly unseen forces out there hell-bent on disuniting us, putting fear into our hearts, sowing distrust and hate for each other and then trying to sell us their ‘antidote.’

Who are Chandra's bridge wreckers? Is it the Pakatan Rakyat? Is that what he was trying to get at?

He doesn't mention but it is telling that he refutes the term Bangsa Malaysia, which appeared in the Malay version of Vision 2020 (Wawasan 2020). Chandra points to the English version instead, where the term used was actually Greater Unity amongst the different peoples and the different communities. "As I have said earlier, stronger bonds is what matters," he stressed to Bernama.

Is Chandra refuting a Bangsa Malaysia and why? He then goes on an apparent attack against those who 'question' the rights of the Malays.

"For instance, what is the language of the nation? Malay, as spelt out in Article 152 of the Malaysian Constitution, and Malay is the language of the Malay people. What is the religion of the nation? Article 3 of the Federal Constitution states that the official religion of the nation is Islam. What is the religion of the Malay people? Islam," said Chandra.

"So the two characteristics of the nation are actually the characteristics of the Malays. To ask whether a person is Malay first or Malaysian first, actually reveals the questioner's own superficial understanding of what the Malaysian nation is all about."

Whoever Chandra had in mind when he spoke about bridge wreckers, he certainly comes across as one himself.

Unity in Diversity

Fact remains, as things stand, there are unseen forces are trying very hard to divide and rule. Even by lying, cheating, coercing, buying votes and intimidating the people. These power-crazed people seem to be so frightened they will use all their minions to support and cloak their evil practises with respectability.

The multi-racial Bersih 2.0 gave the ruling elite a heart attack and recurring nightmares. So if Chinese and Indians still think that Malays are eyeing their freedom and constitutional rights, please think again. It is not the Malays but selectn UMNO leaders, whose purpose is to retain control over the Malays.

But not all Malay politicians are so lost in the pursuit of ambition and greed. This is why PKR, PAS and DAP are such thorns to these Bridge Wreckers.

- Malaysia Chronicle