The Malay Sacred Cow Syndrome

Yes, sentiments and emotions are a difficult foe to fight. Dr Mahathir realised this and said so. And even Dr Mahathir found no solution. And sentiments and emotions are really not too difficult to play up.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Highlight communist atrocities via the media

I refer to “CPM violence not stressed ” (The Star, May 29) in which the Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim is of the view that our history books should have more information on the atrocities committed by the communists.

I do not think that we need to rewrite or add to the history books just to diffuse the current ripples created by Chin Peng’s attempt to come back to Malaysia.

This attempt is a one-off incident that is bound to fade away soon, so it does not justify adding more pages to history lessons in schools.

History is an interpretation of events and it is best to keep it as objective as possible.

To load it with details of atrocities would just add emotions at the expense of objectivity.

No matter how much information we give within the limited texts of history books, we would not be able to depict the actual scenario of human sufferings.

If the Government wishes to remind the people of the troubled times, it should continue to use the media to disseminate information of the events that took place during the Emergency.

Replaying movies like Bukit Kepong may serve its purpose. Teachers should encourage students to do supplementary reading on this subject.

I am one of those who did not learn much from history lessons. Yet I formed an opinion looking through the Internet and reading some interesting books by retired police officers and others like The War of the Running Dogs: the Malayan Emergency 1948-1960 by Noel Barber.

It was these sources that gave me a better picture of the atrocities committed and how people suffered when the whole country lived in constant fear for more than 12 years of the Emergency.

About 3,000 civilians and an equal number of soldiers and policemen from the Commonwealth and Malaya died fighting the communists.

It needed a massive conventional and psychological warfare with the cooperation of all people to bring peace to the nation.

The terror by sabotage, murder and destruction of infrastructure caused by about 12,000 communists united the people and made them take a common stand against them.

It was a time when people of all races joined the security services like the Home Guards, with the Orang Asli becoming trackers or members of Senoi Prak, and resisted an enemy who was disrupting their normal lives.

The sources also provide interesting accounts of valiant Chinese Special Branch officers who risked their lives by infiltrating communist platoons, and winning over the communists or eliminating them.

It was also said that the communist’s second-in-command was an undercover Special Branch officer. The Malayan Special Branch was rated as the best in the world.

These interesting accounts cannot be narrated within the space of school history books.

KAY ARR
George Town.
The Star, 3 June 2009

Arguing that Chin Peng should not be allowed to return to Malaysia because of the CTs atrocities during the 12 years Emergency from 1948 to 1960 could be considered a valid reason to some but not to all. Granted, a couple of thousand died at the hands of the CPM. But so did many innocent Malayans, in particular Chinese, at the hands of the security forces.

Okay, now some will argue that the CPM killed more people while the security forces killed less. Maybe 10% of those thousands that the security forces killed were innocent victims. This means 90% killed were real terrorists. So 9 out of 10 is not too bad a score.

So we are talking about statistics are we? 3% of fatal traffic accidents are caused by drunk drivers. This means 97% of fatal traffic accidents are caused by those who don’t drink and drive.  Does this mean we should ban those who don’t drink from driving? That would certainly bring the number of fatal traffic accidents down by 97%.

Statistics can be misleading if applied merely to support a weak argument.

So 2,500 civilians died during the Emergency, the majority at the hands of the CPM and only some at the hands of the security forces who suspected them to be supporters or sympathisers of the CPM. Another 2,500 security forces personnel lost their lives fighting the CPM. In that same period 7,000 CTs were killed. I was told by friends who were then in the army that quite a number of the CTs were killed in cold blood. This means they had surrendered or had laid down their arms but they were still killed nevertheless.

We are talking about the late 1940s to the late 1950s, around the time of Merdeka. At that time everyone seemed to be killing everyone. It was the era of commotion and strife during the aftermath of the Second World War.

I am not saying that what the CPM did was right. I am not even saying that they were more victimised because they lost three times the number of people compared to the security forces. This is not about a numbers game. But to use atrocities and number of people killed to penalise one side would be a weak argument when both sides suffered loses and not always under kosher circumstances.

There was a war going on in Malaysia at that time. Okay, it could have been a terrorist group against a legitimate government of a country. So that makes one side legal and the other illegal. And in this case the CPM were the illegal group.

But they are only illegal because they lost the war. If the ‘terrorist’ group had won like in Iran, Vietnam, China, Russia, and many other countries where the ‘legitimate’ government had been replaced through a revolution, then Chin Peng would not be seen as the terrorist but as the freedom fighter who freed this country from Western Imperialism and their puppet government, Umno.

Chin Peng, for all intents and purposes, is a victim of history. And the victors, not the vanquished, write history. If the CPM had won then history would have been rewritten. Therefore, maybe Chin Peng has no choice but to accept the fact that he lost and Umno won. And there is nothing much he can do about that. This is not about being fair or otherwise. It is about who calls the shots in the country. And currently Umno calls the shots.

If you want to scream about fair and unfair, is what the media doing to the Kelantan Regent fair? Yes, we have heard from his extremely pretty wife about what happened. And we certainly give that lovely woman the benefit of the doubt. There are no two ways about it. The son of the Kelantan Sultan is the villain in this marital dispute.

If Aminah Abdullah, the ex-PKR Wanita Penang chief who recently contested as an independent candidate in the Penanti by-election, had told this story we would not have believed her. This is not only because she is not pretty and looks like a drag queen (in fact, I have seen nicer-looking Lady Boys), but also because she is anti-opposition and perceived to be a proxy of Umno. Even when she produces tape recordings to support her allegation we still reject it. We prefer to trust the PKR people even if they offer no evidence to support what they say whereas Aminah does.

I too have not been spared this. When I whack the opposition I too have sold out, am now speaking like Umno, say what I say because I also am related to the royal family, and whatnot. In short, either I say what the opposition supporters like to hear or I should shut the hell up. Agreeing with what the government or Umno says or does will attract all sorts of retaliation including being called a bastard.

When it comes to the opposition, anything they say is the gospel. They need not prove anything. The benefit of the doubt is given to them. The government is lying. Anything the other side says is a lie. So the Kelantan Regent is guilty because he happens to be the son of the Sultan and for no other reason. We do not even want to hear his side of the story. What that lovely creature said must be true. She is so lovely what she says must just be true.

Even in the old Wild West they say: let’s give him a fair trial first, then let’s hang him from the highest tree.

I wonder what you are now going to say about the RM1.1 billion Agong’s palace under construction. The current Agong is the Sultan of Terengganu. Did Tuanku order that palace built? Would Tuanku even be living in that palace? Is Tuanku pleased with that new palace or does he think it is a total waste of money? Who knows! Who cares! Certainly the Agong must be guilty of wasting the taxpayers’ money. And RPK is defending the Agong because he is related to the royal family. This and only this is the reason. There can be no other reason.

I wonder whether this Chin Peng and Royalty thing is a well-planned strategy by Umno. I would certainly not be surprised. And I am even less surprised that many Malaysians, in particular the Chinese and Indians, have fallen into Umno’s trap.

You see, as Tun Dr Mahathir said, the Malays are a sentimental and emotional lot. They still cry when watching old P. Ramlee movies even when they have seen this same movie dozens of times over the last 30 or 40 years. Malays are sentimental and emotional about their religion, language and Raja-raja Melayu. Just suggest that Islam be removed as the official religion of this country or Malay as the official language or suggest we abolish the Monarchy in favour of a Republic and watch how the Malays would react.

Yes, Musa Hitam and Ghafar Baba have said it many times before. Umno needs Malay support if it wants to remain in power. Umno can’t depend on the Chinese and Indians. But in 2008 Umno lost the support of the Malays. And since then Umno has been holding many brainstorming sessions to explore how to win back Malay support.

This strategy was tested recently in Penanti. Umno did not contest the by-election and told the Malays to not come out to vote. Less than half the voters voted, the lowest in Malaysian election history.

So now Umno knows the Malays still listen to what it says. The next step would be to prove to the Malays they are under threat. The enemies of the Malays want Chin Peng back in the country. The enemies of the Malays want to oust the Rulers from the throne and turn this country into a republic like what they did in China. The enemy of the Malays want to undermine Islam. They even want the word Allah to be used in the Bible so that they can mislead Muslims and get them to convert to Christianity. The enemy of the Malays want their own Chinese and Indian schools because they resent being taught in Bahasa Melayu, the National Language.

Actually all this is bullshit and you and I know that. But my worry is not about you and me. My worry is about the Malays such as those voters in Penanti who still listen to Umno and believe what Umno says. How do we convince these Malays that the Chinese and Indians are not the enemy, instead Umno is the enemy, when Umno appears to be doing and saying the right things and we appear to be doing the opposite?

Yes, sentiments and emotions are a difficult foe to fight. Dr Mahathir realised this and said so. And even Dr Mahathir found no solution. And sentiments and emotions are really not too difficult to play up. When it comes to Malays, religion, language and Kedaulatan Melayu are all it takes. These are the Malay Sacred Cows. And we all know that Sacred Cows are……well…. Sacred Cows. And you do not touch Sacred Cows.

Sigh…..Umno is not playing fair. They are playing sentiments and emotions. But then all is fair in love and war is it not? Whoever said one must play by the rules?