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The Mahathir prediction

by Thoma Lee
My.sinchew.com
August 30, 2010

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has predicted that racial tension would escalate if the New Economic Policy (NEP) type of policies is removed in favour of open policies which disregard the disparities between races in the interest of equity and merit.

The former prime minister has also warned that the time is not right for changes to be made to the existing pro-Bumiputera affirmative policies.

He said that the violent Communist revolution in Europe was caused by the disparity between rich and poor, and hinted that such a scenario could happen in Malaysia if the so-called economic gap between the Bumiputeras and the other races is not narrowed.

Hence, he suggested that the affirmative policies and programmes be continued infinitum, arguing that such a protection for the Bumiputera is still necessary and that a 20-year timeline is not enough for them to become economically on par with other races. Continue reading “The Mahathir prediction”

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I am Chinese but I want to be known as MALAYSIAN!

By Philip Yong

So, the day has arrived. The day we’ve all been patiently waiting for. Yes it is finally here!

This was the day all Malaysians regardless of race stood up together to shout ‘MERDEKA, MERDEKA, MERDEKA!’ from the bottom of their hearts. Even just by imagining the atmosphere at that moment, I can feel the joy. But today, I no longer have that feeling.

Tomorrow (31st August 2010) is our country’s 53rd National Day. Wow, we’ve got our independence for 53 years already, how amazing can that be? But you know what? I don’t feel a thing. I don’t feel proud to be a Malaysian at all. Well, if you’ve been catching up with the tabloids lately, you would know what I mean. 53 years is not very long but still a substantial number. Why are we the citizens of Malaysia not united? Our National Day is tomorrow but there are still people out there fighting and screaming ridiculously accusing others of demeaning their race. Why after 53 years we still can’t be united? Why do we have to fill in forms asking for our race? Why isn’t there an option for ‘Malaysian’ in those forms? Yes I am Chinese but I want to be known as a Malaysian, is that wrong?
Continue reading “I am Chinese but I want to be known as MALAYSIAN!”

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Mahathir — Malaysia’s enigma

By Jema Khan

AUG 30 — To make sense of the various ongoing debates on the NEP, one has to have a sense of history especially for the time when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was prime minister.

During his 22 years as PM, the main priority of the nation was to develop at all costs. The man worked 16 hours a day, was well-read, intelligent, soft-spoken and most of all, he listened well.

He was tenacious when it came to policy; it was often his way or the highway. His detractors would call him a dictator for undermining institutions such as the judiciary and using the ISA against his political opponents. Nevertheless, when he stepped down as PM in 2003, he was still largely popular among all the races in Malaysia.
Continue reading “Mahathir — Malaysia’s enigma”

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Quo Vadis Malaysia 18 months after Najib’s 1Malaysia slogan?

This year’s Merdeka Month celebrations with the theme “1Malaysia transforms the nation” should give all Malaysians a new sense of pride and worth of being a Malaysian.

Instead, the cacophony of the racist rhetoric had never been more raucous, discordant and divisive in the first year of any previous Prime Minister in the nation’s 53-year history – reducing Najib’s 1Malaysia policy and slogan into tatters.

The 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme (GTP) Roadmap launched by the Prime Minister in January this year declared that “the goal of 1Malaysia is to make Malaysia more vibrant, more productive and more competitive – and ultimately a greater nation: a nation where, it is hoped, every Malaysian perceives himself or herself as Malaysian first, and by race, religion, geographical region or socio-economic background second and where the principles of 1Malaysia are woven into the economic, political and social fabric of society.”

This goal of 1Malaysia was rendered hollow and meaningless when the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin declared that he is Malay first and Malaysian second, and no Cabinet Minister dared to contradict him!
Continue reading “Quo Vadis Malaysia 18 months after Najib’s 1Malaysia slogan?”

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Merdeka, Merdeka, Merdeka!!!

By Gayatri Unsworth
August 30, 2010

AUG 30 — We celebrate Merdeka tomorrow. And what do we have to show for it? Racist educators, intolerant politicians, bigoted pressure groups, xenophobic newspapers, crimes of vandalism against places of worship and other weird and not-so-wonderful things that can only happen in this nation. What a meaningful way to usher in Malaysia’s 53rd birthday!

If only our Bapa Malaysia, the late Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra, were alive to see the state of things today. To witness how the fruits of his labour have been utilised, and to observe how the unified Malaysia he dreamt of, still remain for the most part, a dream. To watch how we’ve spent the better part of the last half-century diligently dismantling piece by piece, the Malaysian unification he strived to hard to establish. To view the rapid extinction of the tolerant, empowered Malaysian, only to be replaced by one so blinded by prejudice that he is incapable of rational discourse towards his fellow countrymen. To hear words such as ‘pendatang’ and ‘penumpang’, to see protestors stamping on cow heads, to taste tear-gas and to smell the acrid odour of corruption, discrimination, oppression, and deception permeating Malaysian air.
Continue reading “Merdeka, Merdeka, Merdeka!!!”