Zairil Supporters Take Note!

 

They think i’m trying to kill Zairil’s career as a politician. Nothing is further from the truth! I was simply replying to an article publish earlier on MT here;

Do these people think that the issue of Zairil’s ethnicity will not be raised by UMNO and BN? Don’t they know that in fact there are already countless debates and articles made by UMNO and BN supporters to discredit Zairil, DAP and PR over the Net regarding this issue? They are saying DAP is misleading the people by claiming Zairil as a Malay when he in fact is a Chinese. They are saying that Zairil is not the eldest son of Khir Johari and they may rope in other Khir Johari’s children especially from the first wife to support them instead. In fact, there are many things that is being said and writen about Zairil that to me is too personal an issue to be talked about here.

Rubbish, you claim? Who was Khir Johari? He was a FOUNDER of UMNO! You think UMNO will just let Zairil walk over them? What about Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tun Hussein Onn who died outside of UMNO Baru created by Mahathir in 1988? Well, do you see any of their children joining opposition? I believe one person called Hishammuddin Hussein is still in UMNO ….

I live in Damansara Heights from small until I shifted out when i got married. In fact my family is still living there. It is my hometown. Khir Johari’s house is also in Damansara Heights. In fact I lived in Damansara Heights longer than Zairil. Quite a number of locals know the story regarding Khir Johari’s family. So I know what I’m talking about and in fact I left out many things that I deemed too personal from my previous article. The article was not meant to disgrace Zairil or his family, but instead to put facts before fiction and to kill off whatever attempts to use Zairil’s debut to derail Pakatan Rakyat’s future by unscrupulous people especially from UMNO and BN. 

To some of us this issue is nothing. It is not important. We are after all, Malaysians. And I not only agree with that but I support it and I’m living it. I’m a Malay Muslim, my wife is a Dusun, some of my cousins are Christians and Indian Hindus, my best friend is an Iban etc, etc, etc. My mom even said that we have some Chinese cousins up north …. Like I said, I’m living it. Being Malaysian to me is not just a concept, it is an everyday life.

But the reality on the ground among the common people is different. Among the majority of silent voters, their thinking have not yet reached the level of maturity needed to discard the racial politics that have been ingrained into their minds for the past 50 or more years. Do not let the winnings of 2008 put us in the illusion that many Malaysians have finally woken up. They have not. In fact if you yourself are mature, then why the hell were DAP supporters shouting and celebrating Zairil’s entrance into the party as a ‘prominent Malay’? Why not just welcome him as a Malaysian?

Now this is the problem with DAP and PR supporters. Tak boleh kena tegur! DAP wants to shed off their ‘Chinese Party’ image. But as pointed out by a Netizen, some of the official DAP sites are written exclusively in Chinese! Look here!

Apa Melaka semua orang Cina je ker? What about the Baba Nyonyas, the Indians, the Malays, the Portuguese?

We can question and deride Mahathir’s, Khir Toyo’s, Ridhuan Tee’s and other UMNO and BN members’ and supporters’ real ethnicity. But we can’t point out the same to any PR members? Belum jadi Federal Government dah double standard ….

Now let’s just say that Zairil did not join DAP but instead chose UMNO. What will you all say then? I bet you would be screaming and writing things such as how could a Chinese become an UMNO member and such. Similar things we all have been arguing with regards to Mahathir like Mahathir is a mamak or an Indian from Kerala, Ridhuan Tee is a Chinese lupa diri, Khir Toyo is Jawa tempe, Musa Aman is Pakistani etc. Boleh pulak kutuk these people but when it comes to members of the opposition cakap lain!

And to those who are saying that this issue will open a can of worms or ask me what my stand about Mahathir’s ethnicity is, my answer is where the hell have you all been all these years? People have been debating about ‘what defines a Malay’ so long already! The pandora box was opened years ago! Sensitive issue yes, but an issue that is yet to be resolved especially in cases like Sabah whereby illegal immigrants from Philippines suddenly have MyKad and they are declared Malays!

Thats why I quoted Article 160, the definition of Malay in the Federal Constitution. That is because previously in cases like illegal immigrants in Sabah, Lina Joy etc, most of you view such an interpretation as wrong and too simplistic. Now are you saying you agree with Article 160 in the case of Zairil? What the ….

And there are also PAS members and supporters who look at Zairil with untrusting eyes. Why? Because the late Tan Sri Khir Johari was one of the directors of Magnum 4D. He was also the Education Minister who abolished Jawi in the syllabus. See? Promoting Zairil as the son of the late Tan Sri Khir Johari is also a double-edged sword tactic. It can cut both ways. Therefore, keeping secret facts such as Zairil’s ethnicity etc will only worsen Zairil’s own intergrity as a politician. If he comes clean with it, then he can win over most of these PAS sceptics. You can’t just let him ride upon his stepfather’s popularity without taking into consideration his own stepfather’s misgivings that may affect Zairil’s own political career. That’s why in my previous article I quoted Martin Luther’s speech regarding how we need to judge a person according to his character, not the colour of his skin nor his family background. 

Really, many times I find it hard to restrain myself not to be mad at some of the idiosyncrasies of PR supporters. As if we don’t have enough headaches trying to convert BN supporters to our cause. They can say whatever they want to BN but cannot accept the same criticism levelled at themselves. Kita nak kena explain dan kupas everthing satu pers atu baru boleh faham. Itupun kalau nak dengar, sebab selalunya ramai yang berlagak dah tahu semua. Tu yang RPK sampai kena tulis artikel topik sama berulang-ulang … itupun majoritinya pulak lekas je nak tuduh macam-macam tanpa dengar penjelasan. Mula panggil cybertrooper BN, panggil pembelot … sigh …

Now UMNO supporters have already started a campaign to say that DAP is lying about Zairil’s ethnicity among the Malay population. They are saying, “DAP dah angkat anak Cina dan kata dia Melayu!’. Of course many of us now are busy countering their claim, citing for example Mahathir’s own ethnicity as Indian etc. Some alleged MCA and GERAKAN supporters are also trying to cash in by saying things like, “DAP takut dengan PAS. Sehinggakan orang Cina pun dia kata Melayu!” 

But seriously, do we have time to counter and fight all these stupid remarks made by them? Don’t we have other important issues? Of course we do! 

And because we do, we need to at times settle these trivial issues, including problems regarding Zairil’s ethnicity. Zairil has his own reason for not to want to reveal who he is. A wrong word or statement may cause more harm to his own family relations. I respect his decision. 

However to me when a person enters active politics, first he has to accept the fact that his life would be an open book and constantly be under the people’s microscope. Privacy is no longer an an option. It is a luxury. 

Second whenever a person takes even one single step into active politics, instantaneously he will have enemies. Enemies within, and without. You think only UMNO and BN will turn his ethnicity into an issue? Just wait until the next DAP election ….

The third is that a politician, when saddled with a personal issue in public, should by right take the bull by the horns. Some people will even defame you. And in matters like that, the best course is not just fighting in a civil court, but more importantly is to fight in the court of public opinion. As most politicians know, politics is the art of perception. A good perception will earn you trust from the people and give you an easier chance to win an election. If they perceive you as a liar, or a bunch of deceivers, then you just may lose.

Take Raja Petra as a good example. His life is an open book though he is not really in active politics [meaning he doesn’t covet any seat or will he stand in an election etc]. He doesn’t hide the fact that he is from a mixed parentage. And because he bares his life like an open book, whatever UMNO and BN tries to defame him with, saying he is not a Malay for example, it will just fail. People not only regard him as a Malay, but more important than ethnicity is the fact that people TRUST him. Most don’t care RPK melayu ke, orang putih ke, cina ke.They look upon him as a true Malaysian!

But like I said earlier, in this matter, I do understand Zairil’s inability to take the bull by the horns. It is just too risky for him to talk about these things without creating more disharmony in his family. Some family members may take it the wrong way.

Therefore if he can’t explain it, then let me explain. That is because if he is gonna fight in an election, it may be in his hometown which is also my hometown, Damansara Heights which falls under Segambut [current incumbent is DAP MP Lim Lip Eng] so as a voter let me explain it. I may not know much but I believe I know enough. Enough to end the rumours so that we can concentrate on other better things. Anyhow most of the matters are already in the public domain via the Syariah Court cases regarding the family dispute. So you see, anyone can just find out about his past not just his family, relatives or close friends. Anyhow more is at stake here than Zairil’s privacy [of which i have taken much care to be as discreet as possible], and that is DAP and PR’s integrity.

But if you all DAP and PR supporters/bloggers/members still wanna promote Zairil’s ‘Malayness’ and his ‘Khir Johari’s link etc over his character and what he articulates, so be it. It is your own funeral and hypocrisy. In fact such promotion is rather useless. So many prominent Malays, Chinese, Indian, Iban, Dusun etc joins PR and was promoted as such. Tak sampai few months and years tinggalkan parti masuk BN. That’s what usually happens when you judge someone by the colour of their skin and family background only. That’s why today we have MCLM.

Anyhow as far as I’m concerned, such sheltering of facts about his background will only cause more doubt and harm to Zairil in particular, and DAP and PR as a whole. It makes a mockery of what some DAP and PR leaders have been arguing with regards to cases like Lina Joy and illegal immigrants in Sabah. In fact promoting Zairil’s ‘Malay-ness’ or ‘Chinese-ness’ per se means you don’t even understand what Zairil himself said in his speech in Kepala Batas:

“Yang paling malang, dasar yang berasaskan perkauman ini sudahpun meresap ke dalam akar umbi negara kita, bukan sahaja dalam polisi-polisi kerajaan tetapi juga dalam sanubari masyarakat kita. Segala wacana, mahupun tentang ekonomi, politik atau pendidikan, semuanya dimaklumkan oleh pemikiran parokial yang sekian lama ini telah dipupuk oleh puak pemerintah.

And if Zairil himself is mad at me, so be it. He is still young. I believe he will thank me later on. At least this issue is now in the open and he can carry on with other important things. No more haunting past. To me lepas ni kalau ada orang UMNO and BN guna taktik perkauman tentang Zairil etc, claiming he disrespects his biological father’s heritage etc, all of us can say “Yes we know already about his family background. So what?!”  

Seriously at times, we have to be cruel to be kind. 

We all already have a lot on our plate and we can’t go on just doing ‘damage control’. Most of us are not paid like BN bloggers and BN cybertroopers so our time and funds are very limited. And I will keep on writing suggesting solutions to most of the issues whenever possible even if it means criticizing PR themselves. Those who disapprove of my suggestions and methods, then unless you can convince me otherwise, let us just agree to disagree. Seriously, I can’t afford many cigarettes to control my anger arguing with hypocrites and nincompoops ….