Can we achieve a Real 1Malaysia?
The question here is can Najib and the Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government which is dominated by Umno achieve what it claimed the 1Malaysia concept? Ever since the launch of 1Malaysia concept, the prime minister and Umno president had asked for suggestions on how we can attain this very elusive objective.
All this while, the Umno-led BN coalition had emphasize the importance of nation building, national unity, multiculturalism, racial integration and harmonious living society. But did they really carry out their efforts sincerely and wholeheartedly? Did they really go all out and work hard to ensure the nation’s unity is preserved at all cost? Did they really act fairly and justly to ensure those who came up with racist jargons, threatening other races with bloodshed and wanted to repeat the 13 May incident are brought to the court of law, punished and imprisoned?
We all knew it, saw it and heard what are being said and pledged in the Umno general assembly few years back, where its party delegates came up to the stage one by one to threatened the entire nation with their Nazi-like hate messages and coupled with some others who wanted an open war with other race by having their traditional weapon soak with the blood of others.
Well, what we knew today was all these Nazi inspired Umno delegates are still as free as kings and lords till today because they are not punished for their seditious and subversive intentions that threatened the national security of our country. Why? Because they are supreme by stature! It is Umno supremacist.
The other issue is race based political parties still exist and the new ones are encouraged. Umno championing for Malays and the so-called “ketuanan Melayu”, MCA champions the Chinese community and vow to protect temples and various “datukongs” around the nation, and MIC for the Indian community. Worst come to worst, the BN even approved the formation of more race-based parties like the Indian Progressive Front (IPF), the Malaysian United Indian Party (MUIP) and the most recent one the Malaysian Makkal Sakti Party (MMSP) where the Umno president even went to as far as to officiate the new political party and encourage, urge MMSP to mobilize its racial agenda nationwide.
The Indian community is the smallest and now BN is working to split the community to even smaller by encouraging factions to form the IPF, MUIP and MMSP. Of course, MIC being a dominant Indian party would feel threatened by these emerging Indian-based parties and would also feel the heat as they now need to work harder to ensure the Indian community does not abandon them en-mass. Besides the Indian community, Umno also did the same to the Dayaks in Sarawak (splitting them into numerous political parties and factions) and the Kadazans in Sabah (encourage and support factional fighting and split them into different political entities).
Then come to education, what we are seeing now is race-based policies and racial quotas which has been in place for the last 50 years are still being continued as usual. Entries into public universities are still subject to one race domination, the failed MARA institution had so far still functioning without any achievement at all (functioning for the sake of function), national-type schools (sekolah kebangsaan) being actively Islamized with vast Islamic activities and programs which scare off non-Malay children and parents, domination of one-race in smart schools and technological institutions (originally intended for all races) and so on.
From education we come to governmental contracts and tenders. Till today, governmental contracts and awarding of tenders to perform such and such public works to construct and building government infrastructures are still race-based, bumiputra only. And Umno did not realize the weakness of this system or maybe they simply choose to ignore it for the sake of one race. When these contracts and tenders are awarded to Umno dominated companies and contractors, they did not work for it wholeheartedly and sincerely. But instead they sub contracted their supposedly works to other smaller contractors and inexperience businesses to carry out the jobs for them.
In the end, what do they get? “Bumbung bocor”, cracked bridges and flyovers, sinking roads, collapsed government offices, damaged school roofs, under qualify consultancy works, poor and low quality supplies and over priced orders and purchases as well as abandoned projects and contructions. Are there any competency, accountability, transparency and professionalism in all these? No not at all. All these are carried out in the name of a dominant race or should we say “ketuanan”. But did they really do this in the name of their race as they claimed?
According to Umno, the livelihood of the Malay and other bumiputra communities had since developed rapidly after the independence of our nation. If this is what Umno said, fighting for the betterment of the Malay and bumiputra community, why still about 85 percent of the community out there still lack behind and still in the worst poverty line till today? Why some of them are even still illiterate and did not seek education? Those who are poor are getting even poorer, while those political warmongers are getting richer and wealthier daily because of their accumulation of political powers not to protect their people but to protect only their wealth.
According to Umno and BN, they did not discriminate, but in the BN coalition, Umno being a dominant party clearly discriminate the other BN component parties, MCA, MIC, Gerakan, PPP, SUPP, PBB, PBS, PDS, Upko and SAPP. And because SAPP could not tolerate the discrimination anymore, decided to leave the coalition for good and fight for the Sabahans with the backing of emerging Pakatan Rakyat.
And when Penang Umno warmonger Datuk Ahmad Ismail called our Chinese community as “pendatang” and temporary residents of Malaysia, he was not arrested or detained under the ISA, but instead the innocent reporter of a Chinese press who witnessed his statement was detained under the draconian law. A Selangor senior state executive councilor of Chinese origin was detained under the same act for trying to help the Malay community in her constituency. The current Penang chief minister was previously imprisoned because he tried to help a rape victim in Melaka. All these are carried out in the name of a particular race. Race factor is still the subject of every political scene.
Now we come to formalization of our status, when we go to government departments and agencies for various applications, permits, approvals and dealings, we are still being handled in accordance to race. When we fill up the forms, they still demand our ethnic backgrounds to be clearly stated. When our children apply for public universities entry, they demanded our children to state their race, culture and the origin of their motherland. What is this all about? This is all discrimination, a very clear cut discrimination against another.
Regarding economy, when we apply for our companies or business entities to be listed in the share market, the authorities demanded that the composition of the board of directors and management team should consist of some demanding percentage of bumiputra participation in it or if otherwise, they will not entertain you. Same goes to application for business incentives and facilities, all made compulsory requirement of some bumiputra percentage prior to approval. When we buy house, we buy them at a price much higher than the bumiputras, when we applied bank loans in some GLC banks, our interest rates are even much higher than the bumiputra applicants or borrowers. Recently, a trade union even reported to the press that a government-linked bank process its credit facilities based on race factors instead of performing it professionally.
And here we come to a degree to test whether the latest 1Malaysia concept is merely just another BN-Umno caper is for the BN federal government to ratify and join the United Nations International Convention to Eliminate Racial Discrimination (CERD). Do Umno and BN have the guts to do that?
We want to repeat what we had mentioned above. Racism and racial discrimination has already been part of our country’s political, economic, social and cultural realities ever since the independence. Today, race has been so deeply institutionalized that it is a key factor in determining benefits and assistance from the government development policies, bids for contracts, educational, social and cultural policies, discounts and other formalization works. Practically every aspect of our Malaysian life is being overrun by these so-called “bumiputras only” policies. The racist reality is in fact still very much alive and active here in Malaysia, despite numbers of claim by Umno and BN that they had successfully preserved their multiracial policies and national unity.
We want to challenge Umno and BN, if you are for a real 1Malaysia concept, then recognize, ratify and join the CERD without any hesitation or conditions. Then open up and formalize your policies as a 1Malaysia by identifying your people as Malaysians, instead of one’s race or cultural background. Recognize the co-existence of all ethnicities in our nation’s socio-economy and development in a just and fair manner without placing any emphasize on a particular race. Merit you people in a Malaysian stand instead of by racial stand or status, reward your outstanding people who are Malaysians instead of defining one as Malay, Chinese, Indians, Dayaks, Kadazan, Penans, Melanau, etc.
And finally, end the one-race domination, rewrite the federal constitution to clearly reflect a more secular and multiracial stand and then come up with a parliamentary act to outlaw and to eliminate racial discrimination, racial hatred, racism, racial supremacist, racist policies and race-based political parties or any other organizations which are deemed racist.
Our concern here is, are you able to do it wholeheartedly and sincerely? Are you for the Real 1Malaysia and a true non-racial approach or a mere gimmick political rebranding just to promote your public reputation?
We are still waiting for your answers.
All this while, the Umno-led BN coalition had emphasize the importance of nation building, national unity, multiculturalism, racial integration and harmonious living society. But did they really carry out their efforts sincerely and wholeheartedly? Did they really go all out and work hard to ensure the nation’s unity is preserved at all cost? Did they really act fairly and justly to ensure those who came up with racist jargons, threatening other races with bloodshed and wanted to repeat the 13 May incident are brought to the court of law, punished and imprisoned?
We all knew it, saw it and heard what are being said and pledged in the Umno general assembly few years back, where its party delegates came up to the stage one by one to threatened the entire nation with their Nazi-like hate messages and coupled with some others who wanted an open war with other race by having their traditional weapon soak with the blood of others.
Well, what we knew today was all these Nazi inspired Umno delegates are still as free as kings and lords till today because they are not punished for their seditious and subversive intentions that threatened the national security of our country. Why? Because they are supreme by stature! It is Umno supremacist.
The other issue is race based political parties still exist and the new ones are encouraged. Umno championing for Malays and the so-called “ketuanan Melayu”, MCA champions the Chinese community and vow to protect temples and various “datukongs” around the nation, and MIC for the Indian community. Worst come to worst, the BN even approved the formation of more race-based parties like the Indian Progressive Front (IPF), the Malaysian United Indian Party (MUIP) and the most recent one the Malaysian Makkal Sakti Party (MMSP) where the Umno president even went to as far as to officiate the new political party and encourage, urge MMSP to mobilize its racial agenda nationwide.
The Indian community is the smallest and now BN is working to split the community to even smaller by encouraging factions to form the IPF, MUIP and MMSP. Of course, MIC being a dominant Indian party would feel threatened by these emerging Indian-based parties and would also feel the heat as they now need to work harder to ensure the Indian community does not abandon them en-mass. Besides the Indian community, Umno also did the same to the Dayaks in Sarawak (splitting them into numerous political parties and factions) and the Kadazans in Sabah (encourage and support factional fighting and split them into different political entities).
Then come to education, what we are seeing now is race-based policies and racial quotas which has been in place for the last 50 years are still being continued as usual. Entries into public universities are still subject to one race domination, the failed MARA institution had so far still functioning without any achievement at all (functioning for the sake of function), national-type schools (sekolah kebangsaan) being actively Islamized with vast Islamic activities and programs which scare off non-Malay children and parents, domination of one-race in smart schools and technological institutions (originally intended for all races) and so on.
From education we come to governmental contracts and tenders. Till today, governmental contracts and awarding of tenders to perform such and such public works to construct and building government infrastructures are still race-based, bumiputra only. And Umno did not realize the weakness of this system or maybe they simply choose to ignore it for the sake of one race. When these contracts and tenders are awarded to Umno dominated companies and contractors, they did not work for it wholeheartedly and sincerely. But instead they sub contracted their supposedly works to other smaller contractors and inexperience businesses to carry out the jobs for them.
In the end, what do they get? “Bumbung bocor”, cracked bridges and flyovers, sinking roads, collapsed government offices, damaged school roofs, under qualify consultancy works, poor and low quality supplies and over priced orders and purchases as well as abandoned projects and contructions. Are there any competency, accountability, transparency and professionalism in all these? No not at all. All these are carried out in the name of a dominant race or should we say “ketuanan”. But did they really do this in the name of their race as they claimed?
According to Umno, the livelihood of the Malay and other bumiputra communities had since developed rapidly after the independence of our nation. If this is what Umno said, fighting for the betterment of the Malay and bumiputra community, why still about 85 percent of the community out there still lack behind and still in the worst poverty line till today? Why some of them are even still illiterate and did not seek education? Those who are poor are getting even poorer, while those political warmongers are getting richer and wealthier daily because of their accumulation of political powers not to protect their people but to protect only their wealth.
According to Umno and BN, they did not discriminate, but in the BN coalition, Umno being a dominant party clearly discriminate the other BN component parties, MCA, MIC, Gerakan, PPP, SUPP, PBB, PBS, PDS, Upko and SAPP. And because SAPP could not tolerate the discrimination anymore, decided to leave the coalition for good and fight for the Sabahans with the backing of emerging Pakatan Rakyat.
And when Penang Umno warmonger Datuk Ahmad Ismail called our Chinese community as “pendatang” and temporary residents of Malaysia, he was not arrested or detained under the ISA, but instead the innocent reporter of a Chinese press who witnessed his statement was detained under the draconian law. A Selangor senior state executive councilor of Chinese origin was detained under the same act for trying to help the Malay community in her constituency. The current Penang chief minister was previously imprisoned because he tried to help a rape victim in Melaka. All these are carried out in the name of a particular race. Race factor is still the subject of every political scene.
Now we come to formalization of our status, when we go to government departments and agencies for various applications, permits, approvals and dealings, we are still being handled in accordance to race. When we fill up the forms, they still demand our ethnic backgrounds to be clearly stated. When our children apply for public universities entry, they demanded our children to state their race, culture and the origin of their motherland. What is this all about? This is all discrimination, a very clear cut discrimination against another.
Regarding economy, when we apply for our companies or business entities to be listed in the share market, the authorities demanded that the composition of the board of directors and management team should consist of some demanding percentage of bumiputra participation in it or if otherwise, they will not entertain you. Same goes to application for business incentives and facilities, all made compulsory requirement of some bumiputra percentage prior to approval. When we buy house, we buy them at a price much higher than the bumiputras, when we applied bank loans in some GLC banks, our interest rates are even much higher than the bumiputra applicants or borrowers. Recently, a trade union even reported to the press that a government-linked bank process its credit facilities based on race factors instead of performing it professionally.
And here we come to a degree to test whether the latest 1Malaysia concept is merely just another BN-Umno caper is for the BN federal government to ratify and join the United Nations International Convention to Eliminate Racial Discrimination (CERD). Do Umno and BN have the guts to do that?
We want to repeat what we had mentioned above. Racism and racial discrimination has already been part of our country’s political, economic, social and cultural realities ever since the independence. Today, race has been so deeply institutionalized that it is a key factor in determining benefits and assistance from the government development policies, bids for contracts, educational, social and cultural policies, discounts and other formalization works. Practically every aspect of our Malaysian life is being overrun by these so-called “bumiputras only” policies. The racist reality is in fact still very much alive and active here in Malaysia, despite numbers of claim by Umno and BN that they had successfully preserved their multiracial policies and national unity.
We want to challenge Umno and BN, if you are for a real 1Malaysia concept, then recognize, ratify and join the CERD without any hesitation or conditions. Then open up and formalize your policies as a 1Malaysia by identifying your people as Malaysians, instead of one’s race or cultural background. Recognize the co-existence of all ethnicities in our nation’s socio-economy and development in a just and fair manner without placing any emphasize on a particular race. Merit you people in a Malaysian stand instead of by racial stand or status, reward your outstanding people who are Malaysians instead of defining one as Malay, Chinese, Indians, Dayaks, Kadazan, Penans, Melanau, etc.
And finally, end the one-race domination, rewrite the federal constitution to clearly reflect a more secular and multiracial stand and then come up with a parliamentary act to outlaw and to eliminate racial discrimination, racial hatred, racism, racial supremacist, racist policies and race-based political parties or any other organizations which are deemed racist.
Our concern here is, are you able to do it wholeheartedly and sincerely? Are you for the Real 1Malaysia and a true non-racial approach or a mere gimmick political rebranding just to promote your public reputation?
We are still waiting for your answers.
