BN isolating Chinese voters

Holding the Chinese responsible for BN not gaining its coveted two third majority, and for losing again in urban areas, is as silly as the election result itself.

COMMENT

After failing in its popular vote tally, a major achievement by the Pakatan Rakyat that will remain a dark spot in Barisan National’s history, the ruling coalition is still spurring its venom against a section of the Malaysian population.

From Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s “Melayu tamak” comments to that of the more virulent statement by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak on the “Chinese tsunami”, it shows that the BN will never learn from their mistakes.

The ongoing attacks against the Chinese community by several BN leaders and pro-BN commentators must be seen with forks over knives since it carries a double game plan.

First of all it is destined at shaking DAP in order to get some rotten fruits out of the parliamentary members of the party to join BN, and in an attempt to hit two birds with the same stone, the BN strategists are trying to get the Chinese community to bow and kiss BN’s hand for offering “peace”.

Najib’s statement that the country needed reconciliation would have won over many among the Chinese community had it not been tainted with the “Chinese tsunami” comments that sparked the young and old Chinese men and women to flock by the thousands to Anwar Ibrahim’s election protest rallies.

Najib’s defence of Utusan Melayu’s “Apa Cina Mahu Lagi” did more damage than the election itself, and this may remain as a hard stem to eradicate in the BN’s garden.

It has to be said that it is owing to BN’s mistakes and wrong decisions since 1998 that has led the country to where it is today, that is with a stronger opposition coalition and a weakened BN.

From Sodomy 1 to Sodomy 2, one would have thought they learned the lessons and would apply the wisdom that they should have earned in the process, but all are to no avail with BN since winning the elections on May 5 was what mattered after all.

Still in shock

And win they did, at all cost, even with a reduced majority that will hurt them in the long run and a blatant absence of popular support that is already haunting them though the coalition leaders are showing no signs of agitation.

Holding the Chinese responsible for BN not gaining its coveted two third majority, and for losing again in towns and cities, is as silly as the election result itself, which is tainted despite claims by BN that all went well on May 5.

Before the polls, mainstream newspapers were harping about a shift in Chinese support for BN, a shift proven untrue with the results that now lay bare in front of our eyes.

The Chinese community abandoned BN since 2008 and will not go back to the fold without a major leap of faith from the BN leaders towards the community.

Today, they are still in shock and this is portrayed by the Utusan Melayu’s stance on the pro-Pakatan vote by the Chinese community.

From one mistake to another, BN will find that it is getting more and more isolated but as said above, it will never learn its lessons as the same Chinese community will keep backing BN media partners and will fund BN in the next general election.

At least, the rich of the rich among the community will continue to do so, thus giving BN a reason to believe that its anti-Chinese rhetoric has good political verbosity that must not be stopped until the Chinese flock back to them in droves.

KL-based Amir Ali works for an Indonesian NGO called the Warisan Melayu Riau, which is based in Bengkalis, Riau.