YOURSAY | The DAP dilemma – bend the knee or be feared?

 

YOURSAY | ‘Statistically speaking, DAP, and for that matter, the Chinese, do not have the power...’

COMMENT | Guan Eng had no power but still feared by the Malays

AnotherKomentar: Malaysia in the fleeting vision of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's ‘Malaysia 2020’ would be one where the minority mercantile class underwrites the prosperity of the entire economy at the behest of Umno.

The chief benefactors of this crony capitalism would be the elitist Umnoputras and the mercantile class themselves. In fact, the majority would be left on subsistence existence, living on the public handouts of Umno.

Mahathir's war in the 2018 general election was to rid Umno of Najib Abdul Razak and some other personal nemesis whose avarice for wealth and power was threatening Mahathir's fleeting legacies. Mahathir had no intention to change his core political view on Malay's supremacy and the roles of others as supplicants ‘pendatang’.

It should not come as a surprise to most Malaysians, except minorities like Malaysiakini columnist S Thayaparan, that Mahathir was not interested in deep and meaningful social, political and economic reform he espoused with the rest of his Pakatan Harapan's partners during the election of 2018.

Mahathir did not expect Harapan would prevail. Much like "buyer's regret" and soon after assuming the prime ministership with unprecedented goodwill and support, he soon retracted and reverted to his natural political inclinations that never left him.

Looking back, it is convenient to attribute blame on Harapan for having power stolen from them, the sad realities of Malaysian race-based politics were like cancer on remission, the patient never quite knew when the cancer will make its comeback.

RZee: Thayaparan is absolutely correct. The majority want their fellow minority Malaysian citizens to be happy with scraps thrown their way and to be always subservient.

It is correct to say that DAP bent over backwards to make the majority happy. Why? Aren’t the minorities also Malaysian citizens? Don’t they pay taxes like everyone else? Don’t they deserve a good life?

As for Lim and the hate the Malays had for him, (and for the other non-Malays in positions of power), why is this? Was Lim not doing a good job? Wasn’t he tasked by Mahathir and the cabinet to reduce the deficit and loan situation and make Malaysia succeed? Wasn’t he following orders?

Does his arrogance or rudeness matter if he was doing a good and fair job? The truth is the fringe benefits and 1MDB and Rosmah-type contracts were stopped and the Malay elite didn’t like it.

And more so, stopped by a non-Malay out to do a good job. Must Malaysians always pander to and accept this thinking and behaviour? According to the likes of Mahathir and Umno, Malaysians must.

Aren’t Bung Moktar Radin and the other Umno goons arrogant and rude? Of course, they are but yet tolerated.

Dummies Dhimmi: DAP found out hastily, it was easier to be in the opposition. Power-sharing where the majority were Malays and seen as a Chinese party, they didn’t have a viable course to navigate the waters in a way to keep their trumpeted principles and satisfy the majority at the same time.

We saw very quickly, after the euphoria of winning, the coming together of the defeated to start the process to eventually cause the government to implode.

DAP was lethargic to come up with a counter-narrative, and instead thought if they could simply do what MCA did, they could eventually pivot back to their intended trajectory.

Time is so unforgiving in politics. With that a lost opportunity.

FairMalaysian: Now the duds will know why I chastised Lim and the other imbecile ministers in the cabinet. The word "subservience" is a deeply entrenched mentality among the majority Malays - that the Malays expect the non-Malays to be subservient to them.

There cannot be any mistaken belief in this. This is the sore point that led the non-Malays to chuck out the MCA and MIC. Najib's administration attempted to seduce with money - that didn't work.

The present Perikatan Nasional (PN) government has taken a path that has excluded a large section of the citizens from the cabinet and it may think that money and grants will settle the issue.

Maybe the older folks may just want to get on with their lives but most of the non-Malays know what it means by baiting.

The non-Malays are very, very angry with the DAP. Where was all that chivalry exhibited when in the opposition? Somehow, those who were the knights like Lim and Gobind Singh appeared as their mouths were sealed.

Can you imagine the kind-hearted Lim giving a grant of RM400 million to a PAS government that has all the time been scheming to bring the Harapan government? How more hilarious can this get?

I have heard stories from those around Tunku Abdul Rahman that he would be very hesitant to approach Tan Siew Sin for any funds/allocation unless he can convince Tan of its necessity.

Lim was nothing more than a puppet. He should have thrown in his resignation when he was impeded in his work. He owed that much to all Malaysians. Not just Malays or non-Malays, we chose him because the previous finance minister allegedly robbed Malaysians in the billions.

We wanted a finance minister with a spine. Now he goes on bashing government politicians but what purpose does it serve when the horse had already bolted?

Gobind's gross inexperience showed. It looked more like behaving like a lawyer rather than an administrator. So, what are we left with then? They screwed up high time.

Existential Turd: I am reading a book first published in 1962 - ‘The Guns of August’ by Barbara Tuchman. Thayaparan should be no stranger to this book. It chronicles the political and military build-up prior to WWI by all the major powers surrounding the conflict.

What struck me most while reading the book is that, the strongest country in continental Europe at that time, Germany, kept feeding itself the illusion that France was constantly insulting it, denigrating it, despising it, and edging to wipe it off the surface of the Earth. While the exact opposite is true.

Germany and France had a long history of conflict with each other, as do all the nations in Europe. Their last conflict was in 1870, in favour of Germany.

What is striking is that, Germany's behaviour prior to WWI matches exactly to those of the majority community in Malaysia. Their bellicosity sounds strangely familiar. They (the German's) had long planned to subjugate France completely, only then can they feel safe.

When a reason to attack France was not forthcoming, they had to invent one. They apply their worst fear onto France and justify their actions on those unfound fear.

Pinning blame on a victim before victimising him has a long pedigree. - Mkini