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Saturday, March 14, 2015

NOT ONLY NAJIB MUST GO, DR M TOO MUST LEAVE: The only way for Malaysia to survive

NOT ONLY NAJIB MUST GO, DR M TOO MUST LEAVE: The only way for M'sia to survive
There are those who would have you believe that nothing of importance was uttered by former Law Minister Zaid Ibrahim at the launch of Kua Kia Soong’s new book, Racism and Racial Discrimination in Malaysia. Sure, there are brief reports on the speech, but none of them pay heed to the core message that Zaid sent, and that message is revolutionary.
In 20 minutes on stage, Zaid outlined the only sane path forward for Malaysia in three seemingly simple steps.
One, use Bahasa Malaysia as a common point of unity among Malaysians of all ages and colours. Zaid described Malaysia as having two major problems, one being a racial problem, and the other religious, namely, the Islamist problem. To bridge that cultural gap, Malaysians, especially the non-Malays, should make it a point to speak Bahasa because it is their shared heritage. Whatever our colour or creed, we all learnt the same language in school, and that should serve to unite us.
Dr M
Second, he exhorted us to reject race politics. Zaid described Malaysians as “too fascinated by political leaders” who have their own agendas and prejudices. As Malaysians, we must stop being concerned with the interests of one racial group and focus on the interests of us as Malaysians. He gave the example of PAS insisting that only a Muslim leader would do. “Isn’t that racism? Isn’t that discrimination?” He framed race as a political artifact used to consolidate power among BN’s many race-based parties. After 50 years of independence, he said, it is time to “reject political affiliation through race.”
Third, we must reject race-based leaders. Zaid brought up a good point in telling those in attendance that we tend to think we are safer with a leader from our ethnic community. This tribalistic approach has been evident in Malaysian politics for quite some time, but it is often that those who claim to represent a community turn around and feed on it instead. Claiming that if we had honest leaders, 1MDB would not have happened, Zaid emphasized that one could not “expect some Umno leader to make a 180 degree turn and change for the better. You have to be the change!”
So, to sum it up, speak the language that unites us all, reject race politics, and reject race-based leaders.
So what is this “revolutionary message”? It’s simple. Fellow Malaysians, it is time to free ourselves from the shackles of race. Science has debunked the idea that different races are somehow different or some races are superior to others at the genetic level. All we have now is a social construct designed to create stratification between different classes in society, much like in George Orwell’s Animal Farm, where all start as equal, but some want to become “more equal than others” for socio-economic leverage.
No true alternative
In truth, few of us have “rejected race” in our politics. Whichever side of the political divide you stand on, there is still a racial perception assigned to certain parties and, thanks to our communalistic leanings, we will lend support to whichever party’s policy supports our community the best. In that sense, Malaysians are trapped between the devil and the deep blue sea because there is no true alternative that rejects the concept of race and represents us merely as Malaysians.
A good example exists within the dichotomy of PAS and Umno. As the Lim Teck Ghee expressed at the same event, “Umno is about agama, bangsa, dan negara, and PAS is about agama, agama, agama.”
On both sides, you will find the same pseudo-liberal, populist policies designed to placate communities in the short term. Neither has made significant strides towards designing a common direction for us as Malaysians, and nor should we expect them to. Politics owes much to its past, and a party must keep to its established intent or face the possibility of losing supporters.
Indeed, if there is change to be had, it must start from the people. We must create a platform for this Malaysian agenda as a gathering point for those who feel the same way. It must reflect the multi-cultural makeup of Malaysia and concede that while each community has legitimate interests, the well-being of the whole will reflect on it’s lowest elements.
Race as a concept, as an idea, must be rejected by the people because it is honestly the only logical way forward that doesn’t end in Lim’s dire prediction of another racial riot. He claims to see the seeds planted in the recent aggression towards non-Muslim religions, mainly Christianity, and he may not be far from the truth. Continuing down this path will profit no one except those who see Malaysia as easier to conquer when it is divided. It is a path we’ve trekked for 50 years, and we have got nowhere with in.
The definition of insanity is to repeat the same actions over and over, hoping for a different result. Is it not time to stop the insanity and to start making sense again?
Malaysians, we must reject race. This doesn’t start with your neighbour. It starts with you, with how you address your friends, how you speak of the people around you. It is so easy to make racially charged jokes and laugh it off as “being fair to all” because you include your own community in the joke, but it is that casual racism that is most endemic and noxious as we do not realize the severity of our words. That has to change.
So then, my countrymen, how shall we move forward? How shall we overcome racism? Day by day, one step at a time, my friends. We start with ourselves. - FMT

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