UPDATED ! A Short Lesson on Malaysian History and Malaysian Politics for the Oxford Graduate in UMNO Youth

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The following article is in response to Khairy Jamaluddin, UMNO Youth Chief's article in his blog entitled"Dinosaur Diversions " Read Here

Response to Khairy Jamaluddin's Article. "Dinosaur Diversions"(Read Here Khairy's article)


by

Raja Petra Kamarudin

The issue is not whether Malay unity is good for the country or otherwise. Maybe Malay unity is good.

But MALAYSIAN unity is even BETTER.

What is it anyway that the MALAYS wish to unite AGAINST?

And have the Malays always been united in the past whereas it is only now that they are not united?

If one were to study the history of this country -- and I don’t mean the history since only 1946 when Umno was formed and is said to have opposed the British in the pursuit of independence for Malaya -- you will see that the Malays have never been united.

The Malays have always been at war with each other.

In the Kuala Lumpur Wars during the time of Sultan Abdul Samad, one group of Malays sided with one group of Chinese to fight against another group of Malays who had sided with another group of Chinese. As much as the history books try to suggest that it was Chinese versus Chinese (some even say it was the Ghee Hins against the Hai Sans), the truth of the matter is it was one Chinese-Malay group versus another Chinese-Malay group.

Selangor was in chaos with thousands massacred on both sides. Eventually, the British had to step in to restore order and to protect British business interests, which were being affected by the bloodshed.

The same happened in Negeri Sembilan earlier. Then, it was the Malays versus the Dutch colonialists. But another group of Malays sided with the Dutch to defeat the opposing Malays.

During the Japanese Occupation from 1941 to 1945, one group of Malays joined Chin Peng to oppose the Japanese -- this was when the CPM (Communist Party of Malaya) was still called the MPAJA (Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Army) -- while another group of Malays worked with Japanese. Even back then the Malays was split into the pro-Communist group and the pro-Japanese group.

And even earlier still one group of Malays worked with the Portuguese to bring down the Malay government of Melaka. Further north, another group of Malays worked with the Siamese to defeat another group of Malays who wanted to create an independent territory free of Siamese domination.

In short, since the beginning of time, the Malays have never been united even against the Siamese, Portuguese, Dutch, British or Japanese colonialists/invaders.

Why is it so crucial for the Malays to now unite long after the Colonialists have all gone home and the country has seen independence for more than 50 years?

We normally unite against something or someone. If the Malays must unite then it should be for a reason like to oppose a foreign invader or colonial power.

Is there such a reason for the Malays to unite?

Or is that Umno is suggesting the Malays unite against fellow-Malaysians who are non-Malays?

There is a certain amount of merit in Khairy’s comments on some of the other issues although his arguments may not be too much on the dot. For example, he pointed out the weaknesses and failures of the opposition coalition. True, these do exist. Some of these weaknesses can in fact be attributed to the Menteri Besar running those Pakatan Rakyat states. But how would the Malay unity talks be able to address these weaknesses? It is like saying since you are already weak then why not join us anyway?

Since 1999 many of us have been saying what Khairy is saying -- that the opposition should be formalised as a legally-registered entity like Barisan Nasional and that it should contest the general elections not only on a common name but also a common banner, logo and flag. But we were told you need seven political parties to register as a coalition and the opposition currently comprises of only three parties. If this is true then maybe Khairy can get the government to change the rules whereby even two political parties can register as a coalition. Then let’s see Pakatan Rakyat as a legally-registered party with its own flag, banner and logo. And in the next election PKR, DAP and PAS need no longer use their own colours to contest.

I am not too perturbed about the other issues raised by Khairy -- in particular the perceived chaos and disunity in the opposition. You see: it is quite normal for politicians to compete. This is what makes them politicians. And when there is no enemy to face they fight amongst themselves. This is sort of like staying in training and keeping your reflexes sharp.

Politicians will always fight. They fight amongst themselves. They fight the other side. This is what makes them tough and seasoned politicians. The most important thing is will they close ranks during the general election and when facing the real enemy or will they sabotage each other and allow the enemy to win out of sheer spite?

Pakatan Rakyat, just like Barisan Nasional, has internal squabbles -- both inter-party and intra-party. But they have demonstrated a certain level of maturity by uniting and ensuring victory for the opposition during an election. And this is something Barisan Nasional is not able to do.

So I agree with what Khairy said. But it is not something to be overly worried about -- although it is extremely irritating to see the opposition go for each other’s throats when it should be Umno or Barisan Nasional that they should be attacking instead. But as long as they can unite and not engage in three- or four-corner fights come election time, and work hard to ensure that the opposition candidate wins, that is all that matters and I am prepared to allow them this little distraction until then.

Nevertheless, this is still not enough ground for Malay unity talks, if this is what Khairy is trying to suggest. Anyway, the type of Malay unity that Khairy is suggesting means united under Umno. Can’t the Malays unite under PAS? If all we seek is Malay unity then it does not matter under which banner they unite as long as they unite.

If, for example, more Malays support PAS than Umno, would they be prepared to close down Umno and all of them join PAS for the sake of Malay unity? If Malay unity is really the issue then it does not matter under which party the Malays unite. And if Malay unity is so important, then closing down Umno and everyone uniting under PAS would be a small price to pay. I mean: Malay unity should be above Umno or PAS if Malay unity and not Umno is the crucial factor.

Khairy calls his piece Dinosaur Diversions. For that matter many of his arguments about Anwar, Karpal, Kit Siang, etc., are exactly that, diversions. Those are not crucial to the issue. What is would be that Malays have never been united since time immemorial. And they will never be united till the end of time. Accept that. And accept that there is no solution to this. Hey, even Umno has never been united since the day it was formed.

The next issue to note is that we should no longer be talking about Malay unity. We should be talking about Malaysian unity. We are far from achieving unity as Malaysians. And the more we talk about Malay unity the harder it would be to achieve Malaysian unity. Can I hear Khairy start talking about this? But don’t just talk. That is sheer lip service. Show us that you are doing something about it.

And on the national issues that Khairy proposes, this is simple. There are so many national issues to address and all have been raised here in Malaysia Today many times in the past. So I need not waste time repeating them yet again. Khairy knows what they are. I know what they are. Everyone reading this knows what they are. But Umno is resistant to all these ideas. Umno opposes the will of the people. Umno is not in the least interested in reforms.

And this is where the problem lies.
-Raja Petra Kamarudin

RELATED ARTICLE

A Short Lesson for DPM MUHYDDIN YASSIN on How UMNO Can LOSE Big in the Next General Election

Read here for more article "Muhyiddin, Learn Thou Shalt Not on Straight Talk Blog

by

Khoo Kay Peng

Muhyiddin Yassin said: "Umno will fight to the last drop of blood to protect Malay rights, the status of the Malay Rulers, Bahasa Melayu and Islam as these matters are enshrined in the Constitution."

He (also) said:

• they (UMNO) would also fight to defend the rights of other races to ensure no one community would be oppressed.
  
  
• the election also showed that the Malays had stopped supporting Umno, the Chinese were not supporting the MCA and Gerakan and the Indians were not supporting MIC and PPP.
  
  
• the old unity and power-sharing concept that had brought development, growth, peace and stability in the country was now taken for granted.

Amazing, if only Muhyiddin study his own statement he should be able to find out why voters deserted the BN coalition:

1. First, his party(UMNO ) and himself still cannot get over with race based politics.
   
   No one is threatening the Malays in the country.
   
   Globalisation is the main threat.
   
   
2. Second, the party (UMNO) continues to put other races at the bottom.
   
   The promise not to oppress the non-Malays is the biggest joke for a joker like our deputy prime minister. We are Malaysians and we are your bosses.
   
   As a MALAYSIAN, I will vote AGAINST any UMNO candidate.
   
   
3. Finally, it is precise the OLD political model that WE have rejected.

With leaders like Muhyiddin, no wonder this country at where it is now. No wonder BN and other non-UMNO parties will continue to face DEFEATS in the elections.