THE ILLUSION OF RECONCILIATION – Why are Najib’s initiatives bound to fail?

 

How do we trust the one calling for reconciliation if he is wielding his weapon? What are the probabilities that he is sincere when he has got a weapon in his hand? 

Michael Zechariah

Getting straight to the point, Najib’s post GE13 national reconciliation initiatives will miss the point unless ….

Reconciliation will not happen if BN’s machinery perpetually engage in bashing up and humiliating the voters (ie. Malaysians who did not vote for them) by calling them (amongst others);

• Ungrateful
• Traitors
• Trouble makers
• Threat to national security
• Racist
• Insane
• Stupid 

All this is done through pro-BN newspapers, the Internet and TV talk shows where the host and their guests never seem to tone down their attacks on the Malaysian citizens who exercised their constitutional rights and voted for Pakatan Rakyat. Their comments do not reflect one iota of reconciliation. Is Najib talking to himself? Does anyone in his own camp listen to him? 

Reconciliation initiatives will be doomed if Najib doesn’t put in place Laws like the Race Relations Act. This Act must cover race relations within the current progressive Malaysian context. It must be made unlawful to make any racially motivated derogatory remark to any Malaysian citizen. This amongst others include Keling pariah, Cina babi, Melayu bodoh etc. It must be unlawful even when such derogatory remarks are made in Parliament.

Khairy Jamaludin is talking about ‘trust deficit’. He is an intelligent guy among a bunch of non-thinkers. Let us get straight to the brutal truth. The whole lot of reconciliation talk or whatever Najib’s initiative in the next 4 to 5 years, is going to be in the hope that BN stays in power after GE14. Nothing more, nothing less. This is the tricky one. How is Najib is going to radically change BN when the curse of BN as it is today is that it is synonymous with corruption, racism and abuse of power?

As the number of Malaysians who want the demise of BN is on the increase day by day, how on earth is Najib going to radically change BN other than to just let it die and give people what they want? Dissolve BN. Call it something else if you have to although no guarantee that it will make a great difference. What is a National line up anyway when the people don’t see or connect with the so-called line up that ‘supposedly’ represents and reflects their aspirations?

The curse of the BN brand is so severe that even the sight of it has become obnoxious to many Malaysians. 

Reconciliation will not happen if BN has a different set of definition for corruption, racism and abuse of power.

Reconciliation will not happen if Najib’s ministers continue to see the funds allocated to their ministries and states as their yearly inheritance bestowed upon them by virtue of their post and as their entitlement for dissipation.

Reconciliation will not happen when BN’s boss, UMNO, still threatens other races with a weapon (keris) and declare bloodshed if they lose even through democratic process. Can anybody imagine if every race in Malaysia wield their traditional weapon at their gatherings and declare some bloodshed to uphold their sovereignty as people? No matter how symbolic their gesture could be, it can only be seen as sending ‘the other guys’ some kind of warning. How do we trust the one calling for reconciliation if he is wielding his weapon? What are the probabilities that he is sincere when he has got a weapon in his hand?

Reconciliation will not happen when racist NGOs enjoy the patronage of BN heavyweights both past and present.  

Reconciliation will not happen when BN condones seditious remarks by their camp.

Reconciliation will not happen if Najib has another boss who dictates to him.

Reconciliation will not happen if only Najib is talking about it but the folks in his camp are doing the opposite.  

Reconciliation will not happen if BN politicians constantly scold Malaysians who did not vote for them as irrational.

Reconciliation will not happen if pro-BN media and news readers continue to make disrespectful references to people in Pakatan states and insult their intelligence.

Reconciliation will not happen if the people are not being engaged and only selected so-called pro-BN pundits are called to give their 10 cents’ worth. Why bother calling those folks who can’t think beyond protecting BN’s image even if it makes them look like bloody fools? How can they think outside their mental conditioning and help the reconciliation initiatives? These folks only piss people off further.

Finally, what national reconciliation is Najib talking about anyway?

The mother of all myths is about to be busted. The myth to be busted once and for all is that anything to do with BN has got to do with the nation as a whole, the reason they are called the national line up or the Barisan Nasional – so, if BN loses, the nation loses. This is not only a myth but a stupid one. This myth is busted. End of story. Najib’s strategist, if you are reading this, please come up with something new. Good luck.

So at the end of the day, Najib’s reconciliation initiatives are actually to reconcile BN with the voting public who did not vote for it. Nothing more, nothing less. The number of votes Pakatan garnered in GE13 reflects the unity among the people of various races. They are not trying to create enemies with anyone. They united for a common cause. They are not paid to attend any gathering. Reconciliation of race relations has been happening in Malaysia for more than 10 years now. It was BN who was too blind to see it. It is clear now that BN did not learn that most Malaysians are mature and are beyond race and religion when they voted Jacklyn Victor, Daniel Lee and Suki Low to win singing competitions at the national level. Sigh!

Who’s version of reconciliation initiatives will actually take off eventually? As usual when Najib says one thing, Mahathir will interpret his version from somewhere else. The non-thinking cabinet ministers will be launching their version and interpretation.     

Najib’s post GE13 national reconciliation initiatives will remain an illusion and will miss the point unless … his camp stops insulting the intelligence of all thinking Malaysians. 

Michael Zechariah is a former law lecturer and a corporate professional who currently runs a training firm which specializes in helping governments transform their agencies to more effectively deliver policies aimed at nation building.