2 Tigers and a Leopard on a Mountain of Lies
Honestly, if Umno, Bersatu and PAS really thought that the non-Malays were an existential threat to the Malay community, then they would find a way to be unified.
S Thayaparan, KTemoc Konsiders
Malacca polls and the end of the Malay unity myth
“No one will really understand politics until they understand that politicians are not trying to solve our problems. They are trying to solve their own problems – of which getting elected and re-elected are number one and number two. Whatever is number three is far behind.”
COMMENT | The Malacca state assembly election is the bottom of the barrel as far as Malaysian politics is concerned. Two mainstream Malay parties are going to attempt to outdo each other in “ketuanan politics” in the hope that only one can be the standard-bearer for the kind of racial and religious supremacy that forms the anchor of BN-type politics.
Forget about the unity of the ummah. The reality is that the political landscape of Malaysia is not conducive to the kind of Malay-Muslim hegemony envisioned by Malay political structures that want to be the sole custodian of Malay rights and Islam.
Haven’t these numbskulls read anything by Syed Husin Ali about what happens if there are only Malays in Malaysia, which is the desiderata (desire) of Malay uber alles ideology? A couple of years back, the grand old man of Malaysian politics wrote about how an eventual class conflict would arise even if the Malays were the last people standing in this country.
Syed Husin discussed the type of conflict “yang akan dihadapi oleh masyarakat Melayu sekiranya negara ini hanya didiami oleh satu bangsa sahaja (that will be faced by Malay society when this country is inhabited by only one race).” Syed Husin rightly pointed out that the type of conflict would be a class conflict.
Two points are worth considering. Syed Husin discussed the two competing interests that would come into conflict – “Pertama, kata beliau, adalah kepentingan nilai seperti agama dan moral, manakala kedua adalah kepentingan berkaitan politik seperti perkembagan ekonomi dan pendidikan. Apabila kepentingan-kepentingan ini bertentangan, maka wujudlah konflik.”
(Firstly, is the importance of religious and moral values. When mixed with politics in economic development and education, the conflict will arise.)
And then he dived into the nature of the eventual class conflict that would arise – “Misalannya, kurang kekayaan dalam kalangan Melayu. Orang Melayu yang di bawah akan menganggap mereka miskin kerana kekayaan dikumpul oleh kelompok (orang Melayu kaya) yang sedikit. Justeru, timbullah konflik.”
(For example, Malay poverty. These Malays may think they are poor because wealth is in the hands of a small elite [rich Malays]. This will give rise to conflict.)
Retired academician and politician Syed Husin Ali
That’s why Tajuddin Abdul Rahman in Parliament says stop blaming the bumiputera, when he actually means stop blaming Umno and the rest because it is their failed policies that are the results of the political and social narratives of the Malays today.
This is what happens when you invest every institution, every aspect of economic, social and political life with ketuanism. Eventually, the people you claim you are helping are going to realise that if the (Malays) are so powerful then why is it that Malays are facing the kind of economic, social and political problems that the non-Malays do not?
