Kita imbas kembali sejarah. Mengikut catatan sejarah sejak kurun ke-18 lagi, rata-rata orang Melayu hidup dalam keadaan daif dan naif. Dalam rekodnya, Hikayat Abdullah (1840), Abdullah Munsyi (1796-1854) telah membuat pemerhatian bahawa antara penyebab kemunduran bangsa Melayu ialah pemikiran masyarakat Melayu itu sendiri. Majoriti orang Melayu berpegangan kolot terhadap beberapa adat, kepercayaan dan budaya … Read more
Although the Malay ultra nationalists may deny it, nonetheless the way they talk and behave are no less racist than the whites of South Africa during apartheid. Despite Umno’s endless denial of an apartheid approach to race relations, the Malay-only party differs only in the degree of its racial segregation policies. In truth, Umno … Read more
In a criticism of the MCA president’s recent statements about Islam in Malaysia, a Malaysian blog (Sakmongkol) made the claim that ‘Umno stands for moderation’. This claim can be disputed. It can be disputed by showing that the state of Malaysia’s political and economic democracy, as well as religious orientation, is affected by the … Read more
As a ‘non’ – non-Malay, non-Muslim, non-‘son of the soil’, I often ask myself why I am cast to one side of a hierarchical dualistic world. To be born a ‘non’ is to be condemned to seek freedom from the chains of. To self-reliant and adopt adult self-responsibility from an early age. To be … Read more
In a previous article, I highlighted the conflict between PAS’s religious ideology and conditioning and the pluralist vision of a unified Malaysian society that they, as part of Pakatan Rakyat, should be committed to. The fact is that the mode of Islamic politics in Malaysia thwarts all effort towards encouraging the religious pluralism that … Read more
After Khalid Ibrahim, Selangor Menteri besar today, lost his opening bid for electoral politics in Ijok 2007, Anwar Ibrahim blamed PKR’s loss on an entire country and not just the few thousand members in a constituency most hadn’t heard of till then. “I am,??? he moaned, “sorry for Malaysia. Why sorry? Has the man … Read more
Malaysia’s political system instead of advancing towards a harmonious society breaks up its parts, leaving only votes to be traded for public service, contracts and licences included. But it’s still the Malays, through Umno, that direct the exchange, a process cemented under the rule of Mahathir Mohamad. The pragmatic Chinese community had been, and still … Read more
Nazir Razak is a banker and managing director of the financial group CIMB. He cautioned that “the 2009 plunge in Malaysia’s foreign direct investment (FDI) needed to be studied carefully before jumping to conclusions???. He reinforced: “I don’t think we should be jumping and getting overexcited about this investment data that’s come out.??? This … Read more
Morality of this tale: You were right to emigrate; it’s still safer elsewhere. Ng Wei Aik (left) is state assemblyman and aide to Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng. This fact is of no fundamental political consequence until, one day soon after Israel’s military operation against the Gaza flotilla, he saw that his party, … Read more
The purpose of this article is to explore the implications of introducing race relations legislation in Malaysia and whether it would be inconsistent with the affirmative action measures in the federal constitution. Examined in juxtaposition are the Race Relations Acts in the UK (Part 1 of article yesterday) and Canada. One important feature of … Read more