Updated 26 Nov 2014:
Note that I had originally written the article below two years ago on 24 Nov 2012, before GE13. My headliner question was: Will DAP get the Chinese votes in Obamic proportions?
Barack Obama twice won the American presidential elections by acing his race calculations, i.e. he managed to sapu bersih the black votes at a time when the majority white votes were split 40-60, and he did well also among the Asian and Hispanic minority voters.
The DAP is employing the same strategy as Obama in trying to collect all the various minority support whereas the Malay vote is split.
Parallel with the USA
While Umno has a 60-40 edge among the majority Malay voters, the DAP sapu bersih the Chinese votes while doing well among the Christian and Indian electorate too. (Note: Najib tidak menepati janjinya yang diberikan kepada Hindraf.)
The evangelista party is moving fast, converging on the Sabah and Sarawak interior. Native voters agitated by talk of secession are vulnerable prey.
Najib all ears for uber evangelista Wong Chun Wai
Recently on 4 Nov 2014, the United States held its midterm elections. The Republican party which is largely supported by the whites, recovered control of the Senate from Obama’s Democratic Party as well as expanded their control of the House of Representatives.
One parallel between the Malaysian and American situations is that only a very small number of blacks will vote the Republican party and only a very small number of Chinese will vote the BN.
Najib is wrong
.
Nothing Najib Razak can do will get the Chinese voters to swing back.
And from the very first Malayan general election of 1955, the Chinese were never ever staunch supporters of the BN anyway. Not even in 2004 (results chart here) when the BN won with a landslide.
Hence Najib is wrong to say that “Chinese support is crucial” – see The J-Star report below two days ago.
Chinese support for BN already hit rock bottom with the tsunami. Yet BN is still sitting in Putrajaya. Umno can rule without any Chinese cooperation – see pie chart above on the ethnic composition of BN Perak in the state assembly.
Perak is doing fine without Chinese participation, with the exception one Adun.
Johor too. The BN fortress has 3 Chinese Aduns to 35 Malay and Indian Aduns. This is what the Chinese want, what they chose and what they voted for in GE13. Najib must learn to respect the outcome of the democratic process.
Cina mahu kuburkan Umno tapi Najib masih tak faham-faham
Umno is standing on two feet despite being hit by all that the ABU Chinese could muster – “ini kali lah”. So why in the world does Najib think that the BN would need any Chinese support in future?
How much more Chinese support can BN further lose from what it has left? Chinese like me who voted BN in GE13 are not going to be switching our vote to DAP or Pakatan in GE14.
And only 11 percent Chinese voted BN after all. How “crucial” is that?
WRONG!
.
Najib is wrong to say “Chinese support crucial”. The truth of the matter is that Chinese support is no longer a factor in the BN calculus.
Umno taking back the Malay-majority seats lost by MCA in GE13 such as Alor Setar, Alor Gajah, Bandar Tun Razak, Padang Serai, Lumut and Raub is a surer bet than worrying whether Chinese voter support will drop to 9 percent or if BN is lucky, perhaps increase to 13 percent.
Being such a lousy strategist makes Najib a poor war general. It is a suicidal leader who does not know his own terrain but instead prefers to rely on foreign consultants.
CLUELESS: Sheesh, how could Ah Jib Gor have believed that they “love PM” …
Like Republicans, BN voters labelled “racist”, “stupid”
Yup, that was what the J-Star acting editor had once implied … i.e. In Malaysia, there is [a wicked unnamed] political party that does not believe in “educating and empowering its people”.
This unnamed political party – which is rejected by the evangelista paper’s acting chief (briefly in charge at the material time) – is accused of “keeping them [the rakyat] stupid and poor in order to control them and making them dependent forever.”
And pray tell, why has Najib allowed the EvangeliSTAR to hijack the “Moderation” concept and permitting the DAP evangelistas to determine who are the moderates?
Due to Najib failing abysmally to get a grip, his own BN camp is being daily portrayed as “extremists”, “bigots” and “haters”.
In this, the BN should learn from the Republicans whose own voters are similarly slandered racist and stupid by their political opponents and the Democrat party supporters.
Dah lah dua kali ditipu nak juga dengan cakap presiden MCA
But never mind.
“Racist and stupid” the Republicans might be alleged to be but nonetheless, the bottomline remains that they won. Earlier this month in the American midterm elections, the Republicans pummeled Obama’s “Change” campaign.
After losing the presidential elections in 2008 and 2012, the Republicans learned their lesson. Najib, on the other hand, shows no sign of having learned his even though the clock is fast ticking.
ref.
‘Mike Rowe answers liberal challenge to explain why he votes Republican‘ (Rare America’s News Feed, 25 Nov 2014)
‘Condi Rice on Dem Racism Charges‘ (Real Clear Politics, 6 Nov 2014)
‘Without stupid people Republicans would go extinct‘ (Politics USA, 1 Nov 2014)
Original posting and title
Will DAP get the Chinese votes in Obamic proportions?
Not only did the blacks vote overwhelmingly for Barack Obama, they also came out in full force. Compared to black, the white turnout was lukewarm.
Ethnic breakdown USA:
- White — 79.96 percent
- Black — 12.85 percent
- Asian — 4.43 percent
- Amerindian and Alaska native — 0.97 percent
- native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander — 0.18 percent
- biracial/mixed — 1.61 percent
(Source: Index Mundi)
Note: A separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean persons of Spanish/Hispanic/Latino origin including those of Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican Republic, Spanish, and Central or South American origin living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.); about 15.1% of the total US population is Hispanic
.
To round the figures, whites are 80 percent of the American population and blacks 13 percent.
According to the CNN exit poll, Obama got 39 percent of the white votes and Romney 59 percent. Yet Obama – who obtained 4 out of 10 white persons’ support as opposed to Romney’s 6 out of 10 – still managed to win the election.
An explanation to the phenomenon (i.e. coming second in terms of support from majority race but still prevailing) lies in how the turnout pie was sliced, in addition to the way the US electoral college system bundles the votes state by state.
From the total pool – i.e. the Americans who took the trouble to show up at the polling booth and queue up for hours to cast their ballot – the whites made up 72 percent, blacks 13 percent and Hispanics 10 percent of the votes.
Recall that 80 percent of the American population is white and 13 percent black.
Blacks make up 13 percent of the American population and 13 percent of those who voted on Nov 6.
Whites make up 80 percent of the American population and 72 percent of those who voted on Nov 6.
(It is unfortunate that the US population census does not record the Latinos as a distinct category as this omission complicates our comparison between ethnic and electorate demography.)
Nonetheless a broad trend can be discerned:
(a) According to national exit polls, participation among whites shrank compared to 2008.
“the 2012 elections actually weren’t about a demographic explosion with non-white voters. Instead, they were about a large group of white voters not showing up.” (‘The Case of the Missing White Voters‘, RealClearPolitics)
Does the Obama ‘Change’ tagline ring a bell?
(b) Black support for Obama in 2012 was as sky high as in 2008, and bearing in mind that four years ago the black turnout broke all records due to the novelty of the Obama factor. In 2008, black women had the highest turnout rate of all groups. “Black women made up 60 percent of the black vote this year (2012) and voted 95 percent for Obama.”
“… exit polls can be used to examine different groups as shares of the overall vote. And there, experts say, is where the evidence can be found of how much black voters delivered for Obama.”
“Blacks made up 15 percent of the electorate in [swing state] Ohio, up from 11 percent in 2008. And 97 percent of those votes went for Obama…”
“In Michigan, the black share of the vote grew from 12 percent in 2008 to 16 percent in 2012 … Michigan was one of the states the two parties jostled around, and eventually Republicans decided they were not going to win, and one of the reasons was the big increase in the black vote.”
“the black share of the vote [was] 13 percent in Florida, which Obama won both times. In Virginia, which Obama won in both elections, black voters were 20 percent of all voters.” (‘Black voters look to leverage their loyalty‘, Associated Press)
‘Black churches organize caravans to get Souls to the Polls‘, The Florida Times
In the 2000 election, Florida cost Al Gore the presidency by tipping to G.W. Bush by a razor-thin margin. In 2012, Florida was carried by Obama — Hallelujah! Thank you, black churches and your caravan convoy of souls.
(c) More Hispanics voted in 2012 than they did in 2008, and 71 percent of the Latino vote went to Obama.
The Obama campaign message button
To sum up, most of Malaysia’s political junkies are aware that Obama succeeded in getting out the votes of minorities across the spectrum – blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Muslims. We’re talking here about voters choosing between the options of candidate A and candidate B.
But secondly, there is also the matter of making the commitment to come out and vote. The whites lagged behind in this respect while the minorities demonstrated a splendid show of strength.
Thirdly, more women voted than men and all the women favoured Obama (gender-wise, fewer white women than white men voted Romney). And fourthly, the young and first-time voters were up for grabs and Obama got ’em.
‘Romney blames loss on Obama’s ‘Gifts’ to minorities and young voters‘, New York Times
We’re familiar with the saying “work smart” (not necessarily “work hard”).
The white Republicans were the chunky but clunky Goliath whereas Obama played smart and nimble with his targetted approach.
Through collecting all minority interests (LGBTs, unwed mothers, welfare dependents, etc), Obama added up enough votes to edge out the Romney base.
I would not have commented on the American election results unless I thought that we could draw some useful observations from the voting pattern. And the parallel is this: DAP is playing the campaign game much smarter and more effectively than MCA.
Dinosaurs, after all, have brains the size of a walnut.
To be continued: One of the key reasons for the MCA splat
Helen Ang 
The DAP will get at least 80% of the Chinese votes.
but the comparisons end here.
demographic wise, the Chinese are at their strongest in Penang, Selangor and Perak, although Johor could come into play.
in Penang, the ethnic composition in 2010 was: Chinese: 45.6%, Bumiputra (Malays and others): 43.6%, Indian: 10.4%
in Selangor 2010, the state’s ethnic composition consists of Malay 52.9%, Chinese 27.8%, Indian 13.3%, and other ethnic groups 6%,
in Perak 2010, the state’s ethnic composition consists of Bumiputera 55.74%, Chinese 28.77%, Indian 12.15%
In Johor 2010, Malays 47.5%, Chinese 34.2%, Indian 9%.
For women voters, generally, there is the feel good factor for Najib although this is evident only among the Malay and Indian women, but nonetheless this is crucial, given the fact that these 2 groups represent considerable voting blocs.
the youth vote is a bit uncertain, therefore it is an open question, none of the 2 parties have a monopoly on this segment, but judging from noises emanating from the opposition, there is a perception that the youth vote will swing to Pakatan. but then again, these are just noises. smart politicians trust the intelligence of the voters, not noises made by propagandists. although BN must work harder and smarter to counter the lies and deceit sprouting from the Pakatan.
we must be clear about one thing regarding the DAP. their base is largely Chinese, with a minority of Indians and Malays as decorations.
(1) DAP was earlier targetting at least 90 percent. Looking now at Obama’s success, they might raise their ambitions a notch more.
Penang Umno Youth chief Shaik Hussein was quoted: “Lim said he needed 40 percent of the Malay vote, and 90 percent of that the Chinese …” @ http://my.news.yahoo.com/penang-bn-leaders-throw-eggs-guan-eng-032930284.html
(2) Ignoring Penang (no chance), let’s take S’gor & Perak — 28-29% Chinese. Johor Chinese 34.2% (!) that’s something. Worrying for BN, most certainly.
The blacks are only 13% in USA and look what happened there.
(3) Romney got around 60% white votes. Agree that some Malay votes will drift to Umno but PAS has got its hardcore. Anwar’s ceramahs not drawing the crowds but the Kelantan stadium where they did the Doa Kehancuran seats 30,000 and PAS delivered the bean counters.
Another thing to remember is that while the Bumiputera are a significant majority, Bumi does not equate wholly with Malay. The Borneo pribumi are Christian voters (can’t pin down the percentage tho’).
Malay voters as reflected in your data above are 44-53% only.
(4) As for Najib’s popularity with Malay women, ROTFL, Guan Eng’s popularity with Chinese women is testified by that famous plaster across his forehead.
(5) The youth vote is a worry as Pakatan is ahead in social media as well as popular gimmicks, soundbites, snazzy-jazzy multimedia … heck, just compare the DAP Dream Machine with the Jelajah Anwar bus with the BN 1Malaysia dark blue buses. See how colourful and attractive the ‘Ubah’ vehicles have been painted.
Or another comparison, BN-Rais’s Merdeka Day logo with the Pakatan burung merpati logo.
(6) “trust the intelligence of the voters” … we’ve discussed the Perpetual Hysteria factor before in this blog, sigh.
well, if the youths are so easily bought by gimmicks, soundbites etc, that really says a lot about the mental state of these people. if indeed these youths are so easily bought by gimmicks, soundbites etc, then our country is in trouble.
as for perpetual hysteria, the only way we will know how many people have been infected by this “virus” is to wait until after the votes are counted.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
After which I can gloat, “See, isn’t this what I’ve been trying to tell you all”. — Helen
PPP, or it can be said… most don’t fall for the inflammatory racial/religious rethoric, threats, and perpetual hysteria the barisan tosses out in their mainstream media, websites, blogs, and proxy blogs.
I would say then our nation has a bright future indeed… small steps toward better ethnic ties…
It is the same both ways no? We have die hard supporters (or more popularly branded as macais) who will defend the party(s) they support to the death?
Someone commented yesterday on Twitter over the decision to change the names of a few highways here in KL. He rightly said that if it were PR changing road names e.g. Lebuh Karpal Singh in Penang, the most vociferous of voices would be as silent as a mouse.
So, is this culture of opposing as a matter of principle bodes well for the country?
For example, I find the act of allocating 200k to opposition held constituencies in Selangor to be hypocritical. If you really are for the rakyat, you work for them whether or not the voted for you. Likewise where federal government allocations to parliamentary seats.
But with the next breath, BN-UMNO Aduns shot themselves in the foot by rejecting the allocation but at the same time accepting the Camry, driver & additional allowance for the opposition leader in the house.
Sometimes, change is not the only indication of progress. Working together & coexisting in harmony would be better options if we don’t fall for the rhetoric politicians spew on a daily basis.
Najib esp the Ketua Pemuda is so obsessed with the Chinese, elites and liberals that they have totally abandoned our youngs who are potential BN voters this GE14. New voters registration exercise pun elek. Interested hangpa go online pandai2 le register yourself ma..
With rising cost of living, bleak employment opportunities after graduation, vey low salary and inefficient public facilities, our youngs have no other alternatives but to look elsewhere for better and greener pastures.
Young graduates skrg are very bright, energetic, calculative, forward thinking and independent. Penat belajar bertahun2 banyak wang dah keluar dari simpanan keluarga ma. If Najib, KJ, LKS, Anwar or Hadi have nothing in store for them here, ingat they want to wait and waste their precious time and talents orh?
If Najib goes on like this or being left to become President UMNO for life, anak2 muda kita satu hari mungkin terpaksa merantau jadi macam nasib generasi muda Indon, Bangla, Filipinos, Thais, Mynmars, Viets, Cambodians.. terpaksa keluar mencari rezeki d Negara asing!
Rina, your thoughts on the economy sound Mahathirist.
In the simplest terms, our country must have the capacity to generate jobs and increase income and keep growing the economic pie. During the Mahathir years, it was managed to be done.
Under Najib, the annual budget keeps ballooning (money paid out with no returns, e.g. kepada konsetan-konsetan dia tu … hangus berbiliyun dengan begitu saja), the expenditure of the PM’s Dept is a record high and Bermuda Triangle, subsidies for the rakyat are getting cut to the bare bones, national debt went up from 41.2% in 2008 to 53.9% in 2014, our wages not increasing to keep up with escalating inflation …
and Najib is not even getting his politics right. At least if his administration is politically secure, then he can concentrate on the economy.
He was born with a silver spoon after all. I’m not saying he can’t emphatise with the needy masses but he just don’t seem to feel the pulse of the nation currently.
And the worst part is his 1 Malaysia tagline. An inclusive Malaysia don’t constitute different speeches to different audiences. If he’s truly sincere in his plans for inclusiveness then he should be talking about the same thing to the Malays, Chinese, Indians, Orang Asal etc.
And to make matters worse, he can even rein in his wife. And that’s putting it mildly.
I truly supported him when he assumed the PM post. As a person, I think he’s a decent & humble guy. He’s just not made out for the cutthroat world of politics. And it would do him a world of good, not to mention the country, if someone puts him out of his misery & push him off the premiership pedestal he’s ill fitted for.
re: “As a person, I think he’s a decent & humble guy.”
I think so too.
re: “He’s just not made out for the cutthroat world of politics.”
Agree. He’s confronted by the likes of Dear Leader Kim. Nowadays Grandpapa Dapster grates a lot on me too.
Tuan/Puan White sudah dapat apa yang mereka mahukan dan perlukan makanya mereka sudah boleh berleka atau tak perlu terkejar-kejar. Dalam kata lain Tuan/Puan White sudah berada dipuncak makanya siapapun yang memimpin tidak akan banyak memberi kesan kepada apa yang dimiliki sekarang ini.
Kalau dibandingkan dengan Melayu, saolnya, apakah Melayu sudah dapat apa yang dimahukan dan apa yang diperlukan dan dengan itu Melayu sudah boleh berleka dan tidak perlu terkejar-kejar. Dan kerana Melayu sudah bberada di puncak makanya siapapun boleh memimpin mereka kerana apa jua bentuk kepimpinan tidak akan memberi kesan kepada apa yang sedang dikendong dan yang masih dalam pencarian?
Atas sebab itu, saya berpendapat bahawa orang Melayu harus sedar fakta sebenar dan dari situ berfikirlah lebih dari sekali sama ada mahu meletakkan diri mereka setaraf dan sama tingkat dengan Tuan/Puan White dalam kontek politik, ekonomi, sosial dan agama kerana antara Melayu dan Tuan/Puan White jauh berbeza di mana Tuan/Puan White sudah berada di puncak sedangkan Melayu masih belum sampai di puncak.
Melayu sudah sampai ke puncak, Melayu elit yang di pupuk oleh UMNO. andaikata BN tewas dalam PRU13, saya percaya golongan ini akan berpaling tadah dan “berhijrah” ke pangkuan PKR dan PAS.
di Amerika, golongan Putih yang menguasai ekonomi, politik Amerika, dengan bantuan Yahudi, mereka ni hanyalah 1% daripada populasi kaum kulit putih. hakikatnya, jika anda pernah ke Amerika, kalian akan sedar bahawa majoriti kaum kulit putih, sama juga dengan kaum-kaum minoriti yang lain, mereka sebenarnya tidak mendapat manfaat dari pembangunan ekonomi Amerika.
kaum Tionghua yang menyokong Pakatan dengan harapan mereka akan mendapat manfaat setelah Pakatan sampai ke Putrajaya juga akan ketahui yang mereka nanti juga tidak akan dapat apa-apa dari Pakatan.
erti kata, hanya golongan elit saja yang akan dapat manfaat, tidak kira apa warna kulit mereka.
I just read Andy Xie’s piece yesterday on Obama’s re-election. He postulated the same thing about race factor. He wrote, while Republican favors a small government (which means less spending), those states that elected him are poorer (and older) and are main beneficiaries of social programs like Medicare; which means Republican shouldn’t be their voting choice in the first place. On the other hand, Asians which have a higher average income in US, are main supporters of Obama which favors tax increase on high income earners, which is kind of ironic.
Kinda ironic indeed. Amerika post-2008 has become more race conscious. The success of Pakatan in the same year of 2008 has left us more racially polarized in actual fact despite all their loud chest-thumping.
(Cynical laugh) Irony and Dream Merchants selling Hope & Change.
Irony: I support Chinese school, freedom of expression (and allow freedom of expression in my blog unlike DAPster cakap tak serupa bikin), am anti-hudud and yet the DAPsters relentlessly attack me.
More irony: The Malays are called ‘racists’ and zalim but yet the readership of this blog does not attack me the way DAPsters do even tho’ I’m against Satu Sekolah and against the implementation of hudud as well as support freedom of religion.
‘They’ are so blinded by rhetoric & personality cults and prefer to ignore the real underlying issues. The Chinese are turning a blind eye to all PAS’s gender segregation and dress code in Kelantan but demand the freedoms of dressing, drinking, etc in Selangor.
>> The Chinese are turning a blind eye to all PAS’s gender segregation and dress code in Kelantan but demand the freedoms of dressing, drinking, etc in Selangor.
A presumably Chinese hair salon in Kota Baru has gotten 11 summons because woman is cutting the hair of a man. Both are non-Muslims. Not just one salon, definitely more than one. DAP is as quiet as a mouse.
the saloon is also denied an operating license, that makes it a sitting duck for further raids by the authorities.
as for the DAP being quiet, well, if the saloon operator is a Christian, then you’re going to hear a different story. just ask Helen if you don’t get what I meant.
I think the success of Obama and the Democrats can be attributed largely to the changing demographics.
by most estimates, non whites will form the majority by 2050, although I think it will happen sooner, earlier if current immigration rates continue and non whites, particularly blacks and Hispanics, were to sustain their higher birthrates.
it was brilliant of Obama and the Democrats to focus on the non whites. whites as a whole, as I have said, are in terminal decline demographically, so why focus on a “market” that is stagnating and in decline ?
before I move to the Democrats, let me focus on the Republicans’ earlier success.
back in the 1960s, when the civil rights movement was at its peak, culminating in the Civil Rights Act 1964, the Republicans were already moving toward the white (southern and middle American) vote, which was ironic given that the GOP was the party of Lincoln but looking back, after 1970, you saw how that strategy paid off handsomely. up to 1964, 1965, the Democratic Party was the party of the Jim Crow crowd and for Lyndon B Johnson to sign the Civil Rights Act was even more ironic. nonetheless the Civil Rights Act was a godsend for the GOP as it cemented the GOP’s dominance for almost 40 odd years.
now back to the Democrats. just as the GOP in the 1960s sensed the changing wind brought about by the civil right movement (which the conservative whites despised), the Democrats too sensed the changing demographic wind of the 21st century. knowing that the non white majority will constitute the majority and thus the future and knowing that the non whites, especially blacks and Hispanics are into government candies, the Democrats capitalized on this addiction to welfare handouts (read Big Government) by promising to expand the role of government, well, actually the Democrats did not say they want to expand the role of government by you get the point.
how long will this continue ? it depends. the GOP had 40 odd years of success, so for Democrats at least a generation or so.
bottom line : if you failed to anticipate changes especially demographic changes and the subsequent attitudes that come with it, you’re toast.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Same with internal Chinese demography. Buddhist/Taoist declining. Evangelism spreading like multilevel marketing. — Helen
herein lies another irony. the Chinese who constitute the biggest vote bank of the evangelists, who are fighting for the preservation of Chinese education, heritage/culture are doing nothing in the face of rising evangelism.
you want to preserve your culture/heritage through Chinese education yet when your children tell you that they are converting to Christianity and all you say its “okay” while knowing full well that Christianity is explicitly anti Chinese/Confucian, now that is the irony of all ironies.
Differences between One School System vs Vernacular Schooling are differences for discussion. As are many other topics.
#Pakatoons on the other hand engage in idle rhetoric and #Bebalisme. I draw the line at stupidity.
Helen,
Demography is important. But the more important aspect is the percentage of registered voters. A simple case is the Malay attitude of “tidak apa”. Why more than half of voters in Penang is Chinese while the percentage of Chinese as residing in Penang is only approximately 45%.
The answer lies in many Malays not registering as voters, therefore reducing their percentage as voters to mere 35%(estimation only).
And quite a number of malays are fooled by comparison with USA Presidential election. Come what may, the status quo does not change whoever wins the White House. The policy remains.
But in Malaysia, once UMNO is gone, it is gone with the wind for the only bargaining chips the Malays have. The centre of power shifts to DAP that for as long as I can remember or practically anyone can remember is very hostile to whatever Malays stand for.
With political power is gone, Malays will see changes on things they take for granted. The first to go is tradition of “raja raja’. Yes. This thing called “sistem beraja’ that never fails to remind the world about the last vestige of Old MAlaya. Why bother to keep a system that reminds the world about its history. Erase it. and it can be done easily once the power in their hand.
Malays are weaken when PAS due to its desire to undermine UMNO accuses UMNO as racism simply because the latter speaks for Malays. Now it is very difficult to speak or defend Malays as automatically Malays will be accused of racism. But DAP can speak about Chinese as if Chinese are opressed.
As for the Chinese, it is more lucrative to support PR as oit is controlled by DAP while BN by UMNO. But it is also a double edge sword. They either vote out BN or rather votes themselves out of the corridor of power.
Should this happen, Najib will have to face the Malays who may want to say “padan muka. Beri apa saja pada Cina tapi mereka sokong DAP juga”.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All the political parties have been on voter registration drives. Umno has been successful. A good number of Malay voters registered. — Helen
Helen,
Yes . UMNO learnt a god lesson. That explains a surge of Malay voters registering lately. Plus do not forget there are many who cant want to vote just toi punish uselessx politician in the coming election.
My point is that Malays have themselves to blame should they lose political power.
Pasca PRU 13, DAP tambah kuat. Umno tambah kuat. PAS & PKR masuk longkang…
I have to disrespecfully disagree with the assumption Malays will lose power should PR wins. For all I know, Malays being the majority has the best cards in their hands by sheer number alone. Meaning regardless BN or PR comes into power, they will never dare disregard the welfare of the majority population. Practically they do fear being voted out in the next 5 years. So whomever is in power do have to accept they have to be crowd-pleasers.
Ironically, i do forsee the PR if ever in power, will try harder to please the Malays even more to gain their confidence.
Either way, the Malays will not lose power. The elite Malays with ties to cronies might have reason to fear, but then the majority of them are just ordinary folks trying to make ends meet.
This rgument does not hold water if one observes the actions of Selangor State Govt. #Pakatoons are a loose coalition of divergent priorities, meaning no particular systemic direction and more rhetorical horse-trading.
For sure lah Helen. DAP will get 99.9% of chinese votes. even MCA members will vote for DAP. MCA too stupid to think. I also believe that PRU13 will definitely be race-based. The dapsters have crossed the line too often.
Tao Tze,
I am not so sure with your assumptions. Being a majority does not guarantee political power although it does help.
Looking at the way PR held states administered, I know the Malays will suffer the most should PR win. It is happening now in Penang as an example. Many Stalls owned by Malays had been demolished. But the same principle are not applied to stalls owned by chinese simply because they are Chinese.
Out of anger the malays (due to insult by hindraf) rejected many non Malay BN candidates in 2008. But now they can see and can compare. Things that never happen before are taking places before their eyes. It is not a secrtet that as an example many Malays are unhappy at the rate massage parlour is mushrooming in Selangor under PR rule.
As for DAP, it is the most racist political party that I ever know.
Shamsul anuar,
The way I see it, (I dun profess I am 100% right) racial cards are still effective vote magnets. Say PR, PKR and PAS are seen as ‘Malay’ parties by the Chinese, so DAP has to step up to fill the void as ‘Chinese’ party to fish for Chinese vote. While PAS fight for the Muslims, DAP play their ‘role’ to pacify the Chinese. PKR is the only ‘neither here nor there’ actor in this play.
In the larger picture assuming PR get to be in power, Malay friendly policies is the only way they will go unless they want to commit political suicide in 5 years’ time. Malays are the majority game maker.
Now about Penang (you mentioned) and Kelantan, these are states where the majority race in their respective states play a factor. Penang state where there is plenty of Chinese business, DAP will play their role as Chinese hero while Kelantan and Trengganu, the Chinese will yield to the Malay majority. If not, how else the DAP make no sound when the Chinese in Kelantan have to abide the imposed men/women segregation rule, no easy booze, no vice etc etc?
Politicians are hypocrites, and I meant both sides. Survival is their game. So generally I feel Malays have nothing to fear as long as they hold the best card, in numbers.
This article started off with an Obama comparison. The gist in the US comparison is Obama whom is favored by the minority trumps the White favorite Romney though the Whites are the majority. Looking at this the other way round, you can also say Obama got re-elected because not all Whites voted against him. Why not? Because his policies benefitted the majority of Whites in the middle and lower income bracket by guaranteeing Obamacare and tax cut. What I am trying to say is, Obama is too smart to go against the majority (which is mostly middle to lower income) in his policy. Lesson here, you gotta please the majority.
Cheers
Obama got 4 out of 10 white votes, Romney 6 out of 10.
One-on-one against his opponent, Obama’s less favoured by whites but he’s not rejected by sufficient numbers of white voters to lose him the election.
In the context of Malaysian comparison, Obama is like a Ridhuan Tee. His religion is the same as the whites, i.e. Christianity. Obama does not profess any African (black) religion. He speaks English, the white man’s tongue and not Swahili or some Kenyan language.
If he were representative of the minority – say he’s a Muslim – he would not have managed his 39% white votes. At some levels, he fits in the traditional elitist politician mould, e.g. Harvard alumni and law graduates. He would be more unusual if he were the pizza magnate (the black Republican contender briefly in the running.)
Hence I would not dispute your contention that a politician cannot veer too far away from the centre (majority dictates). However my contention is that Obama also plays the race game. His wife is very ‘sista’ (see example in article of the black churches organizing ‘caravans’ to get out the votes and the backlash against the black actress Stacey Dash – she would belong in the 5% of black women who did not vote Obama).
I would disagree regarding the comparison of Obama and Ridhuan Tee. Mr. Tee preaches fear & hatred of minority groups. He divorces himself from his ethnic roots and tries too hard to become Malay.
Meanwhile, Obama’s platform is of multiculturalism and acceptance. That’s a reason why he was more accepted by blacks, hispanics, asians, city folk and young whites. The working class, ethnic & religious minorities cannot relate to Romney & the Republicans, who have been influenced by the far right ideas of the Tea Party (read: Perkasa).
You say Ridhuan Tee “divorces himself from his ethnic roots and tries too hard to become Malay”.
Let me ask you in what way is Obama married to his ethnic roots?
A M’sian Chinese is not divorced from his Chinese roots. Okay, I can accept this statement.
e.g. CSL in his debate with LGE used Chinese proverbs. Does Obama use Kenyan proverbs or African idioms in his speeches?
Does he allude to Kenyan historical episodes or historical personalities? M’sian Chinese pollies do admittedly allude to China historical episodes and historical personalities (e.g. the Three Kingdoms war strategies).
Does Obama celebrate Thanksgiving? That’s American — the Pilgrim Fathers, the Mayflower landed in 1621. What connection is that to Obama whose Kenyan father arrived in the USA in 1961?
So how come Obama celebrates an American thanksgiving to commemorate something that happened some 400 years ago when white settlers sailed to the New World rather than celebrating a Kenyan festival? (since you imply that Obama is close to his Kenyan roots unlike Ridhuan who rejects his Chinese roots)
We Chinese here still celebrate the mooncake festival which is historical vis-a-vis China history.
M’sian Chinese can identify our dialect groups, and clans (Teochew, Hakka, Hokkien, Cantonese, etc).
Do his American voters know which tribe Obama’s forefathers hailed from? Kikuyu, Luhya, Luo, Kalenjin, Kamba, Kisii, Meru?
M’sian Chinese can name Chinese cities and provinces. Has Obama ever demonstrated any familiarity with Kenyan geography?
Does he wear any Kenyan traditional dress? (like we see sometimes at the UN: think the African delegates in their colourful, flowing robes) Can he sing any Kenyan songs? Play any traditional African instrument?
What aspect of Kenyan or African culture does he follow?
Granted that Ridhuan Tee is divorced from certain Chinese cuisine as he doesn’t eat pork.
Chinese in Malaysia use chopsticks and pour tea from tiny Chinese teapots. Does Obama eat meals called kiamsha kinywa, chakula cha mchana, chai ya saa nne and chakula cha jioni? (info I sourced online, I’ve never visited Kenya).
You say Ridhuan tries too hard to be Malay.
Pray tell in what way is Obama un-American (example, say, has never worn a baseball cap before, has never attended a Knicks game) so that people think he comes from a foreign country.
Obama doesn’t refuse to acknowledge his African lineage. He doesn’t scold the black community in the USA for struggling to achieve better economic equality and equality of rights. Obama doesn’t accuse them of ‘playing with fire’ or being ‘ultra-kiasu’ because they feel more can be done to reduce racial inequality. Hell, even his name is still Barack Hussein Obama.
The same cannot be said of Ridhuan Tee. I know you’re already familiar with his venomous writings.
It is more than just eating Kenyan food or wearing Kenyan clothes.
Even in Malaysia, you might measure somebody’s Chineseness by whether he uses chopsticks or not. But the same person can have a preference for Western goods over Asian things, or prefer Korean pop over Mando pop, or Japanese films over HK movies.
Speaking of Obama in African clothing:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7263783.stm
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/03/06/obama-administration-celebrates-black-history-month
(1) “Obama doesn’t refuse to acknowledge his African lineage.” Agree. But.
Given his looks, it’s hardly possible that he denies he’s black although with some biracial personalities it’s difficult to tell (c.f. Ryan Giggs)
Is it to his advantage to play up his blackness? The answer is Yes. Just like Salahuddin Ayub now admits his mother is Chinese (adopted & raised by Malay) since he’s begun campaigning in Johor. Nizar Jamaluddin’s half-Chinese parentage too is a big boost to his popularity among Chinese oppo supporters.
Obama also plays up his ‘exotic’-ness (the Kenyan & Indonesian connections).
Does Obama play up his whiteness? It’s reassuring to the 40% whites who trust him. He doesn’t fail to mention he was brought up by his white grandparents. He plays all sides.
(2) “Hell, even his name is still Barack Hussein Obama.”
But the Hussein name has been problematic. Why doesn’t he use his middle initial? John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, George W. Bush…
He keeps the Hussein out of public eye. Ridhuan tonjolkan his acquired Mohd and Abdullah. But he’s still got the Tee.
(3) “Speaking of Obama in African clothing”, the url you provided was a 2006 photo. That was a good 2 years before he ran for President. And in fact, the photo was used negatively against him. It’s like the Tengku Razaleigh situation. KuLi was on a visit to Sabah. His hosts offered him the tengkolok with the (resembling) cross motif. It would have been rude to say ‘No’, just like Najib does not reject garlands at Indian functions.
The Obama pix was during his visit to Kenya. It would have been rude as well for him to have said No. The test is whether he would wear the same get-up anytime his campaign across the USA in his tens of thousands of public appearances. Obviously he hasn’t, has he (i.e. worn the same African garb when on the stump in 2008 and 2012).
(4) Your second url link leads to the celebration of “Black Women in American Culture and History.”
The above exhibition does not link Obama to his Kenyan roots. He’s not female last anybody could see.
And I’ve always maintained that Michelle is very black (sista). It would be stupid not to suck up to a devoted group that voted 95% for you.
(5) Below is screenshot of the biodata from his blog.
In this recent Utusan column (there have been others), RT claims “saya juga adalah Cina”.
Since RT’s blog biodata and his statements in B & W admit that he’s Chinese, how can you imply that he “refuse(s) to acknowledge his Chinese lineage”?
Aaah, but he’s Muslim first (this one definite), Malaysian second (my conjecture) and Chinese last.
See the Hannah Yeoh parallel: Christian First-Second, Malaysian-First-Second, Chinese last.
(6) “It is more than just eating Kenyan food or wearing Kenyan clothes.”
Interesting. So you’re saying Obama is still in touch with his Kenyan roots but not through his dressing or his diet. Then what are your criteria that he’s still got Kenya in him?
Ridhuan’s argument is that the rest of us have still got the Chinese in us in the form of the “ultra kiasu” element.
(7) How do you propose that Ridhuan Tee’s “venomous writings” be mitigated? He has two newspaper columns, you know, and is given a wide airing on TV, radio and at other public events (where he appears wearing songkok).
The man’s got a dedicated fan base who don’t see that his writing is venomous. So how, ah?
Oh yeah, and you still haven’t answered my earlier question on how to counter the SSS movement. Do give constructive suggestions lah rather than just come in here and hammer me left and right.
1) But does Obama chastise the blacks and call them ungrateful, ultra-kiasu, etc, and threaten unrest? Like what Ridhuan does? Nope, Obama’s platform embraces multiculturalism
2) Bill Clinton is well known without his middle name. So is Ronald Reagan, William Taft, Richard Nixon, and Jimmy Carter.
3) And Obama wears the more internationally recognized suit and tie, but will not hesitate to wear cultural clothing (like the indonesian shirt when he visited the place for a summit). Similarly back home, our Chinese, Indian, and Malay ministers all appear in suits and ties except during cultural or religious functions.
4) The link is to the white house website titled “Obama Administration Celebrates Black History Month”. FYI, Black History Month is a yearly event in the US, with different themes each year. If Obama was a Ridhuan like you mentioned, he would likely shy away from such association.
5) He condemns the Chinese and other minorities to try to appeal to the far right Malay crowd… the type of people that populate Perkasa and Utusan’s offices.
What would you think of a person who admits he’s Chinese (can’t hide that one), but goes all out to vilify them?
>> Aaah, but he’s Muslim first (this one definite), Malaysian second (my conjecture) and Chinese last.
Annd… I did not use that as my criteria. Maybe that is yours. But it certianly something you added on.
6) >>Then what are your criteria that he’s still got Kenya in him?
Obama acknowledges his Kenyan heritage, AND (capitalized in case you miss the point)… he doesn’t chastise the blacks/african americans and try to curry favor with white Americans.
7) Let him. I always find the rantings and ravings by the far right crowd like the Sarkas SS, Perkasa, Pekida, and other what not to be beneficial by alienating the middle ground, and minority groups. One reason why Romney lost was due to the noise coming from the far right Tea Party faction. That also answers my previous comment.
So your comparison of Ridhuan and Obama is way off mark. Anyone who is familiar with both men would seriously laugh at your idea.
(1) Let’s say you are on the other side of the debating table facing off Ridhuan. What will your arguments be to deflate the rant that his favourite target (the Chinese) are certainly not ungrateful, ultra-kiasu and enemies of Islam?
(2) I’m not mandating that he must be Barack H. Obama. What I’m saying is that the sound of ‘Hussein’ was an issue exploited by his detractors. When
he was standingObama was campaigning in 2007-8, ‘Hussein’ was probably the second best known Muslim name (after Muhammad) to the Americans in the form of Saddam Hussein who was big news — Uncle Sam’s arch enemy. Did Obama play down ‘Hussein’? I’d say that he did.(3) Again you miss my point. If Obama was in Indonesia and he wore batik, no big deal what. Sarkozy/Hollande would have done the same. At some leaders’ summit, I see that the a uniform (for the pro forma photocall) is provided to everyone and reflecting the native apparel. The thing is would he wear an African robe or a batik shirt if he was campaigning in New Hampshire?
“Similarly back home, our Chinese, Indian, and Malay ministers all appear in suits and ties except during cultural or religious functions.” Here you’re wrong. Dr M has been photographed in baju Melayu at non cultural or religious functions. Rais & Muhyiddin too.
(4) If now you’re telling me that”Black History Month is a yearly event in the US, with different themes each year”, then what’s the big deal if during G.W. Bush’s tenure they had the same?
(5) There’s no issue about any “adding on”. I’m sure the readers are aware that it was my remark as after all Malaysian First is one of the main the topics in my blog.
You state: “He condemns the Chinese and other minorities to try to appeal to the far right Malay crowd.” And I agree. So what can YOU do about it to make the psywar situation better (for the people at the receiving end of Ridhuan’s condemnation)?
(6) “Obama acknowledges his Kenyan heritage”. Ridhuan acknowledges his Chinese heritage too (as testified by the screenshot). I would put Obama’s acknowledgement of his Kenyan heritage at par with Ridhuan’s acknowledgement of his Chinese heritage.
(7) Are you sure you know where the middle ground is? If 9 out of 10 are far-right, the 10th person may actually be a centrist-conservative but sitting among that lot, he’d be perceived as radical left. Everything is relative. So is middle ground.
The same rantings and ravings by the Chinese/non-Muslims that invariably greet Ridhuan will not convince his Malay-Muslim admirers that he is off mark. So again, and puh-leez lah be constructive. How do you propose to package some effective counter-arguments to deflect Ridhuan’s venomous persuasion that is increasingly gainsing traction amongst a Muslim-Malay audience?
Helen, i have been busy the last few days, including a trip out of Malaysia. To conclude this discussion:
1) Perhaps we concur that Obama, unlike Ridhuan, doesn’t demonize his own ethnic group to attempt to cozy up with the white rightwing
My counterpoints are simple:
– How are other races & religions (not just Chinese) asking for fairer treatment be deemed ultra-kiasu?
– In fact, ultra-kiasu would be best used to describe far right people like himself who want to exact dominance on minorities, and are afraid of allowing other ethnics more equality, despite Malays are a majority in this nation. Kiasu: afraid to lose
– Grovelling to the far right crowd? Have some dignity…
2) Searches of the whitehouse official website ( “barack hussein obama” site:whitehouse.gov ) will return transcripts of speeches in which ‘Hussein’ is included
3) Similar, I’ve seen photos of people Charles Santiago, Guan Eng, Soi Lek wearing batik shirt in local events, sometimes even to their own ethnic functions. Does that mean that they’ve forsaken their local culture?
4) The point is if Obama were such a panderer to the white majority, he would not have bothered to celebrate or acknowledge it.
5) See #7 below
6) >> “Obama acknowledges his Kenyan heritage”. Ridhuan acknowledges his Chinese heritage too (as testified by the screenshot). I would put Obama’s acknowledgement of his Kenyan heritage at par with Ridhuan’s acknowledgement of his Chinese heritage.
But to equate the two is totally off mark. I also acknowledge my own heritage and speak 3 languages fluently. Does that make me just like Ridhuan? Heck, going by your logic, does that even make me like Obama? Because, you know… Obama & I both don’t try pandering to rightwing faction.
7) If people like Ridhuan were “gaining traction”, we would have seen massive rallies by far right ethnic religious groups. This has not happened. Their rallies have been blanks with little or no people coming.
Najib himself has belatedly acknowledged that any political group needs support from all ethnic groups to be able to win, and not just focus on one race.
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/litee/malaysia/article/najib-uses-romney-defeat-to-warn-divided-umno
(3) Now you claim CSL wears batik. Earlier you said “our Chinese, Indian, and Malay ministers all appear in suits and ties except during cultural or religious functions”. So to clarify, are you saying that CSL wears a suit to govt and business functions but wears batik to Chinese and Buddhist/Taoist functions?
(7) You say: “The [far right Malay] rallies have been blanks with little or no people coming.” I agree with your observation about the lack of turnout to their events. However does it mean that Ridhuan Tee has no traction in terms of influencing ideas/thoughts?
I really want you to be correct that Ridhuan Tee is not able to convince the Malays and the Muslims to his line of thinking and to his views of the Chinese race.
Therefore please reflect carefully on this contention on RT’s effectiveness and assess it realistically — not as you want things to be but things as they are (a good general prepares for battle by knowing the real strength of this opponent, and not by wishfully under-rating his foe).
My posting on Sept 26 titled ‘Adakah Ridhuan Tee seorang Melayu?‘ received 105 reader comments. As blog administrator, I can tell you this.
If RT’s name is mentioned in any of the pro-opposition websites, you can be sure that he would be cursed with a string of invectives by their readers. Of the 100-plus comments that appeared in the RT-titled thread in my blog, I did not reject any submitted comment for rudeness nor censor for profanities thrown at him b’cos there were none.
Meaning that the 105 comments that you read in that particular thread appear exactly as they were sent to me. And the general tone is favourable of Ridhuan or defend him. It’s a sampling worth for you to take note.
3) >>Now you claim CSL wears batik. Earlier you said “our Chinese, Indian, and Malay ministers all appear in suits and ties except during cultural or religious functions”. So to clarify, are you saying that CSL wears a suit to govt and business functions but wears batik to Chinese and Buddhist/Taoist functions?
From my previous comments:
“…Similarly back home, our Chinese, Indian, and Malay ministers all appear in suits and ties except during cultural or religious functions.”
“Similar, I’ve seen photos of people Charles Santiago, Guan Eng, Soi Lek wearing batik shirt in local events, sometimes even to their own ethnic functions. Does that mean that they’ve forsaken their local culture?”
Before we get distracted from the original point we’re discussing… Obama wears the standard suit+tie. But so do our local politicos. The fact that Obama wears suits and hardly ethnic garb can’t be used to prove your point, as our own politicians also frequently wear suits.
7) If we analyze the ‘105 comments’, we find they are mostly written by the same small circle of familiar readers who frequently visit your blog. And most of the comments are replies, threads, exchanges & sub-discussions between several readers. Hardly a barometer to gauge if RT has been effective to the masses.
As for the responses to RT’s essays in TMI, Malaysia Today, Malaysia Chronicle, etc., many of them will be name calling, but theres also a good number of responses that debunks & criticizes RT’s points. Another thing is there are less sub-comments or replies and the higher ratio of individual persons to total comments.
In summary, take the example: 100 comments by 20 people, vs 80 comments made by 70 people
(3) Fact: Obama wears suits (correct)
Fact: Obama hardly wears ethnic garb (correct)
Fact: Our own politicians also frequently wear suits (correct)
You missed the fact that our own politicians also frequently wear ethnic garb, e.g. Dr M in his baju Melayu
(7) The participants who took part in my RT thread were Moya, Helen Ang, lone ranger, Ayob, I.D.A., CeMcHcZee, Anakjamil, Servant of God, Dinodean, tebing tinggi, marhaeman, atas pagar, Jsper, Khairul, nalza@700, usin, Rakesh Kumar, Elijah, Malaysian, I hate n’sync, lousy.engineer, MalaysianinNewYork, Bisu, The Dictator, Chinky and azizah. But I agree about the “sub-discussions between several readers”.
Are these “sub-discussions between several readers” (I hate n’sync, Elijah etc) useful?
I would say Yes the exchanges in the threads are delving deeper into the topic (or some sometimes diverge from topic and go off a tangent of their own) but they do lend a wider perspective.
On the other hand, you appear to be putting down the value of say 5 comments from one guy as opposed to one-off comments from 5 different individuals.
Let’s take Malaysiakini‘s ‘ Dong Zong’s demands ‘insolent’, says Ridhuan Tee‘ which elicited 146 comments as a case study.
(truncated excerpts)
It’s true that the 5 comments above came from 5 different individuals but are these views (just because they’re 5 in number) necessarily of more value than 5 comments coming from a single individual?
I didn’t even have to trawl to pick out the above sample comments. They were the first five to appear when we open the Malaysiakini comments section and they appeared successively — see their timestamps, also screenshot of the cited 5 comments in the Malaysiakini Ridhuan page here.
The second point that I wish to make is that there are as many exchanges between readers in news portals just as there were in the RT posting on my blog, i.e. same feature of commenters talking to each other.
A Malaysiakini subscriber calling himself ‘JimmyKL’ put in 7 comments (see, compiled in screenshot here) on the portal’s Ridhuan story, another subscriber using the pseudonym ‘Fact or Fiction’ (also 7 comments), Keturunan Malaysia (4 comments) … so I do have some doubt regarding your yardstick that the comments in portals are necessarily more diversified and hence a similar doubt when you claim that there are “a good number of responses that debunks & criticizes RT’s points”.
Let’s take comment (6)-(10) immediately following the first 5 Malaysiakini reader comments copypasted earlier.
(truncated excerpts)
So there reproduced above are the 10 first comments (according to chronological order) on Ridhuan in the Malaysiakini article. Pardon me for saying but I find it hard to credit your claim that “theres also a good number of responses that debunks & criticizes RT’s points”.
The odds really don’t favour a good number of responses that debunks & criticizes RT’s points. Instead the odds favour that a good number of responses are along the lines of some of the samples.
Going down the next 10 comments you get those accusing him “talk nonsense and gibberish”, “a man without any principle in life”, “a half baked convert” etc.
I fail to be convinced that the readers of news portals that you laud have managed to offer “a good number of responses that debunks & criticizes RT’s points”.
From the malaysiakini link you posted, count how many users who commented, out of the total 146.
Don’t forget to consider the comments from others who put in more input w/o using simple one-line retorts:
And sometimes, even the one-liners are effective in debunking the target
(like how one condemns Koreans but drives a Hyundai & uses Galaxy Tab)
You quoted four Malaysiakini reader comments.
Is a comment such as – “(Ridhuan’s) speeches are anything but venomous instigating muslims against non-muslims. The hell with you and utusan!” – a persuasive rebuttal? To convince neutral listeners, one has to present facts, not make name-calling accusations.
The second comment you quoted said “Even Malay parents sent their kids to chinese school” actually provides a justification for Ridhuan sending his own kids to Chinese school since his wife is apparently Malay (his neighbour Shamshul Anuar can confirm this for us) and he is almost a constitutional Malay bar the pre-Merdeka date of birth requirement.
As for your analogy “like how one condemns Koreans but drives a Hyundai & uses Galaxy Tab”, aiyah, we in Malaysia use Microsoft but burn American flag every time there’s a flare-up in Palestine what
….Dress codes, reading the doa before and after any school events, strongly influential agama teachers, etc….
Disagree.You merepet la..
I was fm convent. Only 1 Chinese clerk, 1 Malay ustazah the rest were all nuns. Each morning “come holy ghost” to start our days. Uniform pleated skirts. Church and nuns hostel just via side gates.
Majority of my classmates, in fact the school were Chinese.. Tak kalut pon and Christians then were mainly Indian orphans.
Four if my siblings r xSJKCs.. Four from missionery schools.
Even today we still follow his ways, some of his cucu sent to SJKC, national schools, Private English, Jap preschool and full sekolah Agama.
Best Jap concept. Highest result 12A1 fm Agama school. Among them SJKC bottom of our list.. sekadar pandai cakap cina saja.. left behind.
>>is a comment such as – “(Ridhuan’s) speeches are anything but venomous instigating muslims against non-muslims. The hell with you and utusan!” – a persuasive rebuttal? To convince neutral listeners, one has to present facts, not make name-calling accusations.
ah, but you have missed the points written before that sentence…
“Firstly, demand for language teachers has nothing to do with Communist ideology. Second, this is not a racial rally but for adequate language teachers. I fail to see your justification of national threat that warrants ISA. Third, it is sad people like condemn your roots, culture and language just because you convert to a different faith”
>>The second comment you quoted said “Even Malay parents sent their kids to chinese school” actually provides a justification for Ridhuan sending his own kids to Chinese school since his wife is apparently Malay (his neighbour Shamshul Anuar can confirm this for us) and he is almost a constitutional Malay bar the pre-Merdeka date of birth requirement.
Having his kids study there is fine. I know many non Chinese parents who have children in Chinese schools. But doing it, and then condemning the system & calling for tougher laws against it reeks of… hypocrisy.
In fact, his own excuses to justify this double standard is weak, since Mandarin can be learned in private centers… if he only wants them to learn it for purposes of conversion.
We don’t have to ask Shamsul for confirmation. Mr.RT admits this himself, with a cop-out excuse:
http://www.sinarharian.com.my/kolumnis/ridhuan-tee-abdullah/bertindaklah-dengan-cerdik-1.92369
>>As for your analogy “like how one condemns Koreans but drives a Hyundai & uses Galaxy Tab”, aiyah, we in Malaysia use Microsoft but burn American flag every time there’s a flare-up in Palestine what
So I suppose there is no irony/hypocrisy in branding vernacular education “anti-national”, “Communist”, and how it should be cracked down… while sending your children to study there. Right?
To clarify, I’m aware that RT has admitted that his kids are in Chinese school. I was referring / wondering about his wife being Malay and whether Shamshul as his neighbour could confirm this detail for us.
Re: the Dong Zong rally
(1) “this is not a racial rally but for adequate language teachers” — if Dong Zong is complaining about the lack of teachers, why then (presumably Malay) teachers for the BM subject (but who cannot speak Mandarin)?
(2) “it is sad people like condemn your roots, culture and language just because you convert to a different faith”
I know lah that this is a common criticism directed at RT mostly by Chinese readers.
But to return to the crux of our contention, which is whether RT has gained followers to his anti-Chinese prejudices and hard line of thinking.
This guy is criticising RT in the English section of Malaysiakini. How are these criticisms to reach those segments of the Malay audience who may not be conversant with the English language and who read Utusan, Metro and watch TV3?
Some weeks ago, RT moderated a forum organised by Perkasa. He was in his element.
My original concern is whether RT is getting any traction and I fear that he is. We’re assessing whether what he says is being effectively debunked.
I’ll give you one example. RT likes to repeat the canard that there are more temples than masjid in Malaysia. He has no data to back up his claim. Yet this trope is being endlessly recycled and circulated in Malay language discussions.
It doesn’t matter if the English-speaking Malaysiakini subscribers scoff at RT. The question is whether those Malay-only speaking readers of Utusan hold him in high regard.
Obama doesn’t disassociate/divorce himself from his Kenyan side. He does not pretend he isn’t of African origin, or act more white than the whites themselves and demonize blacks in the USA. Even his name is still Barack Hussein Obama, and not changed to become more Caucasian like say Brian or Bradley.
The same can’t be said of Ridhuan Tee. I know you are already familiar with his venomous writings.
Now the question of whether a Chinese/Indian/Malay is divorced or not from his roots… that is a very arbitrary question. For example, you may measure his Chineseness by whether he eats with chopsticks, but he may also very well prefer branded Western goods over Asian ones, and prefer holidays in Europe instead of China.
Or a Malay girl who eats nasi lemak, nasi ulam, etc., but goes to the doctor to make her skin whiter and her eyes more Westernized with the double eyelid.
Even when it comes to clothes, we all wear Westernized clothing now… the traditional garb is only taken out from the closet for special occasions.
Would the masses of tens of thousands of Malay, Chinese, Indian, Iban, Dusun, etc. people rocking out to Sigur Ros at Urbanscapes just now be considered by you to be “divorced from their roots”? Because they like a band from Iceland?
Speaking of Obama in African clothing and other things…
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7263783.stm
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/03/06/obama-administration-celebrates-black-history-month
Just to let you (and other readers) know: Your comment above accidentally got diverted to spam.
I suspect it’s because you put 2 urls. My comment filter setting allows five embedded urls (if I remember correctly) so it shouldn’t be a problem but yours could have gotten stuck due to the 2 urls one following the other, or perhaps b’cos the key word is ‘Obama’.
If any one your comments fail to appear (after a reasonable lag time), pls follow up by putting in a note to alert me.
(1) I read somewhere that when he was younger, he went by the Americanized name ‘Barry’. You can Google this.
(2) I like Finnish band what.
GoogleSearch ‘Nightwish’ in my blog domain. Don’t lah trivialize the argument.(3) “Speaking of Obama in African clothing” — I’ve replied to this is my other response to you.
Again this blog devolves into issues of race. Or shall we consider it as Ethnicity, because it how we define ourselves that counts.
In the 2010 census Obama declared himself Black.
As MALAYsians, we are lucky to have the 2010 census form online.
See page 4 of Document 3B, Collective Living Quarters Questionnaire, which codes for classiying the various ethnicities/ nationalities.
http://www.statistics.gov.my/mycensus2010/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=83&lang=en
Some codes are unusual.
I can’t understand why a special code is dedicated for residents of Cocos Island.
What’s the difference between “Hokchia” and “Hokchiu”, aside from the last vowel? I am reminded of what an American friend told me — “They all look slant to me”.
Indian muslim is a category unto itself. For the life of me, I didn’t know there was difference between Punjabi and Sikh.Don’t both categories qualify as towel-heads?
According to the census code tabulation, the word ‘bangsa’ is loosely translated as ‘nationality’ when classifying ‘other Asians/Europeans’.
One wonders which codes Ridhuan Tee and Hannah Yeoh would use to fill in “Ethnic Group” box. Would Ridhuan Tee be comfortable putting ‘Indian Muslim’ because it has ‘Muslim’ in the code? Would Hanna Yeoh use “serani” because it alludes to a Christian background? Does Tony Fernandez qualify as a Serani or would he be Tamil because of his appearance?
What would Helen put? There isn’t a Han Chinese category, so she can’t use her favored Chinese flavor.
For me, it’s a toss up. I can’t qualify as Malay because I don’t look the part. I can’t be asian entirely (again due to looks) and I can’t qualify as European as the ‘caucasian’ side of me actually comes from the Levant, not continental Europe. Knowing the function of the questionnaire is to gather statistics for use in policy-making, I would put “MALAY”. I guess that’s why it’s given the first code.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sikhism is the religion, Sikh is the adherent. — Helen
Which still raises the question, why was “Sikh” put under the Ethnicity category?
The link you provided can’t open at my end. Can you recheck url?
Check this link:
http://www.statistics.gov.my/mycensus2010/
Under the “Information” drop down menu, choose “Questionnaires”.
Punjab is a geographical region and Sikh is a religion. Not all Punjabis are of Sikh religion. There are Hindu and Muslim Punjabis too.
In fact Punjab was divided into 2 (East and West Punjab) when India and Pakistan were granted Independence from the British rule.
I agree the categorisation does not make sense or even comprehensive. For example Indian Tamils and Sri Lankan Tamils. The category of Indian Muslims is also strange since Malabaris are one group of Indian Muslims who hail from Kerala. Not all Indian Muslims are Malabar.
BTW your comment that the Punjabis are “towel-heads” is highly insensitive.
‘For the life of me, I didn’t know there was difference between Punjabi and Sikh. Don’t both categories qualify as towel-heads?’
Maaan… you are one ignorant dumb fuck.
Johnny Malaya,
Dr Ridhuan Tee is my neighbour. I am not so sure which part of his writing is “venomous”.
I feel he is a honest man. He just remind the Chinese that they simply have to stop behaving like “pendatang”. Malays in general do not call Chinese as “pendatang” for no reason. It is the attitude of many Chinese politicians who wage war against the Malays that resulted in Malays calling Chinese as “pendatang”.
Dr Ridhuan never tries to be a Malay. He is a Chinese. He told me what many Chinese said about the Malays in Mandarin. Of course, many are not printable here. And i am not surprise. Many of my Malay friends who are fluent in Mandarin told me what transpired and sometimes the words are plain insult.
As for wearing songkok, what about it? It is just a head gear known in Malay world. No difference than a hat in western culture. Wearing a songkok does not make you a Malay.
WHAT IRRITATE YOU IS THAT YOU feel Ridhuan as a Chinese should not use his extensive writing to support the Malays and concerns. You are upset because there is a Chinese scholar who is willing to accept that Malays too have legitimate concern.
With due respect to Chinese, I notice many of them look down or ridicule whatever Malay arguments. They rubbish Malay legitimate concern on Christian using “allah” therefore diluting the very essence of islam. They accuse UMNO of racist for speaking on Malay concern.
They are upset with Keris issue that they purposely twisted while Hishamuddin never implied any threat to Chinese. Yet they felt nothing for insulting Dr Zambri by calling him “bastard’.
As long as Chinese community is willing to tolerate racist among them (DAP), then they must be prepared for a collision with Malays. DAP hides behind the so called Chinese interests to attack the Malays. Naturally, when the Malays react, Chinese will find them on the front line.
The Malaysian Chinese will do well in their own interests to vote for BN and not the PR in which the DAP claims to represent them.
After all these years of Lee Kuan Yew’s one-man over-50 year rule of Singapore ( from whom the DAP leadership draws its inspiration and imply they are just like him who had a war-time Double First Law degree from Cambridge and maybe a Third Class at the Bar Finals, London ), Singapore is now floundering as can be discerned from the following :-
1. Money was used as an intrument of foreign policy to kill, maim and injure the men, women and children of friendly countries. Malaysia has no blood on her hands. Vide. The ASEAN Regional News. The Flying Dutchman episode.
2. The 2 child-family policy of 1970s-1980s reduced the procreation of the Singaporean Tribe to a replacement rate of 1.2. Apart from China, only Hitler fiddled with the demographics. The 1% elite has now to be filled by rich Chinamen and Indiamen – hence the annual increase of millionaires and the manual workers are not counted. QED
3. The infamous loss of US$108 Billions ( RM 250 Billions ) of the citizens Trust money by the much-touted meritocratic pyramid with the smartest fellow at the top in October 2008 on Wall Street. Vide Channelnewsasia. Lee Kuan Yew. November 2008. All Singaporean Blogs. 2009-2010. Financial Times London. Gillian Tett. ‘ Singapore’s Harvard Investment Model ‘. April 2010. Wain. ‘ Malaysian Maverick ‘. The Star. Seah Chiang Nee Columns. Saturdays.
Singapore, a sovereign state, not only aped a university’s investment model but also surrendered her sovereignty to the Wall Street riff-raffs.
4. Humanity and multiculturalism not practised in Singapore. Vide. Channelnewsasia. The Curry Smell Tribunal. 2011. The Toilet Fights. 2012. Singapore is most emotionless country in the World. 2012. The treatment of the 80 Chinese bus drivers. 2012. The injuries of 89 shipyard workers. 2012.
5. The perfunctory Judiciary Vide. Admiral Canaris was stripped naked by Hitler to demean him and hung him naked with piano wires. The unfortunate and fortunate Dr Chee. The unfortunate and unfortunate Tan Koon Swan. Woffles Wu. Howard Shaw. etc.etc.
6. The daily importation of 5,000 pigs, the flower nurseries contracts. the sale of Kim Eng Securities to Maybank, etc.etc.
7. Up to 2011, Lee Kuan Yew had a salary of at least S$2 Million per annum.
8. Miscellaneous.
If Lee Kuan Yew who has a wartime Double First in Law from the University of Cambridge, maybe a Third Class in the Bar Finals, London, made the above titanic mistakes during his one-man over 50 year rule of Singapore, all Malaysian Chinese cannot vote for the DAP leadership who could not compare with Lee Kuan Yew’s intellect in a diverse and complicated country like, Malaysia. Do not forget DAP is in a minority of a quorum of 3. DAP ends up worse than MCA which is No.2 in BN.
Vote BN. All Malaysian Chinese and all Malaysians. From the above, there is nothing Lee Kuan Yew and Singapore can teach us.
Helen,
Dr Ridhuan’s wife is a malay. And Dr ridhuan is a Chinese. But he is accepted whole heartedlly by Malays as he is whom we call “Umat Nabi muhammad SAW”.
May i emphasize that the issue here is not about learning a language. By all means, the more language we know, the better.
The elephant in the house is the system that literally creates an invisible wall among us: separate school system.
We can pretend everything is OK. But i symphatise with many pupils who feel very awkward to mingle with other races as they are separated from tender age.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thanks for answering our query on Dr Ridhuan’s wife. — Helen
JohnnyMalaya,
Once I told off an Indian girl not to hate herself due to her dark complexion. She has inferiority complex as she is dark.
No thanks to beauty line that insults people with darker complexion.
Beauty is only skin deep as it is said.
“AH JIB GOR WE LOVE YOU”. “Thank you belly much for the money”
But come GE, I vote DAP lo. They are Chinese party ma.
Ms H. There is nothing wrong with our Malaysian Style Democratic with its Open Capitalist characteristics System. The moment we eschew from the MONEY MONEY MONEY policies of the tiny Republic of Singapore and do not worship the CULT OF THE GDP and return to NORMALCY eg. jobs, food on the table, housing, education, transport etc for the RAKYAT, the BN Government should last another 58 years !
re: “the BN Government should last another 58 years”
Uncle Ed, this is the Najib gomen you’re talking about where his Youth Minister’s SUV number plate is “KJ 10 Q” and the party delegates in PWTC chanted “KJ rasuah! KJ rasuah! KJ rasuah!” in the Pemuda wing election five years ago.
This is the Najib gomen yang dipandu konsetan rather than the civil service and EPU.
This is the Najib gomen that obtained the lowest popular vote for BN in the history of the ruling coalition, worse than the Alliance’s performance even in May 1969.
Click to view
What Ah Jib is doing right now is slow motion suicide.
Helen,
Just to recap-the below was my analysis of the GE13.
——————————————————
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2013/07/31/13th-ge-mathematical-proof-of-chinese-tsunami/
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2013/09/03/mathematical-proof-of-chinese-tsunami-part-2/
——————————————————-
Coming back to this issue here, one key lesson about Obama’s win, especially the 2nd term is most pertinent to Malaysia and Malaysians. It shows that the minority actually can decide the winner in an election. This is exactly what almost happened in Malaysia in 2013 GE. In fact this is why PR got more votes than BN.
To the Malay community and UMNO, this is a major lesson to learn and bear in mind. An united Chinese allied with other minorities such as LGBT, Christian Indians, liberal Muslims, Wahhabi Muslims, etc. can change the political equation dramatically. Realizing that they almost won, DAP has added another key demographic to this mix – young and deluded Malays like the awek cuns brigade.
I know it is a popular hobby in UMNO now is Najib-bashing but they should be careful not to miss the forest for the trees. In fighting and disunity in UMNO now is the outcome that DAP is hoping for the most. The ultimate objective of DAP is to divide the Malays and weaken their power. UMNO and Malays must never forget this.
The intention of DAP is also to encourage the right-wingers to the power so the moderates are pushed out. I am sure DAP is more than happy to welcome those UMNO leaders who are deemed moderates immaterial of how tainted they are or how badly DAP hated them in the past.
One of the main reasons why UMNO lost many seats in Selangor and other Malay areas is in-fighting. This happened in 2004 too and that what triggered the Political Tsunami. Any disagreement in UMNO should be internally addressed and succession plan carefully plotted out so not to further divide the party and the Malays.
DAP’s propaganda is to paint Umno as “racist” and “extremist”. And Najib’s GMM is funding The J-Star to do this and his PM’s Dept created the NUCC for much the same death wish.
Umno is losing the perception war as long as it allows its enemies to go on the warpath depicting “racist”, “extremist”, haters, venom-spewing bigots painting the Malay party as the biggest culprit.
Especially when the young urban Malays are successfully schooled by the DAP School of Democracy, you’ll agree with me.
Najib is so losing the plot.
Take a good look at what is happening now in Ferguson. The first African American president did nothing for the blacks, and all he can say is that people must calm down because America is a nation of the rule of law.
Blacks thought they made it by voting for him and he became president. The same thing will happen to the Chinese once that Maoist party win power. Then you can shout out and say I told you so !
http://www.ijreview.com/2014/11/196832-actor-economist-ben-stein-calls-obama-racist-president-u-s-history/
Imagine the same happened in Malaysia – instead of being a riot, PR would have called it due to racist policies of UMNO and the world press would be churning out stories about how a Malay majority is bully the minorities. I bet LGE and LKS would be in the forefront stoking fires.
Yes, this DAP’s School of Democracy is a propaganda school that takes a leaf from the PKM – DAP’s spiritual predecessor. It is churning out brainwashed dozens of zombies of Malay youth who gonna be a game changer in the next GE if UMNO is still on the “Sleep Mode”.
I believe some of these folks are the ones who are writers or contributors in the usual PR propaganda machine such as MI, MKini, etc.
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2014/11/26/if-chinese-crucial-dayaks-integral-to-bn-rule/
Najib’s over-emphasis on Chinese votes is making the Dayaks disgruntled.
James Masing has a point that the native Sarawak vote is more reliable than the Chinese vote.
One of the news that Dapsters here are going berserk now is about Jokowi taking an economy class flight to his son’s graduation.
The Dapsters here were deflated when I questioned on why Jokowi’s son even studying in Singapore since primary school and had no answers. Their excitement markedly went down after that.
I also told them that LGE their Tokong doesn’t travel by econ class anymore despite the propaganda by the RBA.
Ng Suee Lim seem to liken Azmin to Widodo if his tweet yesterday was anything to go by.
“@ladymissazira sy akan terus pantau proses percepatkan pembinaan RMM selangorku oleh Kerajaan MB Jokomin.”
Forgive my failing memory but did he not support Kak Wan for the MB position prior to Azmin’s appointment? As for the PAS-DAP cooperation, why on earth was ADUN Sekinchan also nominated as the deputy speaker?
re: “Forgive my failing memory but did he not support Kak Wan for the MB position prior to Azmin’s appointment?”
Chameleon, just like how Our First Lady Speaker couldn’t wait (till next morning) to congratulate the new MB. She tweeted late in the night.
FFC – I said it before that DAP is the ultimate Political Biawak. They can change their colours at the snap of the finger or the change of the leader.
Not just DAP supported Kak Wan but they were so opposed to Azmin for years fearing him as a corrupt and uncontrollable cowboy.
Did you know that none of the Chinese alumni of St Xaviers or Penang Free School actually send their kids back to the school? They send their kids to Chinese schools.
That’s how the Yahudi Yeohs infiltate the Chinese schools in Penang.
PS. Only the Huanna and Keling alumni send their kids there.
The Chinese send their kids hopefully to Chung Ling.
Are you as curious as I am as to how Najib and Syed Ali Alhabshee plan to recapture the Chinese electorate who live in quite a separate world altogether?
Oh, and btw did you watch the video clip of the hyenas eating alive the pregnant zebra?
Perhaps use black magic.
Worked well with the Sun Ho fan club.