DAP knows nothing about Malays, says Zaid
He tells opposition parties to address their lack of credible policy initiatives before the next election
(Free Malaysia Today) – DAP doesn’t know the Malays and doesn’t know how to solve their perceived problems, former law minister Zaid Ibrahim has observed.
The party only “pretends to understand Malays generally and to have answers to all their problems,” he says in his latest blog posting.
To illustrate his point that DAP has “no idea” of how to deal with the Malays, Zaid singles out Zairil Khir Johari – “the bright Malay star of the DAP and the Opposition” – for criticism.
“The best he can offer,” he says, “is what others have offered before: attack former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for his book The Malay Dilemma and for his policies.
“Zairil suggests that Dr Mahathir suffers from an inferiority complex similar to the Red Shirts. Zairil obviously does not understand our history well; nor has he lived long enough amongst Malays to avoid simplifying everything into a simple category, namely, that Malays behave like a hegemonic majority and yet suffer from an inferiority complex when asking for more from the government.
“Zairil blames Dr Mahathir for cultivating this behaviour and he blames Malays for not knowing any better. I am not saying I understand Malays completely, but surely you cannot blame the behaviour, cultural values, political understanding and characteristics of the entire Malay community on one man.”
He says Zairil is making a mistake “if he thinks he and the DAP will endear themselves to Malays by attacking or criticising Dr Mahathir.
“Dr Mahathir has left the government for 13 years now and we cannot continue blaming him for everything that’s wrong with the country. We must start anew and show what policies we will implement for the people. That would be a better way to gain Malay support.
“For example, what will the DAP do with federal agencies such as MARA, FELDA, RISDA and FELCRA? What policy changes will the DAP make to help Malays become better and stronger as a community so they will not suffer from Dr Mahathir’s ‘inferiority complex’?
“What will the DAP do with the allegedly persistent Bumiputera quotas in public universities despite their formal abolition in 2002? What will the DAP do with government-linked companies that are predominantly Malay? How many non-Malays will the DAP recruit into the civil service, the police and the armed forces so that Malays will grow stronger and more competitive unlike the ‘weaker types’ left by Dr Mahathir’s legacy?
