Wither nation-building if politics over-ride everything that matters?
Umar Mukhtar
DAP has an uncompromising approach in what it believes. Since it represents a minority community and because of that uncompromising approach, it will never expand beyond demographic limitations. It is obvious that it does not intend to go federal. Having a strong opposition presence is good enough.
It doesn’t mind sharing federal power though, provided that the partnership accedes to its arrogant demands as first among equals or else, no deal. It can threaten to withdraw from the partnership or as can be seen recently, it could actually kick out the party that didn’t listen to it.
Why the arrogance?
DAP has within its organisation, especially among its most hard-core supporters, elements that don’t subscribe to DAP being His Majesty’s loyal opposition. They believe that they can exist in their own world and still flourish without having to ‘kow-tim’ too much to what they see as a bunch of idiots. These are the racists.
So be it. As long as they conform to the rules of democracy, which they have done, they are free to pursue whatever they deem important in their lives. Nation-building is definitely not one of those things deemed important. Unless nation-building recognises that people from a superior civilisation should not be led by people who have only recently come down from the trees.
The tasks of nation-building are the responsibility of the government in power. It has to have policies that check on excessive polarisation in the daily lives of its citizens. But weakened by their need to appear amiable rulers rather than unpopular taskmasters, the government allows for Chinese schools and do not offer a better alternative but the same old indoctrination centres called government schools which are influenced by little Napoleons.
As people who have already experienced the inconvenience of being a minority in a majority-biased society, they look for their children the means to acquire skills that are marketable internationally and not narrow-minded views that flip-flop with the top priority of the moment. Chinese schools thrive not only because of chauvinistic aspirations but also through default on the government’s part.
DAP’s job is to defend such stuff as much as it can and as proven, 90% of Chinese votes go to DAP or to whomever it directs. It does an effective job as long as the very idiocy it claims permeates the policy-makers is there to be exploited whenever it needs to.
But DAP has an open invitation to opposition Malays who are frustrated with the ruling party, to join forces with it, provided that DAP’s wishes will always prevail. And there’s no short of takers among frustrated Malay politicians. But they are normally so mortally wounded to be of much help to DAP, except for propaganda purposes.
The ones that do not depend on DAP’s goodwill like PAS have already left, hawking their own brand of superiority complex through religion. PKR is still there because in mixed areas where PKR contests, DAP holds Chinese votes with such influence that they can be kingmakers.
Such opposition pacts will never succeed to rule Malaysia as long as DAP is viewed ultimately as chauvinistic. Guess what? DAP doesn’t care and doesn’t do anything about it. It has served its purpose of championing that chauvinism, and anyway idiots will continue making policies begging for Chinese votes that never come.
The disappointed ones are the Malay political hitchhikers and do-gooders who had actually thought that DAP is committed to nation-building. They don’t actually buy that deep in their hearts but beggars can’t be choosers.
When will these old farts go away and leave young Malaysians to find a consensus without old baggage or chips on their shoulders? But there won’t be any unprejudiced youths left, if the education system remains fertile for racial polarisation by small-brain, small-balls, deep-pockets policy-makers and racists from both sides.
