What an Embarassment

Today, you are championing Malay Rights. You are angry that Non-Malays are questioning these rights. You are also angry that Malays themselves are questioning these so-called Rights. You want the other races to acknowledge that the Dominant Malays are the rightful heirs to this country called Malaysia. What an embarrassment to us Malays.

By Capt.Iskandar Dzulkarnain

Tun Dr Mahathir was Prime Minister of Malaysia for 22 years. All of us lived under his leadership during his tenure, and many of us have come to admire him and regard him with our deepest respect, for what he has done for the country. The Galleria Perdana in Langkawi is testimony to his achievements.

His Vision 2020, the Look East Policy, the Multimedia Super Corridor, the Internet and his efforts to industrialize the country has brought countless prosperity to our nation. We look upon him as the most successful leader since our nation’s independence.

Lately, we see a sudden about turn to his speeches and rhetorics. Many who listened with interest to his sermons, is alarmed at the vast distortion of everything he has tried to impress upon us in the past. He is beginning to sound incoherent, with a tinge of cynicsm. The great empire you built in the last 22years is slowly unravelling, crumbling, torn assunder by the words that spews forth from your mouth. Everyone, who knows you in the past, is becoming dissapointed in what you hold dear to.

At your age, we expect the Grand Old Vizier with bottomless wisdom, intellect, and wide political experience to advise us, and tell us where we went wrong, and to correct us. To bring continuous change, to unite us, and to tell us that we are all Citizens of this great nation, to warn us of the pitfalls of racism, corruption and to protect this country from tearing itself apart.

Lately, many of your speeches has been met with apprehension, and later with disgust as you keep on levelling criticism on the different races. Even Singapore was not spared. Your latest speech that Malaysia belongs to the Malays, that Malays think 1Malaysia is about abolishing vernacular schools, and that Chinese and Indians think that 1Malaysia means abolishing Malay Rights, is really hurtful and hard to swallow. I really wonder what is going through the mind of this once Great man?

Today, you are championing Malay Rights. You are angry that Non-Malays are questioning these rights. You are also angry that Malays themselves are questioning these so-called Rights. You want the other races to acknowledge that the Dominant Malays are the rightful heirs to this country called Malaysia. What an embarrassment to us Malays.

What special rights are you talking about? If the Malays have benefited from it, and given us a window of opportunity, and an edge over others, why has the Malays not advanced any further? All these years, the bragging and the promises about Special Rights has only led us to acknowledge that it is only a big pie in the sky.

Through 3 generations, we have come to accept that we are all Malaysian Citizens, and everyone is equal to everyone, and now we find out that we indeed do have Special Rights accorded only to us, and not to the others. We must also fight for our Rights and not let the other community take it away from us. But what are these Rights??? If we had Special Rights, why are the Malays still lagging behind? Did anybody actually accorded the Malays these Rights in the past? Did the Malays reject these Rights, so much so that they are now living in utter poverty? Can someone start going around and bestow this Rights upon us right now? When are we going to get these Rights? As far as we know, we never had any Rights!!! Ony the Chinese and Indians think we have Special Rights.

Most Malays don't give two hoots about Tanah Melayu, Ketuanan Melayu or Special Rights, because it does not exist. We also got bored waiting for these rights to be transfered to us. We just want a decent life, job, a brighter, predictable future. And the Right to practice our Religion free of encumbrance. We are a loosely knitted race that comprises mixed Javanese, Sumatran, Indian, Hunanese, Thai, and Middle East blood bound together by our Religion Islam. And yet in the INTERLOK novel we branded other communities as Pariahs.

And if there is a Special Right, I think I would want to have the Right to mingle freely with our Chinese and Indian friends, step into a church and listen with interest to their choirs singing Christmas Carols, drop by a Chinese temple, and observe the monks chanting their mantras, or to an Indian Temple to see how they worship. And to drop by the Pub, for a glass of cold Coke, withourt feeling a little peculiar. I want the right to tell all our fellow citizens that we do not harbour any ill will against them, that we are just like them and that we will always stand by them.

22 years in power, and yet so many of our kin still live in misery. We are not asking for utter riches, just a decent life, but many Malays still lives in utter misery, and in such contrast to the Super rich UMNOPutras. And in the last election, many Malays were abandoning BN in droves, and now the ruling elite are not confident any more of retaining their power and has started to take drastic measures to regain their support.

Lastly, keep this in mind. There is no racism in Malaysia. 99 percent of Malaysians are not racist. We are too busy living our lives than to check on our neighbours. It is the one percent who is desperately clinging on to power, bent on staying, and who will do anything at any cost,even selling their souls to the devil, that is causing all this ruckus about Racism in this country. The one percent of Malays, Chinese and Indians who are about to be given the boot are shouting Ketuanan Melayu and Ketuanan What not!!

Malays, in their right minds are not going to support this bunch of losers. That is why they say that the Malays are split between UMNO and PAS. And the blame was put on poor old Nik Aziz, who became the scapegoat for splitting the Malays.

They really must go!