“Actually, it is the Chinese and Indians who are to be blamed. They are the real traitors. Malaysia could have been saved a long time ago if not because of the Chinese and Indians. And now, cakap banyak! What a load of bullshit these Chinese and Indians. They know they are to be blamed but they pretend as if they are innocent victims of Umno’s injustice. I don’t mind if Umno wins the next election just so that the Chinese and Indians can face a few more years of punishment for the sins they have committed in keeping Umno in power for so long” – RPK, in his post, “Dosa Cina dan India kepada Malaysia”
If this was RPK’s way of castigating some of his commentators who he perceives to be racist in their comments, I’ll say no more on the matter.
If, however, it was intended as a statement of fact of general application, I will state my case here as to why I do not agree with my friend.
My late father was Malay.
In fact, more Malay than RPK.
He was never a card-carrying member of any political party nor was he ever a Malay nationalist.
Whilst in the civil service, he was referred to as the ‘Walking Webster’, such was his command of the English language.
At home, I don’t recall us ever buying the Utusan Malaysia.
It was always the Star and the New Straits Times.
Until he passed away in 2004, to the best of my knowledge, he always voted BN.
Mum, a Sri Lankan, as far as I know, always voted BN.
Now, if I were to take RPK’s postulation as the truth, it must follow that Mum must be included amongst those who must bear the burden and blame for the present state of the nation, whilst Dad is completely faultless.
To fully appreciate why my parents and, I dare say, a great many of their generation, were inclined to vote BN again and again, three dark episodes in our short national history need be re-visited.
First, May 13, 1969.
If, to this day, we are still in the dark as to what precisely triggered the inter-racial killings then, imagine how the adult generation then would have coped with the seeming prospect of a nation barely 12 years old on the verge of being torn apart through racial strife?
One can well understand the preoccupation of a citizenry, then, irregardless of faith or ethnicity, to see peace and stability restored.
It was against this national aspiration that the second dark episode took place : the tripartite Alliance coalition was dissolved, to be replaced by the Barisan Nasional, which effectively co-opted nearly all of the opposition parties into its fold, each component ostensibly entrusted to oversee the interests of their respect ethnic community.
In one foul swoop, the opposition was near decimated.
More importantly, the formation of BN then saw the seed of race-based, ethnic politics sown at national level, extended now to beyond Malaya, into Sabah and Sarawak, by the entry of political parties from the last two named into BN.
In his post, RPK opines that “…For almost 40 years the Chinese continued to vote for Gerakan in spite of the fact that it sold out the voters and joined the ruling government”.
I think the leaders of those parties that joined BN when it was first formed then sincerely believed that this was the right move to restore the stability and peace that the general populace desired.
I think this overall objective in the formation of BN to restore peace and stability continued right through the tenure of both Tun Razak and Tun Hussein Onn, but things started to go wrong soon after Mahathir took office. How and why this happened, if it needs to be stated, will have to wait for another day.
The third dark episode that had a tremendous effect on how my parents generation and the generations immediately after voted was Ops Lalang in 1987.
Firstly, Mahathir’s use of the ISA to cast the detention net far and wide, beyond his political foes to include civil society leaders, instilled a culture of fear amongst the people.
Secondly and, in my view, more pertinent to the issue at hand, many of the print media then, initially suspended, when allowed to publish again, were never the same. Where once they were known to be critical of the government when such criticism was warranted, they were now no more than government mouthpieces to spew pro-BN propaganda.
I would as such opine that for a long time, the desire for peace and stability, a culture of fear instilled in the people and a mainstream media-driven belief that only BN could ensure that stability caused many people, my parents included, to vote in BN again and again.
RPK tries to make out a case that ‘back in 1990, the Malays were already voting opposition while the Chinese, Indians and minorities of East Malaysia were still voting Barisan Nasional. It is only of late, four years ago in 2008, that the Chinese and Indians (not yet the minorities of East Malaysia) started voting opposition. But they talk as if the fight for change was a purely Chinese and Indian effort since the beginning of time’.
Well, the truth is that back in 1990, the original UMNO of 1946 had been declared illegal, Mahathir had gone on to form UMNO Baru, which is in fact the present day UMNO, the Baru having been conveniently dropped, whilst Tengku Razaleigh went on to form Semangat 46. The ex-UMNO members, now in Semangat 46 and then working with DAP through the then Gagasan Rakyat, would certainly have accounted for an increased Malay vote for the opposition.
Speaking of the increased Malay vote for the opposition in 1990, my friend, Khoo Khay Peng, makes an interesting observation in his post, ‘Gerakan wanted out too in 1990’, where he notes :
“During the 1990 elections, Razaleigh and Lim Kit Siang flew to Sabah to receive Pairin into the Gagasan Rakyat fold..The PBS under Pairin had agreed to leave BN and join Gagasan Rakyat bringing along the state of Sabah. This defection was kept in secrecy, nobody knew about it, not even the BN.
After this, Razaleigh was supposed to fly to Johor to meet up with leaders of another major party from the Peninsular Malaysia who had shown interest in defecting to the Gagasan Rakyat. That party was Gerakan.
All things were running smoothly until Pairin made public the PBS’s defection and everything fell apart with the meeting with the Gerakan was called off. If Pairin had withheld the announcement, Gagasan Rakyat would have two states in its pouch before the polling day.
The strategy was that Razaleigh would announce the defections on polling day and hoped to catch the BN with its pants down. But the early announcement gave the BN ample time to muster its propaganda machine to attack Razaleigh with fraudulent claims that Gagasan was Christian-ising the Malays.
In the end, the Malays left Gagasan in droves“ .
As I recall, there is truth in the last sentence.
In 1991 or 1992, Perkasa’s Ibrahim Ali, then Semangat 46 youth chief, went back into the UMNO fold.
And in October, 1996, Tengku Razaleigh disbanded Semangat 46 and with most of the members, went back to UMNO.
The 1990 elections also saw Mahathir’s trademark spill over from the party elections into the general elections that year : money politics.
As 1 of 6 lawyers policing the polling stations in Kota Baru that year, I and several others witnessed first hand attempts to bribe some of the poorest Kelantanese who were coming out to vote.
And Aliran reports that the problem of phantom voters and an unreliable electoral roll is not a recent phenomena but even plagued the 1990 GE.
Kit Siang, speaking in Parliament on 15th March, 1991, categorised the 1990 GE as the dirtiest ever.
In that election, UMNO won 71 seats, MCA 18 seats whilst MIC won 6 seats.
On the opposition side, DAP won 20 seats, Semangat 46 won 8 and PAS won 7.
If one were to take a simplistic analysis of this figures by assuming only Malays voted UMNO and the opposition parties of Semangat 46 and PAS, the Chinese only voted for MCA and DAP whilst the Indians only voted for MIC, it could be argued that the Chinese were the main contributors to the opposition whilst the Malays largely contributed to the BN win that year.
RPK’s proposition does not hold water.
RPK also asks in his post whether ‘the Malays, Muslims and royals really to be blamed for all the ills facing Malaysia? Why are the Malays, Muslims and royals being vilified for the country going to the dogs? Is it really their fault? Is Umno solely to blame for everything that is wrong with the country?” .
Again, if this is RPK taking a swipe at commentators he perceives to be racist, I’ll say no more on this.
If, however, he is suggesting that these are allegations generally made by a great many out there, again, I disagree.
No one in their right mind blames the Malays or the Muslims.
They are as much victims as the rest of the citizenry.
Yes, UMNO is not solely to blame.
UMNO and the rest of the component parties in BN are responsible for the country going to the dogs.
Not so, according to RPK.
The country is in a mess because of the Chinese, according to him.
Another whack at perceived racist commentators?
The People's Parliament 
bigjoe99
July 3, 2012
I don’t disagree with RPK that UMNO would have been kicked out long ago if not for non-Malay. However where I do disagree is that if it had happened in 1990 or in 1999, there would be much real change..Look at Razaleigh and even now RPK criticism of Anwar/Azmin – the change would not be as much as it is now. The personalities would change but largely the major problems would still exist until today..RPK conclusion is simply wrong..
yum
July 3, 2012
RPK is just trying to rouse the chinese from their stupor. Stupor? Yes, this lack of cognitive function that their new-found belligerence will turn off Malays whose votes are needed to take Putrajaya.
I don’t know, for sure, how many commentators on his site are real chinese or Umno cybertroopers. He’d know, since you will need to register and deposit money through a bank account — won’t be hard to ask his friends at the bank for a list of actual names.
This new-found belligerence can now be observed in non-political NGOs as well. There is less tolerance, less understanding, and a section of the crowd thinks shouting the loudest means they are right.
Marge
July 3, 2012
Yum, there’s no need to register and bank in money anymore. RPK’s comments section is open to all. I believe there are cyber troopers and trouble-stirrers among his commenters. Right now you can see there are more than 130 comments already. You can say he is baiting.
Anyway Haris, bravo to you for your excellent rebuttal. RPK had the answers but wanted his good friend to write it!
temenggong
July 3, 2012
Haris, there was no need for you to comment on the article as it was meant simply to stir thinking and reflections in the readers.
temenggong,
I chose to. You have an issue with that?
temenggong
July 3, 2012
You are spoiling for a fight although you were not the target. You are not even on anyone’s radar! The blog world has almost forgotten you with just a few hangers on left. Now, when exactly was the last time you spoke to rpk?
Yawwwwwnnnnnn
Another Anak Bangsa Malaysia
July 3, 2012
RPK seems to be letting his personal feud with Azmin Ali cloud his better judgement and is venting his spleen anyway anyhow and I put his article to be one example.
Frankly, I was rather disappointed with his kneejerk reaction to Benjamin Bowling’s paper on “Institutional Racism and Religious Freedom in Malaysia”.
Click to access Institutional-racism-Religious-freedom.pdf
To me, Bowling’s paper is an indictment on the use of divide-and-rule by BN and NOT an attack on Malaysians of Malay ancestry, which is what RPK seems to think it is. If anything, it shows how Malaysians of Malay ancestry have been taken for fools by BN and have become complicit in the oppression of their friends and neighbours and fellow Malaysians.
What RPK appears to not see is that from 1957 to, say, 1977, Malaysian voters were largely not that socially or politically aware, not that educated and basically trusted what the politicians promised. A small and privileged group were able to exploit that situation.
From 1977 to, say, 1997, with a slowly growing base of Malaysians who have received overseas education, have widely travelled and the beginnings of the Internet, the first suspicions that all was not well began to surface. Yet, old habits die hard and the rusted-on Alliance/BN voters simply refused to believe they were taken for a ride.
From 1997 to today, 2012, the continued growth of the Internet and the speed with which information is now being disseminated means that Malaysians now KNOW that the system is rotten to the core.
ALL Malaysians were tricked by a carefully managed political machine and some still are.
Come GE13, it will all change.
mal
July 3, 2012
Harris is really a great stateman. You have my respect for speaking out for the non-malays. I have notice that RPK is very anti-chinese and quite a racist. Many of what he writes speak volume of the man. When anyone criticised Dr. M, he is not happy, but when people will not criticise LGE or DAP, he is also not happy. But when people criticise UMNO, he is angry. What is wrong with him? The commentators are just commenting on the issues or the articles that is posted, not thinking about race, but he turn against the commentators and turn it into a racial issues at every turn. If you can, Harris, please advise RPK. If he continues like this, he will not be able to differentiate between race ande justice. Whereas Harris has a clear head and can see the issues correctly and not clouded by race. I like that, non-racial.
opAir
July 3, 2012
news coming from him is just so darn – yawwnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.
We Stand Together
July 3, 2012
May I ask what is your opinion on the possibility that RPK has been badly compromised?
Post Bersih 3.0 is not the time to have any doubts, much less turn against each other, so why does he seem to be doing his best to encourage this?
Why does what he write bear so much similarity with the works of the other UMNO “cybertroopers”? What about the use of Mahathir era tactics and specific points of propaganda to sow fear and set people against each other?
I think that the good thing about Bersih 3.0 is that it has panicked some people enough for them to have called out nearly all their sleepers. The sleepers that got activated more or less say and do the same things.
You seem to have known RPK for quite a while Haris, so I thought I would ask you about this.
Annie Ooi
July 3, 2012
Sleeping people like me and very young troopers need this kind of history. Thanx, Haris.
the mythbuster
July 3, 2012
Haris, I would not begrudge you for being very diplomatic in dealing with RPK who is not the same RPK who used to expose all the scandals and political shenanigans of UMNO/BN. That RPK has morphed into a shameless cyber trooper for the ruling regime. He has thrown away the mantle of a very determined crusader out to expose all that is ugly and morally wrong with UMNO/Bn.
Now he is going against the very principles that he held dear to his heart. Now he is castigating and fabricating imaginary and wild accusations about his friends. His writings now confirm that he has been turned. Now he is singing praises about the same people who were at one time in his gun sight to be shot down without any show of pity.
Haris, he may still be your friend even after he has shown his dark streak and gone over to the dark side. I used to be a great fan of his writings and was really sorry for him and his family when he was detained under the ISA. Now I do not care two hoots for this chameleon who changes his colour as and when he likes it. He has shown that there is some truth in ‘every man has a price’.
In his new avatar as the mouth-piece of the ruling regime, let him write his propaganda piece but please do not give to much prominence to such drivel. It would just encourage him to write more.
RPK is best forgotten as a freedom fighter who lost the plot half way to his destination.
Jarmen Kell
July 3, 2012
Oh really? How much UMNO/BM paid RPK for exposing the George Kent’s bid? How much UMNO/BM paid RPK for continuing writing about Bank Negara’s scandal earlier this year? How much Pakatan Rakyat paid you for writing this piece of comment?
abdul halik
July 4, 2012
When RPK expose all the scandals and political shenanigans of UMNO/BN you can take it,but when RPK expose all the scandals and political shenanigans of PKR/PAKATAN,you can’t take it.why?.people like you are destroying the country.RPK is best as a freedom fighter who gain the plot through the way to his detination.
Wake-up Call
July 3, 2012
I believe this guy,RPK has a 180 degree turnaround on being sympathetic to the opposition cause to be a Barisan cybertrooper. Many are wondering what causes him to do that. My guess is that his benefactor is desperately needing him to do the final act or as they say payback time as this would be a “do or die mission”. What a pity!!!
Jarmen Kell
July 3, 2012
How much Anwar paid you for writing this?
Roti Sunshine
July 3, 2012
1969. Generally, West Malaysians voted for change. Chinese, Indian and Malay voters gave the Alliance the thumbs down in many states. The Alliance lost its 2/3 majority at Parliament level. May 13 riots then broke out.
1974 – 1982. The pendulum swung BN’s way. All communities gave BN the thumbs up!
1986 – Urban voters meaning mainly Chinese, Indian and some Malay voters swung behind the DAP which eventually won 20 odd seats.
1990 – Semangat 46’s first election. DAP gained handsomely. PAS’ gain was moderate while Ku Li’s party failed to make a significant impact.
1995 – The pendulum swung towards BN again. DAP and PAS failed to capitalise on their gains.
1999 – Anwar, issue of the day. Malay voters angry and wanted to teach UMNO a lesson but the Chinese voters were wary of PAS’ ideology. It wasn’t that the Chinese love BN but were not sure of PAS. Hence, decided not to come to the party with DAP and PAS.
2004 – Pak Lah came to power after 1999 election when Mahathir called it a day. Recorded biggest majority in Malaysia’s parliamentary history.” Malays didn’t swing towards UMNO, RPK?”
2008 Malay, Chinese and Indian voters all wanted change. Somebody had forgotten to tell the East Malaysians!
Chinese didn’t punish Gerakan for defecting to BN? The Opposition didn’t have a strong party at the Federal level! Maybe the Penangites weren’t as tough as the Kelantanese! While the Penangites gave their state vote to BN, at the Federal level DAP got their votes!
Too simplistic and too generalising for RPK to whack the Chinese and Indian voters!
What have contributed to BN’s long stay in power?
Gerrymeandering, the 3Ms ( no it is not Abba’s Money, Money Money but money, media and machinery), postal voters, phantom voters, a weak EC and affirmative policies etc…
The question one must ask, “Why was the purpose of that RPK’s article?”
lobster
July 3, 2012
I may not agree with RPK on various issues but I do not think he has now become BN mouth-piece. Please, just becuase a man has a defferent opinion he’s considered a turncoat now? Try to stay objective and chill out.
We Stand Together
July 4, 2012
Not just different opinion, but also erratic behavior and devolution of writing quality over the period of two years, as if he were trying his best to mimic a certain type and style of writing, even down to the key propaganda points.
Enough la, the game is up.
pak yeh
July 3, 2012
Why not.?
Who are the Capitalist Class.?
Mamak kutty is Indian chetiar / Capitalist Class, is he not.?
olivia cheng
July 3, 2012
haris this/ your article is more factual…it appeals to logic..rpk’s news somehow is more thrashy getting more like a tabloid hype kind
…don’t know what frenzy is feeding rpk..sad, but, hey, makes me appreciate the fact that, at least u are true to ur words..tnks
We Stand Together
July 4, 2012
The tabloid call is accurate. Look at what Rupert Murdoch does with his News of the World. The tabloids grabs your attention by promising to reveal scandal and to leak the underbelly behind what the mass media feeds you. When the time comes it can attempt to swing votes. But you’re just a spectator, and no matter how mean the tabloids are to the subject of its stories, the real target is still you.
LChuah
July 4, 2012
>at least u are true to ur words..tnks<
Very few like him left, Olivia, especially when critical-minded Malaysians are still a minority. Yes, we should be grateful he's still voicing out what must be voiced.
olivia cheng
July 3, 2012
support from germany
Southall Man
July 4, 2012
When my two children were young, I use to tell them to take the knife and cut themselves, use a lighter and burn themselves.. My children were aghast for thier mum,granny and all the other elders told them this is something they must not do and stay away from for it will bring the pain and harm.
They then confronted me and said I was using reverse psychology. I told them NO that is not true. Your granny is 1946, elders are all 1950-1970 models. I am 1957 model. This rule about getting cut and burned only applied to the older models. You are 1997/1999 model , me your papa and mummy have refined the technology and when we produced you both , we made sure you are exempted and will not bleed or get burnt.
They never believed me and never took up my offer and stayed away from fire and knives. I made my point. They are now 15/13 and they now are young semi-matured persons and they say Dad, you are crazy. You always tell us to do things you don’t want us to do – you apply reverse psychology.
RPK is a master in this type of thinking. He stires up shit just to see how much of it will stick and who will take the bait. I have no issues with the shit he/RPK stirs for I am like my young children who will not do what thier Papa says for they know that Papa is stirring shit to see if they have in them to do the right thing.
1957, 1990, 1991, 2510 or whatever goddamn year it, it is no point dwelling on the past. Are we as a society grown up and matured to be able to stop cutting ourselves with knives and getting burned simply when we are told that cutting ourselves and burning is not going to harm us. We have been harmed and are continually being harmed and have to break free of this cycle and stand up and say .. FXXK you, let me now try cutiing and burning you up to see if it hurts you.
This will only happen/stop if we stop being the victim and it is about time.
We Stand Together
July 4, 2012
1. So how do you advise them on what would be good for them?
2. This method is abusive.
Piqued
July 4, 2012
Bloggers like politicians are relevant only if they are popular.
There are various gauges that reflect the popularity of a blogger (like hits on their blogs). However there is no gauge that tells us the real influence any one of them has on their audience.
I visit RPK’s blog daily. I even forward some of his postings to others. It doesn’t mean that I am a fan of his or that I believe completely in what he says. Nor does it mean that I believe the postings that I forward.
He is just a blogger – a person giving his point of view. Whether he is an UMNO cyber trooper or not is beside the point. If he gets paid handsomely for doing what he does, so be it.
A blogger or a politician gains traction and credibility with his audience when he articulates what they feel.
If his views do not hold traction with the majority, no amount of money or publicity is going to garner him the support of the masses. A case in point is Ibrahim Ali.
Pre 2008 RPK articulated what the masses felt. He became their voice and was a Raja not just in the blogosphere but throughout the nation.
Post 2010 his popularity has waned along with his reputation and this most likely is due to his postings and views being no longer in sync with the sentiments of the masses. In short he no longer articulates what the masses feel and has thus lost their support.
He may still command some attention but the support is no longer there. Ditto the Tun.
The Tun is news worthy. But he no longer commands the support he once did. His time has passed and no amount of conniving is going to bring him back. Malaysia has moved on.
Let’s not rant and rave at RPK. He is entitled to his view just as we are entitled to ours. His time too may have passed.
Johan
July 6, 2012
I enjoy reading RPK as there is much we can learn much from him esp. integrity. But Haris, I enjoy reading you, because apart from integrity, you teach me to put more faith in our fellow Malaysians… Thank you very much!
cschan
July 8, 2012
RPK chose the easier way out by turning a complex issue into something simple just by blaming the Malaysian Chinese. The Chinese by and large are sympathetic and supportive toward the opposition parties. Which racial group formed the greatest percentage of those opposition parties like DAP, UDP and Labour Party before 1969 if not Chinese? Majority of the Chinese were not trouble makers as UMNO had branded them. They were just asking for their legitimate basic rights as enshrined in the Merdeka Constitutions. After May 13 many Chinese political parties were willing to be co-opted into the BN because they believed in what Tun Razak had promised them. With the help of MCA, UMNO was able to subdue the chinese further. MCA was fond of reminding us that we are infact ‘pendatang’ and therefore must accept the position of a second class citizen. MCA leaders went round threatening and convincing the small time Chinese bussimen and Chinese villages that if they did not support BN they would loose more and MCA leaders even told us that there might be another May 13. UMNO using RTM and gomen controlled Newspapers succeeded in reinforcing those lies which were told to the Chinese by MCA. That explains why the peace loving Chinese chose to be docile in order to avoid problems and supported BN until the time they woke up to face reality in 2008. So, I suspect that RPK cannot be that naive as not to know. I believe that RPK has ulterior motive (ask him) for intentionally blaming the Chinese for everything wrong.