Reading Steadyaku47′s ‘The Chinese must stop blaming the Malays’ and RPK’s ‘Malay unity at its best’ day before yesterday left me greatly troubled.
Chinese blaming the Malays for everything that’s gone wrong in the country?
Malays ‘kecik hati’ because they feel the Chinese are not real friends of the Malays?
I do spend time on the ground and I have to say I don’t get this sense.
If anything, most people, and this necessarily includes the Chinese, are now more aware than ever before that it is the elite Malays in UMNO, their cronies and their cohorts in BN who have enriched themselves and in the process singularly left this nation in near ruins.
And that the majority of Malays, like most of the nation, are the victims of, first, 22 years of misrule by Mahathir and now, more plunder under Najib.
This is the sense I get, both from the rural and urban Chinese that I get to speak with.
Chinese blaming the Malays?
No.
Melayu kecik hati with the Chinese?
I read RPK’s piece again yesterday morning to see if I had missed anything.
Umno succeeded in making the Malays become kecik hati because they feel the Chinese have now demonstrated that they are not real friends of the Malays.
RPK’s exact words.
Not that the Chinese are not real friends of the Malays, but that UMNO has succeeded in making the Malays feel that way.
The two, in my view, are not the same.
I tried calling RPK yesterday evening but could not get through.
So I called a senior journalist, asked if he had read RPK’s piece and what he made of it.
He said RPK had hit the nail on the head, but had perhaps stated it rather clumsily.
According to him, the UMNO-controlled media might be sowing concerns amongst its Malay readers and viewers with its spin on how DAP, which is painted as a Chinese party, will be the principle benefactor if Pakatan comes to power.
How PAS, to keep DAP and the Chinese in Selangor happy, sacked the defender of Islam, Hassan Ali.
And on and on and on.
The message in the spin is subtle.
But, it seems, effective.
We need to counter this.
And fast.
shakuntala
March 3, 2012
RPK is a racist, he is trying to fan the flames, deliberately. No such thing exists, the Chinese as usual are working hard to earn a living, they do not have time to waste.Least of all hate the Malays, as if hating the Malays is going to solve the major problems in this country.
RPK being as senior as he is ought to shut up and not make devastating statments…..he is wasting not his precious time, he is in Britain, quite far away from Malaysia, so what does he care for damaging statements like this.
We all know UMNO is the the trouble maker, no one else needs to emphasize this fact. NO one else need repeat what the evil UMNO is always stirring up….race and religion
Why don’t we ignore all these trouble makers and just live and let live…..for goodness sake the Chinese are not hating the Malays and they don’t have to prove it. not even for RPK’s sake.
Kim Chan
March 3, 2012
Harris is right. Stop them fanning racial remarks which are untrue.
The Chinese is busy making a living just like anybody, they never blame anyone. They only talk about justice and fairness which they trust any right thinking ruling administrative body should uphold.and they say no to corruption, generally.
As to RPK, his views is like roller coaster, which carries no integrity. I stop reading to him long long ago. Why watse time and resources reading rubbish?
Prem Das
March 3, 2012
Bravo, an ostrich’s view.
The carpets in your house must be in horrendous state for all the dust being swept under it.
Paul Warren
March 3, 2012
I have recently been going to Felda Schemes in the Bentong Parliamentary Constituency. I don’t sense any such suspicion or animosity. Well, maybe I have been only in the midst of UMNO Murtads and pro-PR people. Left alone and encouraged to be confident of their own humanity anyone will become human rather than the kind of creature UMNO wants to make of them. Making them feel beholden to them because as leaders they have made themselves out to be the saviour and santa claus of the Malays, it is easy to become lazy and just be puppets on a string. That is what UMNO wants the Malays to be.
I have often asked, and indeed written about why UMNO wants Malay unity. The only reason in Malaysia Malay unity would be needed is when they view non-Malays to be enemies. Otherwise if this was one homogenous state, we should be seeking Malaysian unity of all its citizens. Unfortunately nobody has bothered to analyse and criticise the call for Malay unity. Nobody has stood and asked a Malay gathering what they thought of the call for Malay unity. Like as if the word unity is such a sanctimonious word that cannot be analysed and criticise. In a letter to Malaysiakini when Hishamuddin carried his keris, I had asked who the enemy was. And if i were to believe what BN tells everyone and we are a harmonious people living together, then Hishamuddin’s enemy would also be my enemy and I was will ing to join him with my parang.
So Haris, next time you stand on a podium in front of a Malay crowd, can you ask them what they thought about the call for Malay unity and who their enemy was?
Middle path
March 3, 2012
Kecil hati is produce by Ego and Pride.
RPK is full of these,
What is Ego when one can go to the mud in his last two years
And what is pride when one can die and forgotten.
Release from these two and you will be a better man
bigjoe
March 3, 2012
As far as the media is concern, under Najib, its really ‘tranform-lagi-mati’.. Its even worst than before…
shakuntala
March 3, 2012
Why does RPK want an audience amongst us for his so called ‘brilliant’ asides, meant to ridicule, degrade and pit one race against another, thus causing problems in an already race infested, religious infested country.
RPK has been put behind.
He does not exist, ANYMORE.
MawarMerah
March 3, 2012
RPK is a dangerous man. He is trying to put words in the Malay’s mouth. It is him trying to poison the Malay minds with his statement about “Malays become kecik hati because they feel the Chinese have now demonstrated that they are not real friends of the Malays”. In alll subtlety it’s him who wants the Malays to feel this way towards the Chinese and then Insinuating that it’s UMNO. In reality it is HIM and UMNO that is playing the racial issue to benefit them albeit for different reason.
RPK has an agenda, in my opinion, he wants to be THE GREAT 3rd FORCE and be a kingmaker! He is shrewd and cunning..just like MAHATHIR. En Haris and those in the “ABU” movement should be wary of him and don’t allow him and the likes of him to hijack it and use its platform for their dark political agenda!
I respect what you’re doing En Haris…thumbs up! I don’t doubt your sincerity. BUT to me RPK is a CHAMELEON….period!!!
Shamsul Yunos
March 3, 2012
Harris, you are way out of touch with the people…. or should I say the Malays… and this is yet another reason why Malays kecik hati
Sam Chye
March 3, 2012
These so-called Malaysian bloggers like steady aku and rpk, living and writing from overseas are, simply, not in touch with the Malaysian reality anymore. So they postulate and make generalisations about what’s happening in Malaysia, from UK, US Europe and Australia. For whatever reason, they have left the country and I hope they are happy there. But they still want to be part of Malaysian socio-politics. That’s good. But they are not in touch with what’s really happening here. They read some news from here and there, they read some blogs from Malaysia or the online MSM; they say they got friends and whistlebloowers feeding them information. And they feel justified to make the analysis and comments they make, which is mainly crap. I, like millions of other Malaysians, actually live and work in Malaysia; interact with other Malaysians – of every creed and colour – on an everyday basis. Its so plain to see, for me, that when some chinese or indians or other non-Malays express dissatisfaction or frustration or unhappiness against the Malays, they are clear that they are referring to the umno putras. And many, many, malays too are pissed of with the umno putras. And many, many, many more Malays and non Malays are pissed off with the Malay, Chinese and Indian BN putras. Rpk and steady aku are doing a disservice and insulting us rakyat living, working and interacting with fellow rakyat, HERE IN MALAYSIA, by their idiotic generalisations and postulations. I guess they want to feel relevant. But most of the time, they are not.
Elysian Steal
March 4, 2012
Haris,
You think the chinese or just about anyone will admit they are prejudiced to one particular race especially when they realize that you are an important asset for their cause? How long have you been living in Malaysia? Wake up lah, everyone paints a pretty picture of themselves on the outside face to face. No one is foolish or honest enough to come out and say how they REALLY feel openly. Not in Malaysia.
You may think you’re spending time on the ground, but your crowd… it’s lopsided. When deep down they see you as a tool to fulfill their ABU ulterior motive, their responses will only be music to your ears, or simply toned down.
It’s easy to jump to conclusions and say I don’t sense Malays “kecik hati” at your own gathering. After all, your favorite past time is preaching to the choir. Have some guts and go preach right smack in the middle of any large group of Malays gathering (say PERKASA as the most extreme example) if you so strongly believe in your current conclusions. Then you’ll get the other side of the story, and then see if you can still not “sense” anything.
As a Malay, I for one felt the betrayal in 1999, remember? They were not our friends back then, so why should I believe them now. And this particular betrayal had nothing to do with UMNO’s media spin. Never again will I go to bed with them. ABU and ABC are not antithetical.
SeniorCitizen
March 4, 2012
Dear Harris,
I agree with you 100%. The Chinese DO NOT blame the Malays. They don’t even blame most of the UMNO Malays. They blame the racist so-called leaders of UMNO. Next they blame the sycophantic so-called leaders of MCA. I was about to agree with your call to hartal the MSM until I read the Resolutions of the NUJ calling on the Editors-in-Chief not to interfere with fair reporting. These journalists must have been totally fed-up with what their bosses have been doing to their reports, especially when their reports have been twisted and yet bear their names as if they wrote them as appeared in the MSM. I would call on these journalists to go on strike en mass if their resolutions are not heeded. To minimize the financial damage they may face if they are sacked we the Rakyat should support them by starting a fund-raising campaign to help them financially. This is the least we can do to recognize their bravery and sense of justice and fair play. May be we can even extend this financial assistance to the many fair-minded members of the PDRM who, I am sure, are quietely suffering the many unfair and even illegal orders they have been forced to obey.
Malaysianatheart
March 4, 2012
You guys live in a dream world – YO PEOPLE!~ This is the real world! Racism in this country is NOT CONFINED to UMNO!! Malaysians of chinese ethnicity perpetuate racism more than anyone else. Malaysian chinese still conduct their day to day affairs largely along racial lines – even amongst the so called educated ones! At least UNMO openly tells you “we are racist”! The chinese think they are subtle about it and therefore they can pretend that they are not racist. Have any of you non-chinese tried to rent a house or condo or shop lot recently where the landlord is of chinese ethnicity and worse – where the property agent is also of chinese ethnicity?? God! they give you the 3rd degree man! Have you lot not seen adverts where they insist “Chinese Only”??
In fact what do you folks think is the root cause for UMNO’s racism and why has the rhetoric been so successful?. Because, pre 1969 the Chinese ruled supreme in this country and they treated all non-chinese like garbage. To the vast majority of them, money was (and this is true even today) and is, the be all and end all. If you didn’t (or don’t) have any – then you are just pieces of shit. Tun Razak and his cronies, especially Harun Hashim, could not see how to change that mind-set other than to get their people to take to the streets. That’s how racism came about in this country. This is akin to what happened in Hitler’s Germany and the eventual fate of the Jews in Germany.
The moral of the story is – lets not point fingers at UMNO alone – the real culprits and perpetrators of racism live amongst us in closets and shout the loudest about racism,hoping no one notices! We have a lot of work to do to stamp out racism. Lets start with putting OUR houses in order first before we try and change the rest of the world!
Lau Chin Jien
March 4, 2012
If this is the case then it is rather sad. I for one had never blamed the whole race when it comes to these problem. I blamed the specific person who did wrong. I totally disagree with what RPK had to say. He’s starting to paint the Chinese as the scapegoat.
In his article “It’s always been about race”, he commented on one of the commentator ‘How many Chinese parents will NOT scream if their children marry a Keling?’, Well first of all my sister married and Indian and my parents never objected. Secondly, what the heck did he meant keling? It’s Malaysian Indian. So don’t come telling me that he meant something else when he mentioned ‘keling’.
Before he started saying that is just one case of my sister, well let me remind him that my youngest brother married a Kadazan Dusun and again my parents never objected.
Want more proof? Then you can view my family photos at facebook.
Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia. MY family proved this to be true.
shakuntala
March 4, 2012
Mr. Elysian Steal
Sorry i am presuming you to be a man!
You are quite right, we DO want to say things openly and perhaps joke about our racial shortcomings, but you as a Malay Malaysian know that your group is protected by a sensitivity clause which has Parliamentary backing.
One cannot joke about or condemn the Malay Malaysian…..have you heard Indian Malaysians being ridiculed Mr. Steal…..they take it standing up and in most cases join in the fun of being teased.
You are protected and molly coddled so how on earth do you expect us to speak openly.
You want Haris to talk to of all idiots, Perkasa? You must be joking!!! Perkasa is the most idiotic grouping this country has known in a long time.
Try to be more intelligent…not saying you’re not,…your reasoning will not help the cause of freedom of the individual in Malaysia. And certainly not going to promote good race relations.
Elysian Steal
March 5, 2012
Shakuntala,
Thank you for proving my point. People are racist but they put on a fake mask. And this is why Haris doesn’t get the “sense”. No one is honest with him.
wrt Perkasa, you’ve not spent time to understand them, yet you label, based on politicized hearsay. I do not judge anyone that way including non-Malay NGOs which are similar in nature. Seek first to understand before being understood. If I don’t understand, I engage or I just shut up. Even if it’s your freedom to label, it is my freedom to call out that you’ve shown how irresponsible you are with that freedom. I digress, so coming back to the point, what I did mention above is “a large Malay gathering” even AS EXTREME as PERKASA did I not say that? These large gatherings can ALSO include non partisan fence sitters. Is that still not clear?
Since you failed to grasp my second point, let me spell it out: 1, Haris did not cover all sides of the coin to come up with his conclusions, because his crowd is lopsided. 2, Haris will gain nothing preaching to the choir/converted. ABU is a “religion” and if Haris wants to be a “prophet/messenger” of this new religion, he has to cross “borders”, because this is a numbers game. This includes smuggling himself into Sabah and not sit at home and whine about it to the press and internet.
wrt to race relations, I will reiterate what I said before. I slept with the chinese in 1999 as did many. Their knives are still in my back. I have now endured another 13 years of corrupt rule. Never again will I sleep with them, because I do not trust that they will do the right thing or are capable of grasping opportunities anymore. ABU + ABC for me for now. It should matter not to you as we have a common goal which is ABU and if you are truly in full acceptance of Malaysian Malaysia, it need not matter who is elected any way even if it’s ABC and the candidate has merit and remains corrupt free. DAP should be comfortable fielding a Mandarin speaking Malay candidate in its chinese majority constituencies, but is that going to be the case? Their Malaysian Malaysia definition of winnable candidates is as RPK says; the race of the candidate against the majority of races in the constituency will always be factored in. That is a load of BS. Malaysian Malaysia my a$$.
Let me also make it clear, if freedom of the individual in Malaysia is only about abolishment of NEP, that is not good enough. I have no compelling reason to support it after the betrayal of 1999. I need to see more advocates from the nons on single school system, stronger adoption of Bahasa Malaysia in addition to other languages, establishment of enforced equal employment opportunity rules in the private sectors e.g. criminalizing “female chinese only” in job postings (not just “bumi preferred”), free mandatory tertiary education and 60% national budget allocation for SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENT in the bottom 5 poorest states over the next 5-10 years, and lastly a stronger desire to assimilate by all. Try to spend 1hour thinking about how these ideas could work and unify, before spending 2 hours trying to tear it down based on which race will actually benefit, or how your own race will suffer because of them. After all, judging by your response and desire to joke or condemn a Malay openly instead of an individual openly, you are a racist person too right?
Tulang Besi
March 5, 2012
just hit umno on all their corruption and misuse of power. Sometimes, the best way to fight, is just to avoid it.
We must create a new issue or a new agenda. Then, make them talk about our issue.
Fighting them on this front will just push us deeper into the hole.
It’s what they want
sampalee
March 5, 2012
I have my circle of friends too and the chineses are calling the malay stupid,lazy and unsavoury words and they are an educated lot.Some of them may be bitter that their childrens mostly smart did not get to enter local university,while lesser malays are given places.
Most of them have only a handful of malay friends and their children almost none [same with my kids]We are fortunate that the majority of my friends are malays right from school days .My intesrest in the quran allow me to befriend many malay muslims
The seeds are sown long ago by our education system and the chinese have their share to blame as they champion chinese medium school.Even in my school days the students from chinese school hardly mix with the malays while the engjish medium school are condusive for bonding for various races,Even in singapore the goverment retain only the engjish medium school.Had we follow suit dap will go to town to nail mca.Both want to be champion for chinese education and does not bother the likely racial divide it will create.I suspect most of your non-malay friends are from engish medium school.The mould have been set and this too is the people fault.When My siblings attended english medium school,our parents were ostracised for being traitor to the chinese culture.
Many chineses still cannot speak malay as they consider malay a low class culture and refuse to learn the langauge.
Also the root cause of poor governance is Individual greed,hatred and delusion which only religion can address.Joining opposition does not remove these toxin in their vein.We harvest what we sow.Yhe so call modern society are scorning religion and material wealth is all that counts and is the driving force for corruption as respectability comes from material wealth and not from virtue.We use to dispised the families who operate gambling and vice den.Now as long as one is rich,he is respectable and parents no longer objects to their childrens befriending such characters
Is there no hope then??Tuhan will champor tangan and there will be a revival of religions here and the rest of the world.RPK is street-wise and he see through the blind spot.Time will be the best judge and be prepared for a surprise if result confirm votes along racial line.PR only give lip service.Would the party field half thier candidate[malay or chinese] i majaority malay area and have pas put their malay and chinese candidates in chinese majority area.The proof in the pie is in the eating and they are cock sure the racial issue is still very RELEVANT this coming election.
Malaysianatheart
March 6, 2012
Yo folks – have a read: – you might find this interesting. Ananda Krishnan – looting the treasury??!! Cut and paste the link below to your address bar.
http://malaysianwarriors.blogspot.com/2012/03/umno-and-bn-are-racing-to-complete-rape.html