By Jeswan Kaur | Malaysiakini
Oct 27, 10 3:47pm
What has made Umno president Najib Abdul Razak and his band of top officials so insecure as to use the Umno general assembly to harp on Malay rights and privileges?
Last week’s 61st general assembly once again revealed the party’s ugly side as Najib, deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin and vice-presidents Shafie Apdal and Hishammuddin Hussein reminded the ‘other races’ not to question the Malay rights and privileges.
In short, all three told non-Malays to leave the federal constitution alone with regard to Article 153, which assures the special privileges of the Malays and the bumiputera of Sabah and Sarawak.
Why does Najib play with public emotions by raising the issue? How dare he make the irresponsible remark that “the Malays had actually made the biggest sacrifice to achieve independence when they were willing to share the ownership of the Tanah Melayu, … their motherland, with the other races”.
The immaturity of Najib and his ‘three stooges’ has only confirmed their deep-rooted insecurity, as they shamelessly threatened non-Malays not to debate Article 153.
Najib, in spite of his 1Malaysia propaganda, showed his divisiveness when he made it clear that non-Malays must be thankful to the Malays for being allowed to take shelter in this country.
If 1Malaysia is his way to votes, then Najib is in for a rude surprise. He needs the votes of all Malaysians, but statements hitting out at non-Malays will only work in the opposition’s favour.
Umno is no longer a party that can be looked upon with admiration and respect. The party’s obsession with power – and absolute power at that – is terrifying because it is being achieved via the ‘divide and rule’ method.
Umno founder’s vision
Najib must bear in mind that Umno founder Onn Jaafar left the party because he was disgusted with its communal policies, after his suggestion to open membership to non-Malays was met with objection among the Malays.
Onn had the foresight to note the importance of inclusion but his vision was not appreciated by hardcore members. He then quit as Umno president and formed the Independence of Malaya Party whose membership was open to people of all races.
Najib and Muhyiddin should set an example as leaders who are wise enough to note the pulse of the nation.
When Muyhiddin (right) boasted that he is “Malay first”, for example, Najib should have admonished his deputy.
Instead, it was life as usual for both, with no regard shown for the sentiments of non-Malays.
Such remarks do not speak well of Malaysia’s leadership, and leave the people with little faith in the administration.
JESWAN KAUR was a journalist who spent many years writing for the mainstream media before deciding to ‘break free’ and put pen to paper to focus on and fight for issues that are conveniently marginalised by the powers-that-be.
The 2M’s (Mahathir & Muhyiddin) are squeezing Najib where it hurts and so he has no choice but to sing their songs.
Najib is caught by his bells.
Foresight ? Are you kidding me ? Who in government has ANY foresight ? Look at the head of prosecutions trying to strangle himself and making himself a joke on Facebook. Now you have a UKM doctor making a fool of himself at the Sodomy II trial. You have Ibrahim Katak now speechless at the ICU after all the vitriol he spewed for the past year.
Losing your foresight is now a compulsory qualification for public service.
Malay rights and privilleges? All I heard was selfishness and cowardice – there is no such things a legal selfishness and cowardice.
Is there a “pretty side” for UMNO? Which side, front side or back side?????
Sabah and Sarawak must get out before it is too late … before the country goes bankrupt in 2019 … and before all their natural resources are sucked dry by the whom you know.
///When Muyhiddin (right) boasted that he is “Malay first”, for example, Najib should have admonished his deputy.///
Muyhiddin dared boast that he is “Malay first” because he knew full well that 1Malaysia is not for real but a slogan to garner non-Malay votes. Had Najib been serious about 1Malaysia, Muyhiddin would not have stepped on his (Najib’s) toes.
PM Najib can sing the 1-Malaysia rap song again and again and again until the cows come home and I’m not going to be bothered or convinced.
PM Najib, you are such a poor salesman, even the road side fake watch sellers at Jalan Chow Kit can do a better and more convincing job! Give your salary to them if you cannot be such a charismatic, honest and street-smart leader to all Bangsa Malaysia.
Lets work out some logic here. About sharing. Going by official stats, chinese’s contribution to the country’s economy is about 60%. And malays’ contribution (actually allocated without much if any contribution) is less than 30% (a disputed number). In a fair sharing scheme, given the numbers above, I ask, who would stand to gain more?
But umnoputras’ pea brains of course remained bolted onto the idea that under any form of open sharing scheme, malay (meaning umnoputra) rights would be eroded and finally taken away. In other words, umnoputras would have much to lose in an open field. That is a negative perception. No doubt it is a reflection of their lack of confidence in themselves; and a perverted distrust of their own ability.
But what caused all that? Strangely they brought this odd mentality upon themselves. Umno, is the root cause of all their own evils. An enemy within really. You see umno works to weaken the minds and will power of both umnoputras and common malays. It is usually easier to manipulate such people. And umno needs to manipulate them for the sole purpose of maintaining their position of power.
Malays ought to ask themselves this one question: “Am I really that stupid and incapable?” If the answer is “No” then my view is they should just ignore umno and the stupid NEP, get out and start contributing to the economy.
BTW, grkumar wants malays in the country to remain stupid and incapable for reasons known only to himself.