by Dr. Chen Man Hin
After 50 years of independence, Malaysia is in identity crisis.
Two main factors:
*Islamic state which casts a pall on inter-communal relationships. The divide became more and more apparent, and there is less mixing of the races.
*Umno rejection of Bangsa Malaysia and the Malay agenda. Bumiputraism became strident, and ketuanan Melayu was flaunted at Umno assembly of 2005.
Umno has subverted the constitution for their own agenda. PM Abdullah and DPM Najib declared Malaysia is not secular but is an Islamic state.
Quo vadis Malaysia?
Malaysians are polarized and poles apart. Some are sons of the soil then the others must necessarily be scums of earth.
Citizenship must be the only criteria….jus soli i.e right of the soil, a legal principle whereby the nationality of a person is determined by a person’s place of birth; or by jus sanguines i,e right of blood which means a person acquires the right of nationality of his /her parents.
Failing to note the above invites a sure recipe for disaster as a nation.
UMNaziO is the source of all the problems plaquing the country. Corruption, nepotism, cronyism, NEP, no ranking of our unis, low quality of sports, low level of English, low GDP, no bonus for Gov servants, high inflation, high petrol prices, mat rempits, drug addiction, high dropout rate, robberies, rapes, unemployment of bumi grads, polarisation……….
The day the Umnoputras discard its extreme racism will be the day the sun rises from the west and Malaysia will be at its best.
Link: http://www.kingsmary.blogspot.com/
Lets face it, like it or not Malaysia now is an Islamic state. It anyone drive down to JB. Try visit the upcoming Hutan Bandar MPJBT near MUtiara Rini. There’s very strong single ethnic reference of Malay-Muslim architecture with jawi wordings. How are we going to live in harmony? I like the good old days where buildings are right kind of democratic architecture like our old Parliament house as oppose to our “lovely” Putrajaya.
I love when the road name are Jalan Keretapi, Jalan Green Hill as oppose to our current so called sophisticated Jalan Tun Ahmad Zaidi Addnance or Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg.
Where is racial unity and harmony? The government had made it very clear to us that Malaysia is an Islamic state. If you dun like it, you can leave.
And yes, I agree BN had make Malaysia acheive greater heights. Maybe for the past 30-40 years and definately not in the past 4 years when our Pak Lah in power.
We had made a huge paradigm shift to agricultural by our Pak Lah. Going back to paddy farming anyone?
Dr
I find very amused that we are are arguing about “Bumiputras”, when there is not even such a term in the Constitution.
I had always been of the opinion that there must be separation of state + “church”. Rather than emphasising on such + such a religion country, we should be highlighting religious values + moral. Ultimately it is between You + God. Not You + God + Country.
Malaysia must remain firmly secular….any attempts by crooked BN politicians to assert it otherwise must be strongly opposed….
Difference in race can be easily bridge but differences in orthodox religion is hard to reconcile. Men are by nature logical beings; they think logically, questioning often. Religion conditions men not to think for themselves but to accept ancient texts as divine commands to be accepted and followed. Such conditioning can cause psychological changes that make men’s perception of right and wrong to be warped. Note the Christian inquisition where religious men can subject their victims to cruel torture or the present day Islamists who will riot at the slightest perceived insult their religion.
As people become more religious, the more their differences come into focus, and that is what is happening here in Malaysia.
UMNO was a OK party to rule Msia from 1957 to 1982, 83 or 84, after that, they become bad slowly, n now better not say lah, nanti kena ISA. Msia past develoment is possible bcos of Oil money! Now for further development?? see lah!
In USA, Chinese Americans is 1.2% (3.6 million) of total population. Yet, a local Chinese named Gary Locke was the 21st governor of Washington (1997-2005).
In USA, African Americans represented 12.9% of total population. Yet, Barack Obama is potential to be a black USA president.
In Australia, Malaysian-born Penny Wong is now a minister for climate change and water.
In Malaysia, we practise outdated proportionate and political sharing policy…..
We may have been even further ahead if we had an alternative gomen to bn in power. I dont think that we are great today because of bn. I think we are where we are today, in spite of bn. Look where Singapore is today, WITHOUT any natural resources.
What is the difference between malaysian and singaporean peoples? Tongkat is the first thing that come sto mind. And the wholesale rape of the nation by the umnoputras.
With an alternate gomen, all the money from petronas could have been used for proper development of the nation. Nit used for one bail out after another.
So dont sell me the c-rap about bn having developed this nation.
Yes, Ngahc, Indonesia has Chinese Town mayor in Singkawang, Kalimantan, Thailand has Chinese town mayor in Betong,
In the PAST, Thailand had Chinese Prime MInisters. (Chuan Lekpai n Thaksin. Guyana (S. America) n Papaua New Guinea had Chinese Prime Minister.
Chinese is a VERY small minority (except Thailand) in those countries!
The UMNOputra exploit the religion issue so that it is easyer to divide and rule.
races issue and languages issue: to create hatre and disunity among races to gain political power for their own interest.
The DPM has sent his children to the International Garden School where he himself has No confident with his own educational policy of this country.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/12/21/nation/19825574&sec=nation&focus=1
Abdullah, who was in pink baju Melayu and Jeanne with a matching pink selendang also offered prayers at his parents’ graves in the mosque compound.
He also witnessed a sacrificial slaughter nearby the mosque.
DiGi and several other donors contributed 134 heads of cattle, goats and camels for the slaughter.
The meat was distributed to mosques, surau, government offices and non-governmental organisations in the area.
Arabs in Malaysia? killing camels? killing is wrong….
Cows are considered scared to hindus..
As I have repeated put it: UMO is hijacking the whole country for their personal gains!
UMO never considers the long term well-being of Malaysia.
To make easy their steals and robs , UMO will do whatever things they could without thinking about the possible repercussions to all the Malaysians!
The thing that sets the opposition parties and BN apart is who has the money, that in turn sets everything else apart in this country.
Quo vadis Malaysia?
Dr Chen, isn’t the answer painfully obvious? Take your pick, here are some multiple choice answers on where Malaysia is going:
1) Towards Islamic state
2) Downhill fast
3) Catching up with Indonesia both in terms of GDP per capita and percentage of “Malays” in its population.
What about the one in malaysia? When is he going to get it?
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/20/news/australia.php
Six Australians sued in connection with UN oil-for-food scandal
As far as I am concern a 50 year old constitution with 650 single amendment and 46 multiple amendment, has lost its original intent. So what we have is a state that basically got nothing to do with what we started out with.
So those who qoute the constitution to make their case of Islamic state, I say, don’t tell me what it should be because there is no should. Its all about want and not what was agreed on.
So the debate should not be the constitutionality of Islamic state but rather if that is what we want. This is where the crime of Badawi declaring we are not a secular or a theocratic state is criminal. Aside from the fact that there is no such things as neither, the question becomes what are we and more importantly what are we going to be. If we are going to be a non-theocratic Islamic state, then UMNO owe it to everyone to tell them how its going to work. Exactly what that is?
The reason why they don’t spell it out is because they don’t know. They want to keep pushing on something that they don’t know where exactly its going. The fact of the matter is they don’t know because there is no such thing and deep down they know it. In the end, what you get is a theocratic Islamic state that they hope they can control and presentable to the world. Its nonsensical irresponsible ideology of convenience. Not deep thought out ideas, principles and plans that is the foundation of nationhood.
What is so surprising then that we are a nation divided if we don’t know what we are and were we are going?
The key issue is the people, themselves ! When we blindly gave away 92% majority in parliament to BN, what can we expect out of that ? Arrogance and power show with the denial syndrome.
Compounded with the belief that others are all wrong and we
(read govt.) will implement policies that we think is good for all.
Mind you, they are already on road shows under the guise of performing their official duty whereas it could be that they are already campaigning.
Note that the opposition parties was not far off in terms of votes received but this time round, ensure that we do not waste our votes and ensure that we vote WISELY.
We have to stand up and be counted to stop all these rapes of the sacred constitution and not let them interpret the way they deem fit. If we want to see changes, share with others of the many excesses that BN subscribed to and creating a confused state of affair in view of Islamic state or otherwise where it is so clearly spelled out in the constitution.
sorry typo error should be ” opposition parties were not far off “
Non Bumis have been reminded that if they were discriminated against, it was part of the Social Contract forged by all the communities in 1957 when all communities agreed in trade offs to be enshrined in the Federal Constitution to form the independent nation – and that the Constitutional provisions should be sacrosanct binding upon generations to come.
But if the original Social Contract sanctifying the Federal Constitution is to be upheld, as they say, why have “650 single amendments and 46 multiple amendment†as Bigjoe said which divest the constitutional document of its “original intent� Where is the upholding of Social Contract/Constitution? [We note that Article 153 relating to Malay Privileges reviewable every 15 years had been amended to the extent permitting interpretation that it is literally perennial].
It seems to me that it is clear that the sanctification and upholding of the Social Contract/constitution has been selective and in many instances deviated from when to do so furthers the interest of political expedience of the few in power.
Can it be justified that, since it must be a 2/3 majority that could procure amendment of key provisions of the Constitution, this “650 single amendments and 46 multiple amendment†can be justified on basis it is majority will consistent with democratic practice?
I submit that it is not. The expression of majority will in a manner that marginalises or oppresses minorities, unreasonably restricts exercise of fundamental liberties otherwise recognised world wide in the Free World as inalienable birthrights cannot be defended as a legitimate democratic expression in camouflage of what is essentially majority tyranny.
To drive the nation along the path without knowing as Big Joe said where exactly its going and to undermine in the process the very foundation of nationhood based on multiracial citizenry living in peace and harmony is irresponsible to the point of almost treasonable.
Hope this will never happen in this islamic country
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,524630,00.html
An 11-year-old child bride sits next to her 40-year-old fiance. There are people who will look at this image and be able to continue with business as usual — without disgust, nausea and rage. We are beholding the fiercest barbarism imaginable. But a carefree cultural relativism — which this age has donned as its outward manifestation of decadent indifference — allows many to simply look away. They turn away from the sight of an 11-year-old girl, who is about to be raped by the man sitting next to her.
The girl was sold by her parents, even if they probably wouldn’t use that word. The caption that came with the photo quoted the parents as saying that they “needed the money.”
Sad…very very sad.
We’re still searching for identity of Malaysia after 50years of ‘merdeka’.
Racial issues are not seems stoping.
Religion matters are not seems fading.
These should had been settled 50years ago; constitution has been unstable and it will not stable forever due to majority group has sinister intention to amend or manipulate or not adhere it forever for their own sake.
While other countries racing for the development of the nation and people as a whole, we’re still running after religion and race. History has shown us whatever involves religion and race had never been successful. Have they?
Once you have visited a Muslim country like Turkey, which has a population of 76million,seen the vibrancy of Istanbul, it’s capital of 15 million people,the diverse coexistence of it’s proud secularism, and the frequent reference to Malaysia as a system of social Islam that people do not wish to attain, you then see how far towards an Islamic State Malaysia has skidded.
Ok, not as bad as Saudi Arabia or other such DINOSAUR nations where raped women get sentenced to 200 lashes and xxx years in jail, and then pardoned by it’s king (phew!) after an international outcry,but, well, over here it has indeed become a peculiar mix of whatever Islamic model has been thrust upon it which has people mighty confused as to where this country is heading, like it’s leaders perhaps?
“…is irresponsible to the point of almost treasonable.” Jeffrey
It cannot be more poignant. Sadly we can only lament “what higher ‘jurisdiction’ do we have to deem this a treason?”.
The ever boring, discriminatory, degrading distinction that divides Malaysians i.e. Bumiputra and Non Bumiputra term has got no place in today’s world, some illegal muslim immigrant from Indonesia can become eventually become a naturalised citizen and Bumiputera and will begin enjoyng the special benefits but a non muslim Chinese or Indian , even though if they have been here for five generations will still be marginalised , because of the racist policy that divides and rule. And we call this 21st century Malaysian style, what a load of rubbish.
Bumiputra: Literal translation ,it means son of the soil., therefore we non Bumiputras ,eventough born and bred in Malaysia,according to the government, we do not belong to the soil ., we must have fallen from the sky then , that’s why we are treated differently., Can the government then contact the spaceship and send us back because we are not going to sit and listen to this crap , the world is live in is so globalised today, you can’t keep marginalizing us forever.
How much do the MCA and MIC leaders understand the NEP? Probably they just won’t give a damn! Otherwise why should they still remain within the Barisan? I hope all you voters will NEVER AGAIN be BLINDED by those tiny pre-election sweeties.
While I appreciate the agreement with my consitutional point of view, I would like to add that I disagree with Dr. Chen Man Hin that the root problem is UMNO/BN.
While its true UMNO/BN exploited the weakness of the people and the shortcoming from events and the uncertainty of the original constitution. The fact of the matter, its the animal of political parties to do so.
In order to really make change, one really have to examine root causes of our own differences that can be exploited by political parties. I suggest to you that our biggest divide is not racial practises or religious in nature. Our differences is more fundamental in the way we view human liberty itself i.e. how much state should interfer with our freewill itself. The truth is that each race and different religious group beliebe in free will are different. While there are commonalities, the truth is there is difference. UMNO/BN took those difference and through modern politcal machinery exploited it which is their nature.
If you look at economics and religion, its obvious different race view freedom and state interference differently. But although there are difference, the truth is government interference in freedom is much larger than any race believe or want to. How this is possible is really about the very shortcoming of our citizentry against the exploitation by politicians.
Politicians don’t originate anything, they exploit existing conditions and ideas at the right time and place. They exploit it for their benefit first and is the last to give it up when it no longer is what people want. Its why the divide between us will not be changed by politicians but that we have to decide the division no longer is what we want or that we want to change it. In other word, apathy is what cause our divide to remain and prevent change from happening.
But generally what people want and don’t want are also triggered by events and trends. The feudal system was created because of farmers were preoccupied with production of food and needed the protection and lords. The feudal system died and replaced by pure monarchy because roads and printing press made the go between of the king and the people unecessary. Democracy spread because industrialization raised productivity and leisure to participate in politics. Oppressive dictatorship became possible because of monopoly of modern media and modern enforcement and globalization and competitive economics/capital markets made unfeeling government impossible.
The only thing that will turn around our attitude in Malaysia are two things – a technological change or a seminal event change. One hope is the spread of uber-speed broadband and internet TV. The truth is if the opposition had their own TV channel and free distribution of their paper, UMNO/BN would have lost power some time ago. But that is not going to happen anytime soon. The truth is the recent changes we have seen in politics from Hindraf, Bersih and action of Bar Council would not have happened without the internet.
So we are left with a seminal event. That event is basically the slowdown in our economy. When our economy slow down at some point, the UMNO/BN formula is unsustainable because it needs a growing economy to feed its patronage system to remain in power. This seminal event takes longer as we have things like oil and other resources, very productive minority and high savings.
I believe that in the end, it will likely be a confluence of things – technoligical changes and seminal event that we will be able to see real changes and that is why UMNO/BN is so insurmountable because the two thing may not come together for a long long time.
NEP is the main stumbling block to racial unity…!
NEP is Apartheid Policy adopted by Malaysia Government
to spoonfeed Elite Malays and Umnoputras at the expense
of all other Minority Groups living in the country…!!
Shame on you, The Majority Umnoputras and Elite
Malays!! You need to be spoonfed by All Minority Groups!!
As long as NEP is there to stay, racial unity can never
be achieved…!!!
“I submit that it is not. The expression of majority will in a manner that marginalises or oppresses minorities, unreasonably restricts exercise of fundamental liberties otherwise recognised world wide in the Free World as inalienable birthrights cannot be defended as a legitimate democratic expression in camouflage of what is essentially majority tyranny.” Jeffrey
Here we need the input from our learned resident professor limkamput on politics and democracy and what it means to him i.e. if he’s not too busy engaging undergrad2 on the law, an area in which he cannot and should not even begin to pretend to know. But then his views on politics are just as bad!
Dear Dr.Chen Man Hin,
Hi there. I had to use Wikipedia to find the meaning of the phrase ‘quo Vadis’. It’s a Latin phrase that means “Where are you going?”. Being an academic, wouldn’t you want to make you presentation as simple as possible so that it may do greater good for the whole?
Nevertheless, it was a good question that you raised. With the Islamic state and Umno’s insistence of Bahasa Melayu rather that Bahasa Malaysia is but a continuous problem of the past.
Let’s walk down memory lane a little. Instead of blaming UMNO all the way, let’s see how MIC and MCA may have contributed to the current turmoil in Malaysia. NEP was launched in the wake of May 19th riot in 1970. History tells us that the MIC and MCA leaders during that period was :
Tun Sambanthan – MIC President ( 1955 – 1973 )
Tun Tan Siew Sin – MCA President ( 1961 – 1974 ).
Simple logic tell us that these two ‘murtads’ ( using the word murtad here to view them as traitors or individuals without integrity who sold the rights of Indians and Chinese respectively ) were leaders of Indian and Chinese communities when the NEP was implemented. If these two leaders were brave enough to put their foot down during the implementation of the NEP, situation in Malaysia for Indian, Chinese and other minorities will be different. These two leaders, in my opinion were the root cause for the turmoil faced by the Indians and Chinese today. UMNO simply looked after their race, and if our elected leaders don’t voice out bravely to look after their own people, how can we blame UMNO all the way. Let’s acknowledge how shameful we are with these leaders during the implementation of NEP who sat quiet and sold their soul to injustice 37 years ago.
I urge Lim Kit Siang and Ooi Chuan Aun or more popularly known as Jeff Ooi, to comment on this as I feel we also need to educate the public our past mistakes and track to observe how the leaders since then have been following the steps taken by these two leaders.
Rather than asking ‘Where are you going Malaysia?’, lets ask ‘Where do you want to go Malaysia?.’
God bless Malaysia.
Malaysia can speak meh?
Dear DiaperHead,
Hi there. I like your humor. Nevertheless, not only can Malaysia speak through its people, Malaysia is capable of truly shining in the world if every citizen is given equal chance to prove their worth. This will not only wake the Malays up, but over time the Malays will also be as hard-working and as capable as other races.
Take care and have a wonderful New Year ahead.
God bless.
“This will not only wake the Malays up, but …”
But their leader wouldn’t. In the world of the blind Kit is the king!
“After 50 years of independence, Malaysia is in an identity crisis.”
I’m sorry I’d have to disagree. Malaysia is having a mid-life crisis.
There is an important difference. One involves a re-examination of the values it regards as crucial to its existence. The other is a re-examination of values to find if these values are real?
Huh?
If Malaysia is truly an Islamic state, then AAB should throw out all non-Muslims from the Cabinet, Parliament and government departments! Why then are MCA, MIC, Gerakan and all the other non-Muslim political parties still in BN????
All members of MCA, MIC, Gerakan and the other non-Muslim political parties must undergo “sunat” and be spiritually clean. They must also refrain from eating pork, otherwise they should immediately leave BN. One consolation though, they can marry 4 wives!!!