Do RPK and Perkasa-Umno share a patron?
So, does RPK have the same patron saint as Perkasa (and Umno)? If so, has he added a patron saint, OR has he been hiding this patron saint all along? More importantly, does he have other patron saints as well, e.g. Che Guevara? This is the dilemma for those who care about the influence of RPK.
Rama Ramanathan, The Malaysian Insider
After Raja Petra Kamarudin’s (RPK) interview in Mingguan, many distanced themselves from him. I suspect they did so primarily because of one dimension of the interview, a dimension which makes me fume.
I begin with a caveat: I do not follow RPK; I don’t know the progress of his thought and relationships. So I’m reacting to the single interview reported by Mingguan.
RPK used that Malay 4 letter word several times. Yes, I mean ‘Cina.’
RPK linked the Chinese in Malaysia to the Chinese in mainland China. He did this through a deft use of Deng Xiaoping’s oft-quoted remark: “I doesn’t matter if the cat is black or white, all that matters is that it catches the mice.” RPK said Deng intended this to be understood as “prosperity has priority over forms of government, i.e. communism or democracy. RPK added: “that’s what the world’s largest race desires.”
[Note: I suspect RPK meant to say Deng was alluding to capitalism, not democracy.]
RPK said all the Chinese care about is a strong economy, and government non-intervention in their businesses; he said “the Chinese” only care about projects, money, business. He said this is the reason why the Chinese in Selangor are not happy.
That is stereotyping of the worst kind. That’s akin to saying “he’s royalty, so he’s inbred and an imbecile.” That’s akin to saying “he’s Malay. He’s lazy.” That’s akin to saying “he’s Indian. He’s a drunkard.” The “Chinese” section of the interview reminded me of this passage from the pen of the patron saint of Perkasa:
“Races are differentiated not merely by ethnic origin, but also by many other characteristics. . . . The Jews for example are not merely hook-nosed, but understand money instinctively. The Europeans are not only fair-skinned, but have an insatiable curiosity. The Malays are not merely brown, but are also easy-going and tolerant. And the Chinese are not just almond-eyed people, but are also inherently good businessmen.” Mahathir bin Mohamad, The Malay Dilemma (Petaling Jaya: Federal Publications, 1970), 84.
So, does RPK have the same patron saint as Perkasa (and Umno)? If so, has he added a patron saint, OR has he been hiding this patron saint all along? More importantly, does he have other patron saints as well, e.g. Che Guevara? This is the dilemma for those who care about the influence of RPK.
We could say that Malaysians are constantly being formed, deformed and reformed by our racial origins and leanings, knowingly and unknowingly. [I’ve borrowed a phrase from Walter Brueggemann.]
People like me didn’t choose to be born here. We are here because of world events which occurred during the lifetimes of our grandparents or even earlier: famines; political and economic instabilities in India and China; the unwillingness of Malays to work for the British colonists, and the decision of the colonists to encourage immigration to Malaya.
Our ancestors fought the British and gained independence for Malaya: just look at who’s memorialised in Tugu Malaysia, our war monument in Kuala Lumpur. In the process, our ancestors gained citizenship rights for themselves and their descendants — us.
We have nowhere else to go; we have no desire to call anywhere else our home. Our ancestors died for this country, built the infrastructure, developed the commerce; we want to live together, to share common goals, to be good neighbours.
To many of us, “Race is so yesterday,” as an SABM (Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia) t-shirt puts it. This is not to say that we do not recognise ethnic realities.
We recognise there is a need to put right wrongs which have been done in the name of race – a primary reason we are attracted to ABU, Anything But Umno. We recognise that a country needs to be governed, and that progress needs to be guided through legislative and administrative acts. We recognise the historical factors at play and the economic imbalances which must be corrected.
But race must not be used as a tool to dehumanise and demonise people.
