The disadvantages of being Malay

The danger of being perceived as anti-opposition would be you would also be perceived as being paid to do what you do. People, say, like Nat Tan, are also Bloggers. But he is Chinese. Hence he would never be perceived as being paid to do what he does. Only Malays are paid to do what they do.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Reasoning is very crucial in any debate, especially in a debate regarding, say, the existence of God. Nevertheless, in such a debate, nobody wins -- although in the Lim Guan Eng-Chua Soi Lek debates both sides declared themselves the winner.

Reasoning is what you apply to forward your arguments. It does not mean you are right. It merely means you have an argument to defend your position. The side supporting the existence of God cannot prove his/her position and neither can the side arguing against the existence of God.

Malaysians, however, do not quite apply reasoning. Even in the ‘famous’ Lim Guan Eng-Chua Soi Lek debate (or the Rafizi Ramli-Khairy Jamaluddiin debate earlier) there was not much reasoning being applied. These debates were reduced to merely each side accusing the other side of perceived ‘crimes’ -- such as being running dogs, racists, tools of someone, being bought off, insincere, hypocrites, etc.

In short, they were merely name-calling and labelling.

Much of the perception -- that results in this name-calling or labelling -- is the product of stereotyping. For example, “Of course he can sing. After all, his is black is he not?”

Hence that particular person can sing well merely because he is black and all black people can automatically sing. Hence, also, this comes as no surprise that he can sing.

The same would apply to those who can rap -- because he happens to be black. How come Malays, therefore, are also good at rapping when they are not black but brown (some Malays are actually quite fair-skinned)?

Perception (or the result of perception, which is stereotyping) plays a role in many ‘arguments’, which, as I said, are arguments not based on reasoning. For example, I am Malay. Hence, since I am Malay, then my Blog, Malaysia Today, has to be supported or financed by somebody.

And that is why you read many comments on the Internet about Malaysia Today being backed or financed by so-and-so (in particular comments in the non-Malay Blogs and websites/news portals).

It cannot be any other way. I am Malay, so, being Malay, there must be someone who is supporting or financing me.

But then we must be very careful here. This allegation that Malaysia Today is being supported or financed by somebody would only be true if I was perceived as being anti-opposition. Malays who are seen as anti-opposition all receive support or financing from somebody. There are no two ways about it.

If, however, you are brutally anti-government and furiously pro-opposition, then no one is supporting or financing you. There is absolutely no possibility whatsoever that someone is behind you, supporting you, or financing you.

Why is this so? I don’t know! This is just one of the mysteries of life and a law of nature. Those who are anti-opposition must receive backing or financial support from someone while those who are anti-government do not receive once ounce of support or one Ringgit from anyone. It is a mystery that will baffle scientists for years to come.

And these are not the only mysteries in life. There are many other mysteries as well such as:

If you are a Chinese who supports MCA then you are a running dog.

If you are a Chinese who supports DAP then you are a communist.

If you are an Indian who supports MIC then you are a pariah.

If you are an Indian who supports PKR then you are a mandore.

If you are a Malay who supports PAS then you are an Islamic terrorist, extremist, Taliban, etc.

If you are a Malay who supports PKR then you are an Umno reject.

If you are a pro-government Blogger then you are being paid to write.

If you are a pro-opposition Blogger then you are a patriot who berjuang untuk negara, bangsa dan agama.

And so on, all mysteries of nature.

Can it be any other way? It can’t. It can only be this way and no other way. Nature has decided that this is how it should be and we cannot change what nature has decided -- just like nature has decided that if you are black then you can sing and that all black people can sing.

The danger of being perceived as anti-opposition would be you would also be perceived as being paid to do what you do. People, say, like Nat Tan, are also Bloggers. But he is Chinese. Hence he would never be perceived as being paid to do what he does. Only Malays are paid to do what they do.

I mean, does anyone say that Nat Tan is being paid by Anwar Ibrahim or Tian Chua? Even if he whacks the opposition no one is going to say he is being paid by Chua Soi Lek to do that because he is Chinese and not Malay. If he were Malay then for sure it must be Umno that is paying him to do what he does.

So it is not always an advantage to be Malay, as what most people erroneously believe. There are some disadvantages as well. One disadvantage is you must not be perceived as anti-opposition or else people will say you are being paid to whack the opposition.

Sometimes I wish I were born Chinese. But then I would be said to be a Communist. But hold on. I am a Communist. Sigh…you can never win.