Ironical and ludicrous that Utusan is clamouring for restoration of draconian laws like ISA when it is the most guilty of being most insensitive on race and religious issues like the baseless allegation about non-existent DAP conspiracy to create a Christian Malaysia

It is most ironical and ludicrous that Utusan Malaysia has joined the chorus clamouring for a restoration of draconian laws like infamous Internal Security Act when it is the most guilty of being most utterly insensitive on race and religious issues like its baseless allegation about a non-existent DAP conspiracy to create a Christian Malaysia and the lies that the DAP is anti-Malay, anti-Islam and anti-Malay Rulers.

The call for the restoration of the ISA was started by none other than the former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad who said that such a detention-without-trial law would be most useful to control the actions of the “extremist minority” which he said has undermined the country’s stability.

Mahathir said the group was immature and willing to make statements that touched on the sensitivities of other races as well as disrupted harmony in the country.

But the former Prime Minister has been most biased and selective in his public pronouncement like the infamous catalogue of selective prosecution and persecutions during his 22-year premiership and his infamous selective amnesia on major events during the decades he was Prime Minister after he stepped down from the highest office in the land. Continue reading “Ironical and ludicrous that Utusan is clamouring for restoration of draconian laws like ISA when it is the most guilty of being most insensitive on race and religious issues like the baseless allegation about non-existent DAP conspiracy to create a Christian Malaysia”

Malaysians entitled to know after Cabinet meeting tomorrow whether Federal Government and BN-controlled State Governments have stopped all funding to extremist , racist and Malay supremacist group Perkasa

It was inadvertently revealed a fortnight ago that the Federal Government had been funding the extremist, racist and Malay supremacist group Perkasa through various agencies like National Security Council (MKN), the National Civics Department (BTN) and the Special Affairs Department (Jasa), allowing it to spearhead a systematic campaign to incite racial hatred and religious conflict to attack Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia signature policy.

It must be admitted that the Perkasa campaign against the 1Malaysia campaign with the support of former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad had been quite successful, for in the seven months after the 13th General Elections on May 5, 2013, Najib has yet to enunciate or reiterate his 1Malaysia signature policy in any public platform.

Najib had continued the 1Malaysia gimmicry like Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia and 1Malaysia clinics, but he has studiously avoided all references to the 1Malaysia objective to create a Malaysia where Malaysians regard themselves as Malaysian first and race, religion, region and socio-economic status second.

Perkasa and Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s “Malay first, Malaysian second” declaration seemed to have won the day in the Umno/Barisan Nasional government, to the extent that Perkasa even dare to talk publicly about the possibility of replacing UMNO in the future at its annual general meeting two weeks ago.

This was when in the exchange between Umno and Perkasa leaders over Perkasa’s threat to replace UMNO, it was inadvertently revealed that the government had been funding Perkasa in its series of anti-Najib activities and programmes. Continue reading “Malaysians entitled to know after Cabinet meeting tomorrow whether Federal Government and BN-controlled State Governments have stopped all funding to extremist , racist and Malay supremacist group Perkasa”

The preacher and the part-time PM

by Mariam Mokhtar
Malaysiakini
Jan 6, 2014

Najib Abdul Razak: Entrepreneur. String-puller. Property speculator. Globe-trotter. Magician and part-time prime minister. Being the Malaysian PM is without doubt, a dream job.

Pampered while crossing the globe in luxury, dining at the finest restaurants, lounging in the best hotels and bedecking his spouse in the finest jewels.

The nation is on the cusp of another racial and religious conflict, but Najib is nowhere to be seen, or heard; a testimony to his expertise in performing the disappearing trick, he is the poor-man’s Tommy Cooper.

Be warned! Competition is fierce for this dream job. Although the job seems to be up for grabs every five years, just like a crooked race, the fix is in and the outsider always seems to win.

Today, when community tensions are simmering, and pro-Umno Baru NGOs are threatening Christians, Najib has again failed to censure the extremists. His head is stuck firmly in the sand, his lips are sealed together and he is hiding behind the extremist NGOs.

The recent troubles may appear to be a steep escalation in religious extremism, but they aren’t. The timing of the assault on the Christian community is critical. The Perak mufti’s intervention is revealing.

What we see is Umno Baru’s dirty politics at play. What appears to be a radical rise in extremism is an illusion being staged by pro-Umno Baru NGOs, and given excessive publicity by the mainstream media. Continue reading “The preacher and the part-time PM”

Najib should ask first Cabinet meeting of the year to endorse the 10-Point Solution as well as Summit of Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat leaders on National Reconciliation to rebuild National Unity

Malaysia has never been in more dire straits in more than half-a-century of nationhood going by the avalanche of challenges and problems confronting the the nation and people even before the first week of the new year is over.

Heralding in the 2014 New Year, the country was convulsed for two weeks by the Inspector-General of Police’s “fairy tale” plot of a conspiracy to “topple the government” on New Year’s eve in Dataran Merdeka just because there are Malaysians who want to exercise their constitutional rights of peaceful protest against the series of price hikes which would add to the economic hardships of the people.

As a result, the police wasted over 2,000 police man-hours over some 2,000 police reports lodged by trouble-makers all over the country who wanted to exploit the “fairy-tale” plot of a “topple government” conspiracy, when these precious 2,000 police man-hours could be more productively spent on making the Malaysians, investors and tourists safer from crime in Malaysia.

Malaysians entered the new year totally clueless about the national educational crisis of deteriorating standards, highlighted by the poor performance of Malaysians students in the 2012 PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) results, which confirmed the poor results of Malaysian students in the 2011 TIMSS (Trends in International Maths and Science Study). Continue reading “Najib should ask first Cabinet meeting of the year to endorse the 10-Point Solution as well as Summit of Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat leaders on National Reconciliation to rebuild National Unity”

Muhyiddin should heed Najib’s New Year Message to be “responsible in government” and “doing what is right, not what is popular”

One wonders whether the Deputy Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers and the Barisan Nasional/UMNO leaders read or pay any attention to the carefully-crafted speeches of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, especially those preaching responsibility, moderation, inter-racial harmony and national unity.

I wish to call on the Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to give some thought to the New Year message of the Prime Minister which is less than four-days old.

In the conclusion of his 2014 New Year Message, Najib said:

“If we are to be responsible in government, it sometimes means taking difficult decisions which are unpopular. Leadership is about looking to the long-term: about doing what is right, not what is popular..”

Muhyiddin should heed Najib’s New Year Message to be “responsible in government” and “doing what is right, not what is popular”. Continue reading “Muhyiddin should heed Najib’s New Year Message to be “responsible in government” and “doing what is right, not what is popular””

Muhyiddin should apologise for and retract his support for Selangor UMNO’s plan to protest outside Catholic churches, which is most unbecoming of a DPM of multi-religious Malaysia

The Police is to be commended for its swift action in assuring safety to the editor of the Catholic weekly the Herald Father Lawrence Andrew following intimidation from Muslim groups intending to stage a protest outside a church in Klang.

What must be deplored by all right-thinking Malaysians is irresponsible support given by the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, for Selangor UMNO’s plan to protest outside Catholic churches tomorrow.

Is Muhyiddin advocating and countenancing a “free for all” for protest demonstrations in Malaysia outside all places of worship, including protest demonstrations outside mosques in the country?

This is utterly unthinkable and downright irresponsible.

Instead of helping to cool off the temperature in the country, Muhyiddin is doing his incendiary best to further inflame the situation caused by a most inept and insensitive handling of a delicate issue, which had never been an issue in the first half-century of the country’s nationhood.

Muhyiddin should apologise for and retract his support for Selangor UMNO’s plan to protest outside Catholic churches, which is most unbecoming of a Deputy Prime Minister of multi-religious Malaysia.
Continue reading “Muhyiddin should apologise for and retract his support for Selangor UMNO’s plan to protest outside Catholic churches, which is most unbecoming of a DPM of multi-religious Malaysia”

Umno Baru’s Ten Commandments

by Mariam Mokhtar
Malaysiakini
Dec 30, 2013

Verse 2:256 in the Quran states that “there is no compulsion in religion”, but in Malaysia, which boasts the best democracy in the world, forced conversions are de rigeur and words like ‘Allah’ are copyrighted for the exclusive use of Muslims.

Malaysian Christians (and non-Muslims) are at the mercy of the country’s religious zealots but Najib Abdul Razak, the prime minister for 47 percent of the nation’s population, is too timid or too scared to smooth tensions between the different communities. He claims that what he does is in the name of peace and harmony. What would happen if he meant to create disorder and chaos?

In this Christmas period, I hope you will forgive me for adapting ‘The Ten Commandments’ to critique Umno Baru leaders and to raise awareness about the importance of tolerance. One needs respect and understanding to live harmoniously. One should be protected by the right of religious freedom, as enshrined in the constitution of Malaysia; but the reality is that most of our freedoms are being eroded.

The following Ten Commandments of Umno Baru explain the decline in spirituality of Umno Baru members. Continue reading “Umno Baru’s Ten Commandments”

Time for goodwill, sobriety and sanity to restore unity

by Ahmad Mustapha Hassan
The Ant Daily
31/12/2013

SPEAKING PLAINLY

OUTSPOKEN: 2013 has been a very traumatic year for Malaysia. We have a prime minister who is seldom in the country. We have his wife who has been proclaimed as the first lady of Malaysia or FLOM and who has been given the privilege of using government facilities as if she is a member of the cabinet or government.

We have a racist Home Minister who behaves more like a gangster than a sober and responsible cabinet minister. He is out to flog the Shiites by demonising it as being a deviant sect.

He is out to blemish the image of Mat Sabu, the number two in PAS, as being a follower of this sect and asking him to prove that he is not one. This is the first time someone is being asked to prove his innocence rather than the authorities proving that he is guilty. Continue reading “Time for goodwill, sobriety and sanity to restore unity”

Najib, are you taking us towards disaster?

by Ahmad Mustapha Hassan
The Ant Daily
9/11/2013

SPEAKING PLAINLY

OUTSPOKEN: It is quite normal for anyone to ask this question: Where are we going and where are you taking us? Since you took over the reins of government, we seem to be moving neither here nor there. Most people are baffled because you seem to enjoy life while the country is facing innumerable critical problems.

Even as these problems are left unattended, more problems are being added. Your words have no meaning whatsoever as your cabinet ministers have been acting to dismantle what you had promised the people before you were given the mandate to run the country.

Your father was so different. Tun Abdul Razak’s words were meant as instructions to all, ministers, civil servants and the people. No member of his cabinet would go against what he desired for the people. All worked towards achieving that aim.

He was very prudent and would not spend people’s money unnecessarily. He limited his overseas travel to no more than twice a year. He would cut out all non-essential expenses. He did not believe in creating unwanted and expensive icons.

He was interested in uplifting the economic situation of the whole nation, not just creating a few wealthy and self-centred individuals. He believed that he should not waste the rakyat’s money by bringing those who did not matter on his overseas trips. Continue reading “Najib, are you taking us towards disaster?”

UmnoBN follies but blame it on PR and the States they rule?

Richard Loh
1.1.2014

What is wrong with this nation? Nothing wrong at all. The right question should be, “What is wrong with the 56 years old UmnoBN led government”? The answer would be, too many wrongs that we lost count.

In this article I will just highlight a couple of wrongs which I deem are prerequisite to the overall poor performances of the UmnoBN led government.

Admission of Guilt

No one has ever admitted the wrongs that were originated right from the heart of PutraJaya, starting from the Prime Minister, Ministers down to the civil servants. While it is acceptable to many that they don’t admit their guilt what is worst is that they can use all the highest authorities to defend their wrongs, from Bank Negara, PDRM, MACC and if necessary the judiciary. Cases such as the NFC, PKFZ, the billions of illegal capital flight, ‘Extravagant expenditures’ and the year in year out Auditor General Annual Reports, just to name a few.

It is fine if you do not admit guilt but to continue with the wrongs instead of correcting and putting a stop to it reflects how bad the government is performing. Continue reading “UmnoBN follies but blame it on PR and the States they rule?”

BN/Umno government secret funding of Perkasa the most abominable government con-job in nation’s 56-year history

Two months ago, former Cabinet Minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim urged the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to dissociate himself from the extremist, racist and Malay supremacist group Perkasa because of its “toxic ideas” and “warmongering”, warning that Europe made the same mistake in the Nazi era which had taken a world war to correct.

Zaid had blogged:

“Even if Perkasa has a prominent patron, the organisation should not be allowed to run amok. Its very existence is an embarrassment to the country, especially to the Malays. The issues this group champions are just plain ridiculous, and there is nothing in Perkasa’s struggle that merits serious consideration. It has continued to cause consternation and fear among both Malaysians and also potential investors, and the Prime Minister should categorically denounce Perkasa and its allies for its disruptive politics and warmongering. After all, there will be no General Election until 2017-2018.

“The Government cannot maintain a cavalier attitude towards Perkasa, hoping that its toxic ideas will disappear and have no effect. Europe made the same mistake in the Nazi era and it took a World War to correct it.”

But truth is stranger than fiction. Who would have imagined that in actual fact, while Najib was strutting the international stage to launch his “Global Movement of Moderates” and present himself as a model for moderates in the world to emulate, his government was funding Perkasa to carry out its extremist, intolerant, racist, religious and seditious campaign including attacking Najib’s own signature policy of moderate and inclusive 1Malaysia.

The Umno/Barisan Nasional government secret funding of Perkasa in the past four years must rank as the most abominable government con-job in the nation’s 56-year history which stinks to high heavens and must be condemned and deplored by all decent, reasonable and patriotic Malaysians.

I have ten questions for Najib, the Ministers and leaders of Umno/Barisan Nasional with regard to this “most abominable government con-job in the nation’s 56-year history”, viz: Continue reading “BN/Umno government secret funding of Perkasa the most abominable government con-job in nation’s 56-year history”

Umno’s caveman politics

– Sakmongkol AK47
The Malaysian Insider
December 30, 2013

The donkeys in Umno are coming out braying. Here and there, they were elected as leaders. The most fundamental building block of excellence – demanding and insisting upon excellence, is totally absent from Umno’s selection criteria.

And so, Umno Malays have a voracious appetite for dullards and dolts as leaders. Despite that, its paramount leader still talks senselessly about transformation. Does that drop from the sky or what?

In that sense, Malays have not progressed at all – in the olden days, the musclemen and strongmen get to become leaders. These people get to lay first claim on sources of wealth, land, women, other people’s wives and so forth. Today, in the 21st century, Umno want Malays to stay mute as democratic rights get assaulted because they are done in the name and on behalf of Malays.

All right-thinking Malays must resist this and reject Umno-style rule, because it will eventually lead to acquiescence and acceptance of intrusion into our lives. One day, it will be all right if the Umno overlord comes into our house, sleep with our daughters and even wives, and we are asked to tolerate that kind of repression because it’s done by one of us anyway.

The Malay family will be told to accept that cruelty and abuse, because it is done by another Malay. That is how Umno define government as. Continue reading “Umno’s caveman politics”

Cat out of the bag – Perkasa is the unofficial 14th member of the Barisan Nasional coalition with greater heft and more influence than “7-11” MCA and the other 12 BN component parties combined

The cat is out of the bag. The extremist and racist Perkasa is the unofficial 14th member of the Barisan Nasional coalition with greater heft and more influence than “7-11” MCA and the other 12 BN component parties combined.

We must thank the Perkasa President Ibrahim Ali for his hubris at the annual general meeting of Perkasa a week ago getting much too big for his shoes for this expose of this top Umno/BN secret for the past four years.

Clearly relishing the idea of being Prime Minister of Malaysia one day, Ibrahim toyed with the possibility of a political “reverse take-over” when he offered Perkasa as an alternative to UMNO, asserting that Perkasa is the “most structured political party in the country with 500,000 members”.

Claiming that Umno and BN will not be able to win in the recent general elections without Perkasa’s assistance, particularly in Perak and Kedah, Ibrahim said that although Perkasa supported BN during the last general election it is not guaranteed who it would side with in the future.

This prompted the riposte by UMNO veteran, former Minister and Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar and currently Felda Chairman Mohd Isa Abdul Samad who asked: “We protected Perkasa and it received plenty of benefits from us. How will it replace us?” Continue reading “Cat out of the bag – Perkasa is the unofficial 14th member of the Barisan Nasional coalition with greater heft and more influence than “7-11” MCA and the other 12 BN component parties combined”

Agenda Lebuhraya PLUS: DAP sudah dedah sejak 1987

RoketKini

KUALA LUMPUR, 26 DISEMBER: Perjanjian kotor kerajaan demi mengkayakan kroni dalam pemberian kontrak projek Lebuhraya Utara Selatan (PLUS) 26 tahun lalu akhirnya terbukti menyusahkan rakyat.

Dalam risalah bertajuk ‘Skandal Lebuhraya Utara Selatan’ terbitan 1987, Ketua Parlimen DAP, Lim Kit Siang pernah mendedahkan kemungkaran UMNO yang dilihat mempunyai kepentingan kepada saham konsesi lebuhraya itu, namun sehingga kini masih diam membisu.

Antara yang dipertikaikan beliau adalah peranan syarikat pelaburan UMNO iaitu Hati Budi Sdn Bhd yang menguasai United Engineers Malaysia (UEM) Bhd.

Hati Budi ketika itu dikaitkan dengan pimpinan tertinggi kerajaan iaitu Tun Daim Zainuddin (Menteri Kewangan ketika itu) dan Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

UEM merupakan syarikat utama mendapat kontrak pembinaan PLUS dengan tempoh konsesi daripada 1987-2017 yang akan mengutip tol berjumlah RM54 bilion dalam tempoh 30 tahun.
Continue reading “Agenda Lebuhraya PLUS: DAP sudah dedah sejak 1987”

MCA’s reforms hollow without Umno’s, analysts say

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid
The Malay Mail Online
December 22, 2013

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 22 — MCA is unlikely to succeed with planned reforms to win back the Chinese community so long as Barisan Nasional (BN) lynchpin Umno continues to thrive on communal politics, said two political analysts.

Despite the winds of change blowing through the party that yesterday elected a new line-up of leaders, they said Umno’s dominance over government policies meant it was difficult for MCA to shake its seemingly subservient role to the Malay nationalist party that has disenchanted its traditional support base.

Since reinforcing its position by winning 88 of the 133 federal seats the coalition managed to retain in Election 2013, Umno has also gained a stranglehold over country’s administration by controlling 17 of the 25 ministerial posts in the government.

“Reform in MCA is dependent on Umno,” Prof James Chin, a political analyst with Monash University, told The Malay Mail Online yesterday.

“The reform would only go as internal party reform and not government policies,” Chin said of MCA’s planned transformation. Continue reading “MCA’s reforms hollow without Umno’s, analysts say”

Ku Nan: Playing race card at BN party meets is normal

Lawrence Yong
Malaysiakini
Dec 19, 2013

At the 67th Umno general assembly, delegates had also made some controversial statements including a suggestion that the 1Malaysia slogan be replaced with the 1Melayu slogan because people from the other races did not help Umno in Penang during the 13th general election.

Tengku Adnan said that to mitigate the problem, perhaps parties should stop giving “live” coverage rights of their meetings to reporters, whom he fingered as the real troublemakers.

The MCA elections kicked off today with the 48th MCA Youth national annual assembly and election at the party’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

The Chinese-based party had seen its support eroded during the last general election, winning only seven seats in Parliament. It has opted not to accept ministerial posts in the cabinet.

Debunking the Umno Baru myths

Mariam Mokhtar
Malaysiakini
Dec 16, 2013

Malay apathy is one of the most depressing features of Malaysian life. It is widely known that many Malays are work-shy, addicted to drugs and in long-term unemployment. Despite the early introduction of religious indoctrination, many Malays are said to be promiscuous and involved in incestuous relationships.

Some Malays are not afraid to say what our politicians are fearful of revealing. Perhaps, it is time to debunk Umno Baru’s lies. You may wish to add to the list below.

1. Only Umno Baru can protect the Malays

Umno Baru only protects the Malays who are beholden to them. The critical Malay does not win tenders for projects. He may find all manner of problems with his business licence. His application for government permits may be delayed or rejected.

A civil servant who dares to openly criticise may be demoted or sacked, and find his income tax being scrutinised, as punishment. Meritocracy, intellect and hard-work count for nothing in the Umno Baru world, only blind allegiance does.

When will the Malays realise that Umno Baru would cease to exist without the Malays? Continue reading “Debunking the Umno Baru myths”

Polls results set back democracy in Malaysia, say analysts

by Lee Shi-Ian
The Malaysian Insider
December 17, 2013

The May 5 general election results have set back democracy in Malaysia rather than advancing democratic change, as the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) has put more restrictive laws for politics, an analyst said in a Commonwealth magazine.

Professor William Case of the Hong Kong City University said Umno used the 13th general election results to instigate racial polarisation, which proved to be helpful in launching attacks on DAP and the Chinese community.

“If Umno elites had grown fractious after Malaysia’s 12th general election, they displayed new unity, even defiance, after Malaysia’s 13th general election (GE13). Thus, they perpetuated the ethnic suspicions of the Chinese that they had heightened during the campaigning; and they imposed new controls on opposition party leaders and organisers.

“Far from advancing democratic change, then, GE13 has served to roll democracy back,” Case said in the abstract of his analysis in the latest issue of The Round Table, the Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs. Continue reading “Polls results set back democracy in Malaysia, say analysts”

Questions for Umno delegates

Azly Rahman
Malaysiakini
Dec 11, 2013

Malaysia’s most exciting political party of the old, United Malays National Organisation (Umno) just had its general assembly. A ritual of the political blood transfusion and the annual health check and administration of medications and treatments of a body politics ageing and grumbling. Too much good food and good life. Too sedentary of a life after its early years of “winning the war of independence” through a victory presented essentially and arguably, on a silver platter.

With the advent of mega-issues such as the most hegemonic and imperialistic US-imposed proposal of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), the rise of fascist and hate-mongering groups, the disillusionment about our education system, run amuck and latah behaviors displayed in our Parliament, massive growth of the underclass amongst the overpopulated nation on immigrants shipped en masse to build the country to such giddy heights, a daily rise of cases of mindless crimes, a slackening and weakening school system that is criticised for not preparing the next generation for a competitive economy requiring the cultivation of brainpower, resilience, and a sense of economic republicanism with a heart of social-democraticism, the clamour for a sense of unity reminiscent of the 70s – with all these and more, why are the speeches in this party assembly out of focus?

Here are my questions to the Umno delegates:

Why can’t your speeches be about:

•Coming up with strategies to create a better understanding between the races, since we’ve been together for centuries?

•Designing our education system to be inclusive of all Malaysians with each race treated on equal terms,

•Helping any group progress, regardless of race, religion or political affiliation, since we are all lawful citizens and we are not going back to “where we belong”,

•Stopping this nonsense called ‘1Malay’ as a greeting since 1Malaysia is already enough as a meaningless slogan and even 1Mandela would be better,

•Dismantling all systems that will perpetuate hatred amongst us and redesign our lives around celebrating our strength in diversity,

•Find ways to unify all races as one dignified race of Malaysians united against any threats from outside (if there are any real or imagined),

•Coming together as Malaysians to redesign our education system that will truly enhance children’s understanding of concepts, skills, attitude to become good learners, global and transcultural in outlook, and will grow up to see each other as a human race with a common humane destiny, rather than see more divisions and destructions,

•Collaborating with all races to see how best we can help those who are marginalized regardless of race and religion, and how best we can design an economic system that will promote cooperation, collaboration, and the enculturalisation of conscience and conscientiousness amongst us, rather that perpetually create competitions that lead to hatred and warmongering,

•Mediating the differences between Muslims of different interpretive practices, schools of thoughts, ways of leading their ‘Islamic life’ rather than create bogeymen and bogey-women for the purpose of witch-hunting and persecuting each other of the things we cannot fully understand,

•Stopping the total closing of the Malay mind by constantly instilling fear of themselves since time immemorial, since feudal times, so that the Malays can be spared of being called stupid, weak, lazy, and dependent on Umno as savior – all these a perfect model of a Master-Slave Narrative.

We need new speeches, Umno, saner ones. Continue reading “Questions for Umno delegates”

What Our Leaders Can Learn from Mandela

By Kee Thuan Chye
msn.com
10.12.2013

When Nelson Mandela died last Thursday, some Malaysian political leaders paid him tribute and expressed their admiration for what he stood for.

Prime Minister Najib Razak, who recently bought back preventive detention, tweeted, “Mandela lives on in the spirit of every human that believes in democracy and freedom.”

Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, the champion of Perkasa, Ketuanan Melayu (Malay Supremacy) and the New Economic Policy (NEP), called Mandela a great leader dedicated to the cause of social justice.

Kedah Mentri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir, who in September said he would not entertain any requests for allocations from Chinese schools in Kedah, called Mandela “a true international patriot” for having suffered for the freedom movement against Apartheid.

Wanita Umno chief Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, who last year raised the threat of another May 13, extolled his message of unity and called him a “role model for all of the world”.

Weighed against what these people have said, done and been perceived to believe, the tributes sounded hollow. Even hypocritical. It makes one wonder if they truly understand the meaning of Mandela’s legacy. Continue reading “What Our Leaders Can Learn from Mandela”