CAN MALAYS ACCEPT CHINESE RULE?

In short, what the Chinese keep telling the Malays is that without Umno and the many government policies that allow special treatment for the incapable and stupid Malays, all the useless and good-for-nothing Malays would have to remain in the kampung while the towns would be dominated by the better, cleverer, industrious, more hardworking, etc., Chinese.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Call it Malay psyche or DNA. Call it upbringing or education. Call it indoctrination or brainwashing. Whatever you wish to call it, Malays will always look at things from a very narrow perspective or definition.

To be honest, I do not blame the Malays for this — even though it sometimes irritates me like hell. However, instead of getting upset about the whole matter, it may be more productive if I focus on what to do about it and what role, however small it may be, I can play to correct this predicament or change the situation, however minor the change.

In short, I should only attempt to plant the seed and not worry too much about the fruits or however long it may take to come to fruition because when that happens I will most likely not be around any more anyway.

This, in fact, raises that most important question: do we shape the environment or does the environment shape us? I would think it is a little of both. We shape the environment while at the same time the environment shapes us. It is probably what some would call a vicious cycle.

Hence we need to explore how to break this cycle because unless we can break this cycle it will continue to go on and on with no end in sight.

The Malays feel very insecure. On top of that, most Malays suffer from an inferiority complex. And when people suffer from feelings of insecurity plus suffer an inferiority complex, they tend to be not too cool. They get aggressive and defensive and regard anything and everything as at assault on their dignity, or what the Malays would call maruah, a most important thing to the Malays that must be defended to the death even if that involves violence and results in bloodshed.

You cannot separate maruah and Melayu. Maruah is synonymous with Melayu. Touch their maruah and you are attacking the entire Malay race. How do you change this Malay way of thinking? It is not easy and those that try will be labelled as a traitor to their race. So, many will not even attempt to do it lest they get vilified as a traitor.

And this is why many liberal Malays will choose to remain silent (and become one of the ‘silent majority’) rather than speak up and suffer the same fate that Ridhuan Tee Abdullah is suffering — being vilified by the Chinese as a traitor to the Chinese race who suffers from an identity crisis. (So, yes, even the Chinese do this, not just the Malays).

But why are the Malays like this and why is it so hard for the Malays to get rid of this siege mentality? Why do the Malays feel so insecure and suffer from an inferiority complex to the extent that anything and everything is seen as an assault on the maruah of the Malays that has to be met with violence and even bloodshed if necessary?

I suppose we have only ourselves to blame for this, Malays plus non-Malays alike. We are this ‘Dr Frankenstein’ who created this monster. And then we ask how come we have this ‘monster’ in our midst. Would that not be considered the height of stupidity? You cannot even see that you are the creator.

The Malay politicians tell the Malays that we need an Affirmative Action Plan or else the Malays would become hamba di negara sendiri (slaves in your own country). They tell the Malays that we cannot remove, abrogate or amend Article 153 of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia that allows Bumiputeras (Malays and natives of East Malaysia) certain privileges that non-Bumiputeras do not enjoy.

If we do not have an Affirmative Action Plan or no longer have Article 153 in the Constitution what will happen? Well, then Malays would be ‘left behind’ and would become hamba di negara sendiri.

The Malay politicians constantly remind the Malays about this and, after 57 years and three generations, of course the Malays will believe this. If since pre-school at the age of six you have been brainwashed or indoctrinated into believing this why should you not believe it 50 years down the road?

“But why are the Malays so stupid?” you may ask. “Why do they believe such nonsense? Can’t the Malays see the truth? Why do they believe all these lies?”

Well, let me tell you something else that the Malays believe. The Malays believe that Jesus Christ did not die on the cross and that someone else was crucified instead. The Malays also believe that the New Testament Bible is not the word of God but a book of lies written by humans who wanted to distort the teachings of Jesus and mislead the followers of Jesus. The Malays believe that the Qur’an came from God and was not written by Muhammad. The Malays believe that Muhammad personally met God.

I can go on and on regarding what the Malays believe. You may think that this belief of the Malays is wrong and that it is stupid for the Malays to believe all this. But that is what they believe. And from pre-school at the age of six they have been taught to believe this. So, after 57 years and three generations later, they cannot change what they believe. They believe what they believe and that is that.

So, what the Malays believe, as what the Christians would say, is the Gospel as far as the Malays are concerned. And if they can believe what they believe regarding Islam and Christianity (mainly because they have been indoctrinated to believe so) why are you surprised that they also believe all those other things as well — such as the need for an Affirmative Action Plan, Article 153 in the Constitution, and so on?

This is not about stupidity. This is about beliefs. And how can you call someone’s beliefs stupid when we all have beliefs, which will equally be regarded as stupid by those who do not believe what we believe? And if what the Malays believe is stupid because you do not believe what the Malays believe are not your beliefs equally stupid? How can Jesus be the Son of God or whatever it is that you may believe in whether you are Christian, Hindu, Buddhist or whatever?

If beliefs are stupid then all beliefs have to be stupid, even the beliefs of Chinese, Indians, and whatever ethnicity you may belong to.

Okay, so Malays have certain beliefs and these beliefs are not based on fact but based on doctrine and the result of indoctrination. We can accept that fact but we still insist that these beliefs are wrong. Well and fine. We can agree on that. No dispute there as far as I am concerned.

Then we say this is all Umno’s fault. Umno is guilty of indoctrinating the Malays since the last 57 years over three generations and now the Malays have grown up believing things that are not true. I can also agree with that.

But then is this really Umno’s fault or Umno’s fault alone? Are the non-Umno parties in Barisan Nasional plus the parties within Pakatan Rakyat prepared to tell the Malays they are wrong? The Malays have been fed a pack of lies for 57 years over three generations and now they have grown up believing the wrong thing. Umno will not tell the Malays this. Are the others prepared to do so?

Okay, let us forget about DAP, MCA, MIC, Gerakan, PPP, PSM, and whatnot. These are not Malay parties or Malay-majority parties. The only two Malay-majority parties at the moment are PAS and PKR. Will PAS and PKR tell the Malays that it is wrong to believe in an Affirmative Action Plan, Article 153 of the Constitution, Malay privileges, Malay-only institutions like UiTM, and all that?

Why will PAS and PKR not make it very clear to the Malays that the Affirmative Action Plan, Article 153 of the Constitution, Malay privileges, Malay-only institutions like UiTM, etc., are not good and should be abolished?

Is DAP prepared to tell PAS and PKR that unless Pakatan Rakyat makes it part of their Manifesto that they oppose the Affirmative Action Plan, Article 153 of the Constitution, Malay privileges, Malay-only institutions like UiTM, etc., (and that if they ever came to power all these will be abolished) and that if Pakatan Rakyat refuses then DAP will leave the opposition coalition?

Are the non-Umno parties in Barisan Nasional prepared to tell Umno that unless Barisan Nasional makes it part of their Manifesto that they oppose the Affirmative Action Plan, Article 153 of the Constitution, Malay privileges, Malay-only institutions like UiTM, etc., and if Umno refuses then all the non-Umno parties will leave the ruling coalition?

So you see, this is not just Umno. Even the non-Umno parties in Barisan Nasional, plus those in Pakatan Rakyat, have not openly called for an end to all this ‘special treatment’ for the Malays. So it is not just Umno that is defending Malay privileges. The non-Umno parties are as well. No one wants to ‘fight for justice’ for the non-Malays, as how the non-Malays would describe it.

Now, Umno is nurturing this siege mentality. They are making the Malays scared and are saying that if Pakatan Rakyat comes to power then the Malays will be under ‘Chinese rule’. And, as the title of my article says: Can Malays accept Chinese rule?

“But Pakatan Rakyat rule is not Chinese rule,” you may argue. “Pakatan Rakyat is multi-racial, not Chinese.”

Is that so? PAS wants Islamic laws to be implemented. But they are not allowed to push this agenda because the Chinese (and Indians as well, of course) in DAP and PKR oppose it. So, since the non-Malays oppose Islamic law, it cannot be done even if PAS wants it. Hence what the non-Malays want and not what the Malays want is what will finally happen.

Ah, but then Umno also opposes Islamic laws. In fact, at one time PAS used to call Umno an infidel orkafir party (even Anwar did before he joined Umno in 1982) because it opposes the Islamic State and Islamic laws.

But then Umno has always opposed the Islamic State and Islamic laws. It has opposed it since long before Merdeka. And that was why the Islamists or members of Umno’s Islamic Wing left the party in 1951, six years before Merdeka, to form a new party, the Pan-Malayan Islamic Party or PMIP, now called PAS. Hence PAS is a breakaway Umno party.

In short, PAS was formed (by Umno people) to oppose Umno mainly because Umno opposed the Islamic State and Islamic laws. So Umno is just doing what it has always done. PAS, on the other hand, is trying to do what it said it wants to do when they broke away from Umno to form a new party in 1951. But it cannot do it because the non-Malays will not allow it to be done. Hence PAS has to abide to the wishes of the non-Malays, in particular the Chinese from DAP and PKR.

And this means Pakatan Rakyat rule translates to Chinese or non-Malay rule. The Malays can rule if Pakatan Rakyat rules but only as long as it meets the wishes of the Chinese or non-Malays in DAP and PKR.

Not a very sensible or intelligent way of looking at things, is it not? But if the Malays can believe all those other ‘not sensible’ and ‘not intelligent’ things that they have been indoctrinated into believing (at least ‘not sensible’ and ‘not intelligent’ from your point of view although the Malays would disagree with you) why be surprised that they believe this as well?

Okay, by now you may have come to a conclusion that the Malays are strange creatures that believe in nonsense and are easily indoctrinated. Well, is that not true for most if not all of us? How many of you are Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and so on? Aren’t you also a strange creature that believes in nonsense and are easily indoctrinated into believing in what I would consider myths and fairy tales?

If you were so clever, cleverer than the Malays, you would reject all these conjectures and would become an atheist. So don’t be so smug and imagine yourselves as smarter than the Malays. You are as gullible as the Malays are. In fact, some of your beliefs are even sillier. At least Malays do not believe that whiteang paus for Chinese New Year is bad luck.

And do you blame the Malays for having this siege mentality and for feeling so insecure and for suffering from an inferiority complex until they believe that they need ‘protection’ or else they will become ‘hamba di negara sendiri’?

How many times have the Chinese reminded the Malays that they are an inferior race? How many times have the Chinese reminded the Malays that without the Chinese Malaysia would still be just a jungle? How many times have the Chinese reminded the Malays that 90% of the tax is paid by the Chinese and if not because of the Chinese Malaysia would be bankrupt? How many times have the Chinese reminded the Malays that without the NEP and institutions like UiTM the Malays would never get to go to university because the Malays are academically too backward? How many times have the Chinese reminded the Malays that without Article 153 and the tongkat (crutches) policy the Malays would be nowhere and would remain farmers and fishermen?

In short, what the Chinese keep telling the Malays is that without Umno and the many government policies that allow special treatment for the incapable and stupid Malays, all the useless and good-for-nothing Malays would have to remain in the kampung while the towns would be dominated by the better, cleverer, industrious, more hardworking, etc., Chinese.

So you see, it is not just Umno that is brainwashing the Malays into thinking that unless they are ‘protected’ and ‘helped’ no Malay would succeed in life. Even the Chinese are indoctrinating the Malays into believing the same thing. And you are surprised that the Malays have siege mentality and feel insecure and suffer from an inferiority complex?

Of course, when I tell you not to be too racist you scream at me and argue that you are merely practicing freedom of speech. So carry on. Tell the Malays what you think of them. Convince the Malays that they are useless. Assure the Malays that the only reason they are successful is because there is a government policy that favours them and that without this government policy the Chinese would own the country. Make the Malays believe that the very thing that you want removed is the thing that allows the Malays to ‘become somebody’.