A Malay no more?

I am a Malay no more? Words like compromise, respect, tolerance, forgiveness, modesty and patience are today alien to me as I whack and hantam Malay political leaders left and right. I am tolerant no more of their doings to our people, our country and our future. Budi adat and traditions be damm! I am no longer that Malay who is sensitive and gentle in nature! 

I do not articulate my distaste for the doings of UMNO graciously. I directly verbalize my contempt and disgust in the manner they have governed our country even as I acknowledge the rudeness of my confrontational approach and understand how unbecoming it is for a Malay to do so.

I no longer care that they may think me not noble or cultured, lacking in good manners and inconsiderate of their discomfort at my tirade against them.

I am no longer the Malay who believes that “Hidup dikandung adat dan mati dikandung budi” – that life should be filled with customs and death should be filled with gratefulness. I am all this because the times we live in has made me so.

How do you expect me to be quiet when I am constantly confronted by the excesses of UMNO politicians, their families, their cronies and sahabats whose sense of entitlement to that which does not belong to them overshadows all sense of decency and the rights and wrongs that I have been taught in my childhood, in my growing up and in what I have seen till this ripe old age of 71 that I am today? 

The Malay and Islam idea that the State duty is to uphold justice and fairness has been breached much too many times by UMNO for my liking. By so doing UMNO has absolved itself from having a peaceful society that would be complaint to their government of our nation. And when UMNO distance itself from this duty of justice and care of its own people then what the Malays says ‘biar mati anak jangan mati adat… no longer holds true. 

The Malays will not sit down quietly any more and allow their budi, their adat and Islam to be ridiculed and degraded by the desperateness of UMNO to hang on to political power. 

UMNO takes too much from the Malays for itself.

Why would I want to follow UMNO into the abyss and be what they are: arrogant, deceitful and morally corrupt? It is time we stand firm and tell UMNO they can no longer have their way with us. The time is now. And those that will stand in their way are you and me!

The need for compassion, decency and grace.

These Malays who are the leaders in UMNO....they were once decent people. There were once Malays who had the well-being and welfare of other Malays in their hearts. They wanted the Malays to succeed in education, in business and they wanted the Malays to be able to stand with pride amongst the other races in Malaysia. They started their life in politics with these thoughts.

But instead for over fifty years leaders in UMNO have been beating this country of ours to near death. It would do Najib good if he stops to understand that we are all individuals amongst the faceless masses that he see. He must listen to what we have to say Understand what we aspire to. Or, better yet, understand that all that we simply want is the right to earn a decent living, a roof over their heads and the freedom to live our live to the best of our ability in peace.

Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. ~Chief Seattle, 1855

If you understand this, then maybe you will understand the need to have compassion, decency and aspire to do well to others in your time as Prime Minister…in your time in life. ….but maybe…just maybe…it might be too much to ask of you and of those in Barisan Nasional.