By Kee Thuan Chye | Tuesday, 04 September 2012 13:07
Malaysian Digest
Dear Soi Lek,
I last wrote an open letter to you that was published in this same website on Jan 12, 2011.
In it, you may recall, I said that being a highly educated person with the ability to think, you should consider renouncing race-based politics for the good of the nation.
I also wondered if the MCA still had any dignity left for continuing to be a part of Barisan Nasional (BN).
Since then, you have said or done nothing to indicate that you will change.
You have, however, threatened that if BN wins the next general election, the MCA will not accept any ministerial positions if it does not enjoy Chinese support. All I can say to that is good luck to you then.
If by that statement you mean to frighten the Chinese into voting for the MCA for fear of not being represented in the next Cabinet, I don’t think it has worked. Certainly not on the thinking Chinese. I, however, can’t speak for the simple-minded or the stupid ones.
Perhaps the latter are the ones you are targeting but in this day and age, there are not many of them left.
After all, if we are to think logically, even now, as a senior partner in BN with four ministers, the MCA comes across as little more than a toothless Pekingese that wags its tail when Umno yells. So what difference would it make if the MCA were not in the Cabinet? What representation are the Chinese getting even now?
In short, you are impotent within BN. If you want to toot about the Government finally deciding last June to retrospectively recognize the 70 diplomas and advance diplomas awarded by Kolej Tunku Abdul Rahman (KTAR), I would suggest you don’t.
You and I know why the recognition came at this time – so many years after the diploma courses were introduced.
Even Mahathir Mohamad sneered at it, blatantly saying that it was just an attempt by the Government to win Chinese votes. He even said, offensively, that it had come about due to Malay “stupidity” – because the Malays were giving in to the minorities.
But never mind the old codger and his racist rants. Just ask yourself why the MCA just stood impotently and sulked during those years of non-Government recognition. Why couldn’t the MCA have pressed the Government to give the recognition that would, in turn, have allowed those KTAR graduates to apply for government jobs or pursue further studies at Malaysian public universities?
And isn’t it ironic that it was actually the MCA that founded KTAR? And that these diplomas have been given recognition by ACCA and CIMA, and been accepted for direct entry into degree courses in countries like the US, the UK and Australia, but not Malaysia?
Your impotence is also demonstrated in the kind of statements you have been making in the past year or so.
One of the most pathetic and unbecoming was your derisive statement regarding the turnout at Bersih 2.0 in July 2011.
You parroted your master’s voice when you pooh-poohed the estimated 50,000 that showed up at the Bersih 2.0 rally and said it was a minuscule number. You boasted that you could muster up 50,000 MCA members, no problem. Najib Razak said he could round up 1 million Umno members; you were more modest. But please, do demonstrate that you can.
I would like to see you round up 50,000 people and bring them out onto the streets of Kuala Lumpur while defying roadblocks put up by the police and facing the prospect of being attacked with teargas and water cannons, and getting arrested.
Without paying them a sen, mind you.
You also said there were not many Chinese at the rally. Were you there to take note of that? I was. And I can testify that there were thousands of Chinese present – and they were ordinary citizens, not people with political affiliations.
But let me ask you this. Do you not secretly believe, as a good citizen, that what Bersih stands for – clean and fair elections – is something good for the nation? If you do believe it to be so, why do you not say so publicly instead of running down the good citizens who took to the streets because they cared for their country?
You did nothing when Najib and his cohorts committed all those ruthless acts against Bersih 2.0 and its sympathizers. As it turned out, Najib realized eventually that he had done much wrong – because his ratings plunged. Didn’t you see the wrong he was doing at the time? Did you agree with what he did then? Tell me honestly.
Have you been afflicted by the Pekingese syndrome and therefore cannot be your own man and speak your own mind?
Is that why you have little else to say these days except to pick on the DAP and its association with PAS, and accuse it – erroneously, I might add – of colluding with PAS to bring about hudud law and an Islamic state?
Is that why you have nothing to contribute to the Malaysian political debate except the flawed threat to non-Muslims that a vote for the DAP is a vote for PAS and therefore a vote for an Islamic state?
What about your Umno colleague in Johor, Ayub Rahmat, calling for hudud to be implemented for all, including non-Muslims? What about the resolutions passed by the Penang state Opposition leader and the Kepala Batas Wanita Umno division supporting hudud for all?
Why don’t you ask your own partner, Umno, to come right out once and for all to state its stand on whether it will or will not support hudud? If you can’t do that, isn’t your calling the DAP a “political eunuch” the same as the pot calling the kettle black?
And why did you say nothing when Umno made overtures to PAS to hold a muzakarah for the sake of Muslim and Malay unity? Why didn’t you chide your partner for not consulting the MCA about it first?
All this makes me see that you don’t practise what you preach. Similarly, you recently said that religion should not be politicized, but look at you politicizing it each time you bring up the hudud issue. To be honest, that makes you one of the biggest politicizers of religion.
Apart from that, recently you even descended to the level of saying that the DAP intends to join BN at the expense of the MCA. I don’t know where you plucked that from, but if the DAP were to do that, it would not only be betraying its supporters, it would also be betraying its own founding principles.
I am more inclined to believe what Lim Guan Eng said in response to your statement – that the DAP has no wish to replace the MCA; instead, together with PKR and PAS, it wants to replace BN.
I notice that you have had nothing significant to say these days except hit out at the Opposition for even the most trivial of matters.
The most recent case was when you handed out cheques to Lee Chong Wei and Pandalela Rinong. You couldn’t resist taking a swipe at M Manoharan of the DAP. Was it necessary? I agree Mano said a stupid thing in his tweet about Chong Wei’s performance at the Olympics, but the man had already apologized. Why say his apology was meaningless? Were you being ungracious?
Worst of all, you even went so low as to call him politically retarded. That was cheap. And then, in the same breath, you said sports should not be politicized.
If sports should not be politicized, why were you the one giving out the cheques to Chong Wei and Pandalela? The money came from The Star, and normally, it is the CEO of The Star who gives away such cheques. Why did you want to be in the limelight?
Is it because you wanted people to see that the MCA was involved in giving out the money to the duo? But then, as a political leader, even though the MCA is the major owner of The Star, shouldn’t you adopt a non-involvement policy?
If you really want to use whatever influence you have to depoliticize sports, you should go on a campaign to call for politicians to step down from being heads of sports organizations. Let these sports bodies be run by people who know sports, not people out to gain political mileage.
You could also make yourself useful and respected by talking about more significant issues, like Section 114A of the Evidence Act, which you cannot possibly agree with – if you are not a politically retarded person.
How can it be fair for an accused person to be presumed guilty and be compelled to prove his or her innocence? Even your Umno colleague Saifuddin Abdullah and your own MCA Vice-President Gan Ping Sieu are in favor of its removal.
You could also question why 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) is buying Genting Berhad’s old power asset for RM2.3 billion when it could build a new power plant with the same amount of money. And why 1MDB is going into real estate development in competition with the private sector.
And of course Najib’s awarding of the Ampang LRT extension tender to George Kent (Malaysia) Berhad despite it’s having allegedly failed the initial tender test.
These are just suggestions; there are many more national issues to choose from. They will certainly make you look a national leader instead of a communal bickerer who is constantly picking on the DAP.
Oh, one more thing. Did you not think that the choice of the BN’s election campaign slogan ‘Janji Ditepati’ as the theme of this year’s Merdeka Day celebrations was inappropriate? Surely, you are smart and sharp enough to realize that such an occasion should not be politicized for BN’s benefit? Why didn’t you point it out? After all, you have been saying we shouldn’t be politicizing this and that.
OK, Soi Lek, I’ve gone on quite a bit. I’m saying all this because you yourself are aware – going by your recent interview in The Malay Mail – that the people want change and the political parties must respond accordingly. The turnout at the ‘Janji Demokrasi’ gathering in Dataran Merdeka on Aug 30, to demonstrate that the Government has not kept its promises, must surely reinforce that view.
So I’ve taken this trouble to write this to you, and to ask you what you’ll be doing from now on. Whether to be the Pekingese that sits, stands on its hind feet, rolls on the floor or pretends to be dead at the command of its master, or to be someone who is free, stands tall and speaks his own mind. Or whether you have other options.
Let me assure you that if you choose the option that is good for the country, I’ll certainly be rooting for you.
Sincerely,
Chye
* Kee Thuan Chye is the author of the bestselling book ‘No More Bullshit, Please, We’re All Malaysians’. The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the writer.
Dear YB Dato Chua SL,
Please step down from your post of President MCA. You have disgraced us enough. Amongst the many things in Jib-gor’s drawer, or the drawer of any of the UMNO leaders, or aspiring leaders, is your now famous VCD ( I am the one ). Whenever you step out of line ( as far as UMNO is concern ), you will be told to be quiet, or the VCD will surface for action to be taken. Oral sex, I am told is a criminal offence. Surely then you cannot speak up as a leader for the good of Malaysia, except as the voice for UMNO. So, as a check and balance against the many abuses of UMNO, you are neutralised. I do not think that you wish to go to jail. You only wish to protect your son and see him rise up to be a Minister in a corrupt and racist Malaysia.
Please, please, resign. Let MCA leave BN, be cleansed and renewed. Let MCA come back in 10-15 years time. Please do this for a better Malaysia.
We must change the tenant at Putrajaya. GE13 is coming soon. First to GE 13, then to Putrajaya.
Change we must. Change we can. Change we will.
It will not make any differences the Cabinet has Ministers from MCA or not. Most of those Minister are mere puppet and cowards and has no say what so ever on any issues whether affect the Chinese or other wise. So I for sure will not cow by CSL’s statement.
Well, well, well!
Another author who waste such nice prose on people who are only interested in the gravy train.
It’s all too often we read about such authors who ask such people to repent, reply, consider, indicate etc.
Why waste your time and ours on such non-rewarding mission.
Why not spend as much time as possible garnering support to get as many of your friends, relatives or even acquaintances to vote for the PR.
That way we can get rid of all the leaches.
How can you talk about clean & fair with such a dirty cunning running dog? His ultimate goal is to squeeze for more personal financial interest from UMNO. MCA is just that milking instrument.
MCA has helped Umno to weaken the bargaining power of the Chinese community. This is because whatever Umno requests, MCA would give in to it.
Let’s be fair to Soi Lek. He started off pretty well, remember? He started his chairmanship by demanding changes on the NEP; abolishing so-called business preferences for special peoples. He was quite outspoken during the first weeks of his tenure.
Alas, he has faded into oblivion after only very short time; and after having been called to order by his bullying ‘friends’.
Chye, your words are lost on Soi Lek. They would be lost on any MCA boss. Not because those were – as some readers made out rather childishly – lacking brainpower. The fact is and remains as of today that ‘the MCA’ is still the vehicle of the Malaysian Chinese underdogs for lobbying within an eternal UMNO-led BN. There is nothing a priori wrong with this objective. It does not suit me, and is appealing to ever fewer Malaysian Chinese, also due to advances in global concepts of civilization. There are increasing parts of the population, globally, who feel that (wo)men are equal and equal partners. The MCA had not been set up for that state of mind, however. And honestly speaking; and knowing a large number of Malaysian Chinese, there is a significant number of Malaysian Chinese who are happy with their rôle as it is. Cynics might call them ‘house-trained’, though we must keep in mind that it is their unalienable right to feel good in their positions; outside of politics, fully immersed and accepted as second-class citizens with first-class business opportunities.
Why is it that many more people (mostly men) frequent Dominas than the layperson would probably think? It must be a pleasure for some – or even quite a large number of us – to lick boots on command, and get a proper whipping from time to time. Serious, why would or should anyone expect the respective chairperson of MCA to deviate from a policy that many members consider as suitable way of living in Malaysia; playing the second fiddle, and some protection through a second-fiddle political organisation?
Why are you wasting time on Ah Lek Kor ? He can’t hear you. He can’t hear his boss Ah Cheat Kor either, but the difference is that he knows UMNO’s hand signals – jump how high, cry how many buckets, cheat how many billions.
Shameless Chua Soi Lek will ignore this wonderful second letter from Kee.
MCA of today is totally different since Ling Liong Sik led he party.
It’s a show dog party to please UMNO b politicians.
Chua’s low class politics with high class shoe polishing techniques..particularly…to please Najib is so clear.
What do you expect from a man who feel no shame over his sex video?
Mr. Kee Thuan Chye have said it all.
Soi Lek is illiterate. He can’t read your letters.
Kee, this bloke is certainly not stupid but he has no other choice when he decided to offer himself as the president of MCA, in the hope that his exploits would be used against him. Otherwise UMNo for want of some excuse will surely hang him; after they have gone for Anwar. When OTK decided to expose PKFZ, UMNO got panic and then decided to ask him to take on OTK. In this manner, UMNO could remove OTK from exposing PKFZ and at the same time hold CSL by his bearings! Knowing that CSL would never talk about any corruption, MCA/BN has nothing to talk for the coming GE. Hence, he got his son to irritate Khalid and he tried to frighten the community on Hudud law; knowing very well even if Pakatan wins, it is unlikely Hudud could be enacted. LLS had been LICKING for some 20 years and surely you can’t expect him to stop immediately! If you have got the time and patience, just go through MCA CDs and analyze the majority of those characters, you will surely come to your own conclusion without anyone influencing you!
… that his exploits would NOT be used against him…..
Ai yah, Y no ask him abt his gal fren 1, d 1 he performed his tiger show lah; where is she
He accepted his serf role under UmnoB n is mighty grateful 2 AhCHEATkor 4 looking after his useless son
Wait wait wait. I hv a question to ask. Lets get this clear first. I know. It is a stupid question but it is an important question to me. Who the heck is chua soi lek?
Honestly, THIS is wasted breath..’highly educated’? ‘dignity’? ‘to think logically’? ‘be your own man’? ‘speak your mind’? ‘make yourself useful’? ‘be gracious’? ‘practise what you preach’? ‘make yourself useful’? etc..
Does ANY ON THE ABOVE TERMS apply to the MCA of today and CSL in particular?
The truth of the matter is MCA and CSL modus operandi and plan is to survive the next GE with whatever they can muster. There is no grandplan, no great principle.. Its ruthless, panic, beastiality survival. THAT is not the problem.
The real problem is MCA IS NOT THINKING, NOT RATIONAL EVEN IN THEIR PANIC, ANIMAL INSTINCT HAS TAKEN OVER. They don’t know it even.
MCA think they can behave like ruthless animal and survive so long as UMNO is there to bank them..The problem is their rock-bottom plan is highly flawed.
The biggest flaw is the assumption, they and UMNO makes, that negative campaigning is bottomless well they can keep taping and it won’t run dry. It simply not true. Negative campaigning does hit rock bottom and will then turn back against them..What MCA should have realized is that it turned against them long ago. What UMNO has not woken up is that its happening to them also for a while now and MCA is not smarter not to see it or at least realize they needed to take the responsbility that its happening even if their banker won’t.
And that is the real crux of MCA problem – they are not real civil and public leaders. They are irresponsible opportunists – the difference between Ah Long and a real finance professional, a quack doctor and top-class surgeon. They don’t have the intellectual capacity to see the real bigger picture. MCA leaders are really just as mediocre as UMNO – otherwise they would not join dirty politics of BN given the globalisation of Chinese community of Malaysia. Chua Tee Yong is worst than Noh Omar – think about that..
Hence all the arguements of KTC is wasted breath. The real argument to be made is to the audience out there at large. MCA is not only just unprincipled, they are just simply BAD, NO GOOD, USELESS for anything we need to be done..
CSL is the small boy who was told by Ibrahim Perkasa to sit in a corner and keep quiet – and he obeyed.
Kee, totally agreed with you.
On what you have highlighted on the recognition of TAR certificate or any China University qualification. The granting of recognition is useless to all the Chinese graduates in Malaysia. How many able to get employ in the Government sector with the racist people controlling the department.
This applies to all qualified Chinese SPM/STPM top scorer who is not able to gain entry into University or get scholarship from the G. This is just gimmick (grant recognition) to buy vote but serve no value/benefit to Chinese in Malaysia.
We must furnish off the useless M…. that betray the Chinese.
Because of M….. we cannot get a place in University.
…………………… we only get a diploma from TAR instead of Degree from Uni
…………………… we cannot get a scholarship.
…………………… we need to reduce our population due to lack of support for education.
…………………… we need to prepare our kids for migration.
———————many more.
It has always been tough to see people taking a softer path than we have to: an undue advantage. For a society or community, it is suicidal; to say the least. Easy life will surely creep along with complacency which will eat away the will to compete. Even in the most competitive scenario, like the little dot in the south; if you read between the lines, you can conclude that a good portion of the population preferred no competition and their enlightened leaders have to keep reminding them that they need to bring in competition from the “Outside” to maintain their edge. In our case, we have the reverse of it; our leaders purposely imported pure laborers to protect their political interests at the expense of national long term interest and security! There has been numerous examples through out history of such behaviour, as recently as the WWII, yet the minority which was persecuted for no apparent reason left and prospered. It gave that Community the resilience to compete in the rest of whole wide world. Some will definitely disagree with such thought but the society who is being spoon-fed will not last very long in all human history!
It is already shown, we have certain graduates from exclusive one community college whose diplomas in accounting can’t even close their journal books! We have MBAs qualified from overseas who can’t write 10 straight sentences without grammatical mistakes. If this is the kind of product they have deceived themselves with, we can just sit back and enjoy the next scenario as we creep into 2020!
We know Chua Soi Lek feels no shame as a porn star.
What is so shameful to him as MCA President leading a team to polish UMNO b shoes?
He will instigate…poke fire…insult…and tell lies.
Lim Guan Eng has openly said few times in his debate with him…..”Shame on you” and he ignored.
Psssstt, Mr Kee, if you really want a response from CSL, perhaps wearing a skirt next time when you ‘open’ something to him might just attract his attention :)
What has CSL done for the Chinese community in general apart from exposing himself as the porn star? He is not even able to attend cabinet meeting and how can he help the Chinese? When you cannot voice yourself in the cabinet, what can you do? Even if you are in the cabinet, you will just be like a dog on the lap of some other UMNO warlords. IRRELEVANT! Don’t start to blame the DAP for this and that. Start to look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself how many times have you stood up against the UMNO ministers while you were in the cabinet? You don’t have the balls to do so. It is better for you to just step down from politics and do something good for yourself and the community (if they still accept you).