Let us imagine that it is Christmas Eve and in a rare turn of events, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang decides to make a Christmas wish. He opens his eyes and finds himself the leader of a new country, the caliphate of Malaysia.
The non-Malays, like the Chinese and Indians, have long since left. They were fed up with the contempt of the Malays, who said, "You should be happy we allow you to live in our Tanah Melayu".
Do these Malays wonder how Malaya, the land of rubber and tin, would have progressed, without the imported non-Malay labour force?
Hadi is wrong because Malaysia belongs to the Orang Asli and indigenous tribes.
In Hadi's new-found caliphate, the only citizens are Malays and perhaps, some pseudo-Malays, like the Indonesians and Bangladeshis. The land grabs in Zimbabwe reduced the country to a "beggar" state when it was once the bread basket of Africa. Would we suffer the same fate?
Hadi's rallying call is that his party is the "defender of Islam" and the "protector of the Malays"; but if you were to ask them why Islam needs defending, or the Malays need protecting, they would be unable to answer.
The Malays should have nothing to fear as they enjoy most benefits, scholarships, school and university places, help for small businesses, housing applications and jobs in the civil service, than any of the non-Malays.
Perhaps, Malays need protecting from their own kind. As the Felda, Mara and Tabung Haji scandals have shown, few Malay leaders voiced their anger at Malays stealing from other Malays.
Malays are ill-equipped to deal with betrayal. They handle it by saying, "It is fated by God" or "Takdir". They are master procrastinators, unwilling to take charge of their own lives.
Our new life
Anyway, let us examine our new life, in Hadi's caliphate. Hadi would be pleased, but would you be happy? I can only go by what I have experienced.
Many members of my family live in Kuala Lumpur, where the house repairs and maintenance work, like painting, are done by Indonesians. Perhaps, all the Malays are in management? But I don't think so.
A friend, who has a shop near Masjid India in Kuala Lumpur, is furious that most of the stalls and shops are now run and managed by Indonesians, Bangladeshis or Myanmarese. Malay owners sublet their shops/stalls, for a monthly fee, to foreigners. The local council closes one eye on this illegal practice. Very soon, the Malays will have nothing.
In many Middle East countries, the local people are too lazy or feel too superior, to do menial jobs. Look at Dubai and their slave labour. We will see how the redevelopment of Port Dickson will proceed, without the non-Malay construction workers.
Sadly, in the caliphate, no one will be able to replace my non-Malay mechanic, the grocer, fishmonger, florist, the stationery supplier, the floor polisher, piano tuner, music teacher, roofer, plumber, electrician, gardener, air-conditioning maintenance man, and the non-Malays who currently supply a host of services, which few Malays are interested in.
Managing the caliphate
How will Hadi manage his caliphate, when he can't even manage the litter problem in Kota Bahru? Conservative Muslim Kelantan can't even keep its men at home. They slope off to Thailand to have a good time with the girls and boys there.
The caliphate's preoccupation will be with women committing adultery, but will the authorities know how to handle money laundering, or another scandal like 1MDB?
The men in PAS and Umno-Baru, the same ones who shout the rallying cry of protecting Malays and Islam, did nothing to stop kleptocrats from stealing the rakyat's money. They could not even bring themselves to condemn corruption.
Will LGBTs go underground, lest they be thrown from the highest buildings?
With hudud laws, there will be no rapes or sexual assaults, but we know from the other Islamic nations that this is not true. Young girls will not be safe from sexual predators, the music and film industry will suffer and the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) will rule supreme.
The Social Welfare Department will be under a lot of pressure to support the families of unemployable limbless men and women.
In previous years, the non-Malays were convenient scapegoats, but in the caliphate, we will soon find that the Malays will be at one another's throats. Soon, the Muslim clergy will be at loggerheads with the royals. Then, they will make the rakyat's lives more miserable, with each side making increasingly harsh interpretations of God's laws.
Last Saturday, Dec 8, as the last speaker at the rally against the International Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd), Hadi said that when the Portuguese invaded Malacca, in the 16th century, Muslims were the only ones who opposed the invaders. He said, "They were not afraid of the colonialists' canons or guns. They opposed them with their keris when nobody else would.”
Hadi is partially right. In the invasion of Malacca in 1511, the Muslims from India played a significant role.
In 1509, when Manuel I, the King of Portugal, heard about the fame of Malacca, he dispatched an emissary, Diogo Lopes de Sequeira, to set up trade links with Sultan Mahmud Shah of Malacca; but established Indian Muslim traders tried to assassinate de Sequeira in order to protect their business interests.
The Portuguese retaliated by despatching an armada of 18 ships, lead by Admiral Afonso de Albuquerque, to capture Malacca. The attack is described in the article ‘The Capture of Malacca’ in the Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (No 61, 1912).
One Malay prince retreated upriver, the sultan of Pahang fled to Pahang, and the bendahara fled into the interior, as did Sultan Mahmud Shah.
Stop the deception, Hadi!
These orang soleh so called, is only can add more wife on his collection, no more no less
ReplyDeleteEnough said
A man who wants to rule at all cost.
ReplyDeleteTo borrow the of saying holier than thou mirage. Fakes in the new Malaysia still plentiful. The thing that still boggles the sane is the following is nothing short of amazing in today's era.
ReplyDeleteHadi said that when the Portuguese invaded Malacca, in the 16th century, Muslims were the only ones who opposed the invaders. He said, "They were not afraid of the colonialists' canons or guns. They opposed them with their keris when nobody else would.” Fake analogy of the desperado.
ReplyDelete