The video below was uploaded on 28 Oct 2010 by YouTube account user JomUbahMsia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lz0pZAKzH0
The speaker is Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani, acting Umno Titiwangsa division chief at the material time. He was speaking behind closed doors to a Malay audience at the PWTC.
Titiwangsa is a Parliament seat which has the highest number of Malay voters in the KL Federal Territory.
In 2008, Dr Lo’ Lo’ Ghazali became the first ever opposition candidate to win Titiwangsa, a constituency covering the ‘famous’ Kampung Baru. The PAS lady MP succumbed to cancer in July 2011 and the seat has remained vacant since.
Below are screenshots of the Umno Titwangsa chief’s video clip with English subtitles.
“Tetapi saya punya approach, pandangan saya, orang Cina dengan orang India ini biarlah,” he revealed.
Johari was applauded by his listeners for remarking that, “If you, gentlemen, can secure 70 percent of the 32,000 Malay votes, then we won’t need Chinese and Indian votes”.
His video – recorded in July 2010 and leaked on the eve of the Galas and Batu Sapi by-elections which were held concurrently on Nov 4 – caused an uproar among the non-Malays who roundly condemned him. (Chinese made up 20 percent of the voters in Galas and 40 percent in Batu Sapi.)
A Malaysiakini article on 2 Nov 2010 headlined ‘Titiwangsa Umno chief in damage-control bid‘ reported:
“In a statement yesterday, which was carried by the Chinese newspapers, Johari said he had no intention of inciting racial feelings, offending or maligning any ethnic group or religion.”
It was Johari’s second apology. The first was carried in his blog a few days earlier on Oct 28 where he gave the excuse that his speech was “taken out of context”, saying:
“It is not that I could care less about the Chinese and Indian voters… my main focus was the split in the Malay electorate and how obtaining 70 percent of the Malay votes could secure BN’s win.”
Johari also highlighted that in an earlier part which was not included in the widely circulated 2-minute clip, he had said that the BN component parties were capable of engaging the Chinese and Indian voters.
His clarification however failed to explain the bit where he had said:
“If we want to win in Titiwangsa, we want Malays (to vote for us). We want Malays. Don’t bow down to the Chinese and Indians just because we want to win. Don’t do it.”
That was two-and-a-half years ago. Fast forward to the present.
Umno wanted 70% Malay, DAP wants 70% Chinese
Predictably, Johari was called a “racist” and a “bigot” when he proposed that Umno should need to target 70 percent of the Malay votes in Titiwangsa.
Yet when DAP election strategist Liew Chin Tong unveiled his party’s calculations on race-based voting, the same opposition supporters did not label the Bukit Bendera MP and his party as racist.
Chin Tong’s projections were published in Lim Kit Siang’s blog, The Rocket, Malaysiakini, The Malaysian Insider, FMT and other news portals as well as reproduced in many blogs.
He had surmised, “From purely mathematic simulations, here are the possible scenarios in Johor assuming Indian support for Pakatan is constant:
Malay support at 25%, Chinese support at 65%, Pakatan will win just 1 parliamentary seat in Johor;
Malay support at 30%, Chinese support at 70%, Pakatan will win 6 seats
Malay support at 30%, Chinese support at 75%, Pakatan will win 12 seats
Malay support at 35%, Chinese support at 75%, Pakatan will win 16 seats
Malay support at 35%, Chinese support at 80%, Pakatan will win 20 seats
.
Chin Tong concluded: “Of course these are just simulations on paper. But it shows that Barisan Nasional’s castle may crumble if a perfect storm comes into shape.”
The DAP’s planned assault on Johor received heavy airplay as well as was hotly discussed.
Even my own blog used the Chin Tong formula to forecast permutations with regard to the Parliament seats in Kluang (below) and Batu Pahat (click here).
In my March 9 posting, I calculated a possible outcome in Kluang predicated on DAP receiving 70 percent of the Chinese votes.
Comparatively, Umno’s Johari was engulfed by a firestorm when in Oct 2010 it was exposed that he had urged his party machinery to set their objective at 70 percent of the Malay vote.
Recently the Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute (Asli) presented its report on the imminent GE13 and forecasting that 85 percent of urban Chinese will be backing the opposition. Asli is a think tank headed by Mirzan Mahathir as president.
Although 85 percent of the Chinese electorate is predicted to be pro-Pakatan, this figure does not automatically translate into the remaining 15 percent being pro-BN. As an individual belonging to this 15 percent group, I daresay some of us might ultimately keep ourselves perched firmly on the fence and abstain from exercising our vote.
With the benefit of hindsight, can we now ask ourselves how ‘wrong’ was the Umno division chief, really, in his pragmatism that BN should not rely on Chinese voters in his Titiwangsa urban area?
After all, Lim Guan Eng was reported by Malaysiakini as saying Pakatan Rakyat could retain his state if 90 percent of the Chinese throw their support behind Pakatan — see ‘“Let BN eat eggs” in Penang‘.
If desiring 70 percent Malay votes makes Johari Abdul Ghani a racist and a bigot in the eyes of the Dapsters, what does desiring 90 percent Penang Chinese votes make Guan Eng then?
Updated 11.20pm to correct typos
Helen Ang 
DAP s not a racist party. It is a multiracial party where the Chinese overwhelmingly elect overwhelmingly Chinese office bearers and where the Chinese make decisions for all their other Malay, Indian and other members. Even Hasnah Yeop considers her child Chinese despite existing convention.
All other parties except the DAP are racist parties and all other political leaders are racists except of course DAP politicians.
Betul tak Helen?
I think The Star should ask her what race is her second child.
Syabas! Perfect description of a ‘multiracial’ DAP
because it came out from a Malay mouth in a closed-door UMNO (the most racist party in Msia), that’s why!
If it comes out from LGE or any strategist from DAP, it’s the gospel truth. He is after all the saviour reincarnated (by twisted logic of Dapsters, Jerusubangites, the confused Malay & Indian liberals).
btw – just read an article in cracked.com on 5 wierdest things that turn you into a racist, among them is a hormone called oxycolin (if memory serves me well). Oxycolin derived from love (or something to that effect) & now I understand, why there’s so much of love coming out from the evangelista’s tweets!
It looks like The Evangelista is no longer making public all of her tweets unless one is her follower.
Yeah..this time dont vote Johari but vote BN
I think the difference here is that Ghani said that he didn’t need the Non-Malay vote (“don’t bow down”) and Tong concluded that “Working together is key to victory”.
Acknowledging the racial breakdown and who your voting base is may not be racist although it may be hypocritical if you claim that race does not matter – Bangsa Malaysia – but as far as I can tell, UMNO as usual has no idea how to play the game or maybe just predicatebly playing from its never really any good playbook.
One less reason to vote for them. But then again the reasons for not voting for PR are building up.
You think your 15% will accept a recalcitrant Indian who may abstain in this coming GE ?
Given the country’s demography today and into the future, Umno really does not need Chinese votes anymore. Just write off constituencies like Seputeh and Kepong, let DAP keep ’em.
I’m assuming the kind of sentiment professed by Ghani, incl. tak payah tunduk has been with his party for quite some time, and hence we hear him say what he did 2.5 years ago.
Conversely, in the last couple of years, the ABU sentiment has come out vocally in the open too, i.e. over their dead body they’d vote for Umno, anything but.
Therefore if we can be clinical about it (like I said, with the benefit of hindsight), what Johari said dovetails with the ABU development.
As for the DAP’s “Working together is key to victory”, their bowing and scraping for the Malay vote to the extent of the Selendang Squad setting up camp in suraus and mosques,
well, the party got the Indian vote in 2008 that in turn got them some of their less Chinese saturated seats. But what has “working together” to hand the DAP the key to tens of DUNs and some Parliament seats gotten the Indians?
More interesting to me is how far the Johari Ghani attitude has come today within Umno. One reader left the comment below:
With MCA’s behaviour like that, what would a typical Umno warlord think?
As for the 15%, we live in interesting times!
Oh, this I get but I think your original contention that the element of racism in Johari’s comments squared with that of the DAP chasing of the Chinese vote, was a wrong.
The DAP’s working together may be an absolute sham when it comes to the Indians – but I would argue even worse when it comes to the Malays – is still potent propaganda which UMNO should be using instead of retreating to communalism and racialism.
An argument for comparable racism would only come up if the DAP has said that they do not need the Malay vote (as Johari said of the Chinese vote)… keep in mind they have alluded to the fact that they do not need the Indian vote. The middle ground was supposed to be UMNO’s to lose.
As for the Star/MCA, I do not think that UMNO is too bothered about it. As you said demographic-wise, eventually Chinese propaganda organs would be worthless to UMNO. In this election, UMNO knows that it has lost the Chinese vote, so why bother with the MCA and Star.
At this point, any attacks against the Star would probably be perceived of more UMNO maliciousness.
What I find interesting in the racial sense is how Wong Tuck has thrown his hat into the [election] ring and the support seems to be overwhelming. Here is a man who has threatened a terrorist act and he gets a free pass.
I cannot help thinking if he was Malay and threatened an Opposition sponsored facility, the reaction would be different.
Sorry if this is off topic but I do have an interest in this subject.
Our point of agreement: “UMNO knows that it has lost the Chinese vote”
I just want to add, to be particular over semantics, did Johari say Umno “don’t” or “won’t” need Chinese & Indian votes?
Malaysiakini translated the specific sentence as “won’t need”, that is if 70 percent Malay votes can be secured.
Don’t (“do not need”) is the title of the YouTube clip uploaded by JomUbah which is a fair inference wrt Johari’s sentence translated by Malaysiakini as “Don’t bow down to the Chinese and Indians just because we want to win. Don’t do it.”
Our second point of agreement, DAP have signalled in more ways than one that they do not need the Indian vote.
We can see the pecking order: Umno is at the top of the food chain and does not need Chinese votes. DAP currently the No.2 strongest party does not need Indian votes. But DAP are still salivating for Malay votes which can take them many steps further.
Between Umno retreating to communalism and DAP’s hypocrisy on racialism, methinks the DAP double game is more dangerous.
Umno is daily bearing the brunt of the “racist” and “bigot” condemnation (including the covert article by that Star assoc. editor), and they might think since they are every day
beingaccused of being racists, they might as well prove their critics right by retreating to Tanah Melayu (mental realm).Whereas DAP and their Dapsters who are screaming that their opponents are “racists” and “bigots” might actually provoke a race riot, as in, “You guys are every day calling us the Klu Klux Klan. Do you want us to copycat the KKK and SHOW YOU what really happens when the majority behave like the KKK?”
re: “so why bother with the MCA and Star”
The Star, unlike SinChew, China Press et al, has a multiracial readership and it claims a 5.63 million audience and the Bangsar Malays whom it counts among its readers are more influential than the Pakcik in Gong Badak and the Makcik in Kubang Kerian.
re: Wang Tack
Please pen your views. I’ll put it up.
Helen,
I would say that over the years the alternative media and DAP (and their Cyber Red Guards) have done a massive job in painting UMNO as racist extremists.
Their tactics are simple: One, as in the case of Johari here, misrepresent what was said and spin as racist statement.
Second, pick up the statements of some low level leaders and present as the view of UMNO as whole. I don’t think there is a need to refuse that there are among UMNO members who have poor view of other races. But this is not the UMNO leadership’s view or the party’s policy.
The thing is when Ngeh accuses Indian votes can be garnered via mutton, it gets little traction. But if let’s say an UMNO state leader says the same thing, it would generate a firestorm stoked by Pakatan cyber thugs that he’ll be forced to resign.
When Ngeh calls Zamry hitam metallic, the media (including the MCA’s scissor – the Star) conveniently buries in inside pages. But had it been an UMNO leader, we will have weeks and months of controversy.
We know that PAS leaders are known to utter racist and chauvinist statements frequently but these are often dismissed by the Chinese.
So the thing is every party indulges in racial / religious politics but UMNO gets tarnished by racism accusations the most due to the cleaver and relentless propaganda by PR.
I think UMNO has not been effective in countering them. In fact one of the key election strategies of PR/DAP is in accusing and painting UMNO as racist. This was apparently suggested by PR’s electoral strategists hired from the US during the 2008 GE.
re: “I think UMNO has not been effective in countering them [the propagandists]”
Ya lor, kena left, right and centre from the alternative media and get backstabbed by The Scissors.
re: Wang Tack
Btw this hack now says that (from Mkini) “If you (Lynas) prove you can comply (with the regulation, then) not just Lynas, any industry can come in. But it must go through a stringent, open and transparent process.
“In detailed environmental impact assessments, public
consultation is very important. Let us go through the public consultation and ask our people whether the industry
(Lynas) could be accepted – that is the first thing,”
So after cyberbullying a credible expert, threatening to burn down the facility and having a big march because “lives were threatened”, he now takes the moderate line because he is on the DAP ticket and y’know, commerce trumps “rights” when it comes to the tokong.
Like I said. Power hungry hacks. I guess all those “concerned people” who took to the streets and didn’t bother to do their own research as a fuck you to UMNO have eggs on their faces.
See, UMNO does not have to waste money on goons to pelt eggs on these charlatans. All they have to do is give them time.
Helen,
Spot on. I concur with your views.
One thing that you did not touch upon is on why such thinking is being accepted by more and more Malays and UMNO leaders. If you notice, this is a more recent phenomenon, especially post 2008.
If you read the comments here and elsewhere and speak with the Malays on the ground, there has been a sea-change in their thinking. I think most Malays sincerely believed working with the Chinese and Indians in the spirit of the Social Contract and the Constitution. In fact with the improvement in the socioeconomic status of bumis, the end of NEP was not too far as even the Malays (including Dr M himself) understood the double-edged sword-effects of the policy to the bumis.
But the key thing here is that the entire fabric of Malaysia and the position of the various races should be based on the social contract as agreed by the fore fathers (whether it is in black and white or spirit). This is the premise that MCA and MIC had agreed with. However by agreeing to this, MCA and MIC appeared weak and subservient to UMNO in the eyes of many non bumis.
On the other hand, DAP based their struggle on the opposite platform, that is completely rejecting the social contract. While this looked populist and brave, this position too is not something that can be accepted by the bumis.
By voting for MCA and DAP, the Chinese played their hand carefully. But when the balance is shifted toward DAP/Opposition, the consequences are serious (as it was in 1969 and 2008). One of the reasons why UMNO indulged in gerrymandering is their fear of the Malays losing control politically as it was proven in 1969. The 1969 election had a big impact on their psyche.
This was not helped by the fact that DAP had even marched through the streets after their victory and challenging the Malays openly. This spooked the Malays. That’s why UMNO gerrymandered and retained bulk of the seats and able to form govt. on its own if needed. But to UMNO’s credit, it also allowed MCA and MIC to contest in Malay majority areas so the Chinese and Indians get their own representation. This is a fact that the Chinese often overlook.
The 2008 GE was another eye opener. DAP’s racial rhetoric and open challenge (remember LGE’s first statement as the CM was that he wants to repel the NEP) to the Social Contract, Malay rights and constitution. This sparked fears. The Malays also shocked when 80% of the Chinese (and Indians) ditched BN and voted for PR. To them this means a rejection of the foundation of that Malaysian was built on.
The Malays know DAP’s true colors as seen by their anti Malay stance over the years. By voting for DAP, the Chinese not just rejected BN but also the very concept of Malaysia as agreed by our forefathers.
The rise of Perkasa too is a direct consequence of this development.
I agree with you Calvin. Umno in Johor is still campaigning for MCA, MIC and Gerakan, despite their grumbling about the lack of support from their component partners. I don’t know about other places, but in some areas in Johor, Umno had to directly engage the Chinese and Indian NGOs.
Calvin,
There is actually no such thing as “social contract”. what we have is a specific provision on Malays in the Constitution. And the specific provision is there in the Constitution simply because Malay rulers and malays agreed to changing the status of Malay states from being exclusively malays to multi racial through liberal citizenship exercise that until today unmatched by any standard. The word ‘social contract” is a convenient way of explaining understanding that while “tanah melayu” changed overnight to be multi racial, basic structure and history needs to be respected.
UMNO holds dominant position within BN . And it earns its dominance by getting the lion share of votes from the largest etnic group, the Malays. That is the only reason why it reigns supreme in BN. there is nothing to be embarassed with that.
Perikatan did not lose 1969 election. at Federal level, it still held power. In selangor, UMNO did not lose either. Rather it was a hung result. But a procession from Jinjang that passed Kg Baru did the provocation when Malay folks pelted with stones. Believe me while staying in Kg Baru way back in 1990s, I was told by the “hajis and lebai” that they saw Kit siang “fanning” the fire. But of course, there was no youtube then .
AS FOR CHINESE COMMUNITY,, as long as they are willing to tolerate DAP’s antic, then they must be willing to pay the price of collision with Malays. This is not an ultimatum. As I see DAP is chauvinist party that has no place for “darker “skin people.
Fyi Helen, Tan Chai Ho calon BN PRU12 Bdr Tun Razak juga berucap sebegitu sebelum pilihanraya yang dia tidak perlukan undi selain Cina untuk menang di BTR dan akhirnya kalah di tangan Khalid Ibrahim yg lebih teruk dari beliau.
Tiada pula Melayu bising masa itu kami hanya perlu terjemah di peti undi sahaja.
I voted for YB Tan because he was a BN candidate. But the combined Malay-Chinese-Indian protest votes brought his downfall as ahli Parlimen BTRazak. Imagine the huge swing of votes in 2008; he won with a majority over 20,000 votes in 2004 election but lost to the stammering Khalid by about 5,000 votes. Even during the reformasi days in 1998 election when many Malays deserted BN, YB Tan still managed to shrug off Chandra Muzaffar’s challenge.
YB Khalid is a failure in BTRazak since he’s too busy screwing up Selangor. We’ll kick him out of BTRazak in the coming GE.
Helen, not sure if you caught this letter. This fellow, an ex-Anwarista and a staunch Pakatoon, has jumped ship and spilling each and every bean.
Some except from his letter to FMT.
“Anwar is a consummate liar. He is using Saiful’s dad to play up his victim role in order to garner votes. We all know for a fact that since he got acquitted he has lost that bit of “charm” about him as he has nothing to yell about anymore. I really hope he sues me so that I can prove in Court what I have just mentioned.
Remember Anwar Ibrahim, I grew up adoring you. I know your modus operandi and I aspired to be you. Sue me please. Let the public watch Anwar vs Anwar clone (which is me) in action. And remember the e-mails, Astroboy? I have all of them saved. Come get me!”
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2013/03/11/the-real-story-of-anwar%e2%80%99s-sodomy-2-part-1/
demographics is destiny. if Umno and Pas are smart, they should wait a bit longer. 10 years should do the trick for them. in fact, if Umno/BN win this coming GE, they should introduce policies that drive the Chinese out of Malaysia.
granted, not all Chinese will move out, but if Umno/BN just, maybe, push a bit here and there, and the Chinese can’t take it, a considerable number will move out, then that should do it for them.
Helen,
1.saya melihat wujudnya parti politik berasaskan kaum di Malaysia masih relevan dan akan terus relevan kerana itulah uniknya negara kita. guna parti politik sebegini seharusnya menjadi lebih efektif dan berjaya sebagai wakil kaum masing-masing dalam meningkatkan taraf-hidup kaum masing-masing selepas 55 tahun negara kita merdeka.
amat malang apabila sebilangan pemimpin parti-parti berkenaan yang telah kehilangan arah kerana lebih mengutamakan kekayaan untuk diri sendiri dan kroni-kroni dan diburukkan lagi dengan peningkatan aktiviti rasuah apabila mempunyai kuasa.
saya percaya setiap warga bangsa dalam Malaysia perlukan saluran melalui parti masing-masing sebagai medan untuk menyuarakan aspirasi kaum mereka untuk majukan dalam satu perancangan masa depan untuk generasi akan datang seperti peningkatan ekonomi dan kemakmuran sosio-budaya. parti berasakan kaum tidak sepatutnya dilihat sebagai perkauman.
amat mendukacitakan dalam setiap parti masih ada segelintir pemimpin yang bercakap ikut sedap-mulut sehingga menyentuh sensitiviti kaum lain.
2. saya melihat perjuangan DAP yang kononnya parti berbilang kaum atau cuba untuk menjadi parti yang tidak berasaskan kaum sebenarnya hanya indah khabar dari rupa. dewasa ini kaum cina yang memonopoli CEC dan tentunya pelbagai perancangan dilakukan untuk menyamakan hak setiap kaum dengan mengenepikan hak bumiputra khususnya orang Melayu dan menghina kaum India (bukankah ini perkauman juga?).
adakah peluang dalam DAP ini CEC ditunjangi keseluruhannya oleh orang India, dan mungkin orang Melayu? (saya rasa tidak).
namun jika ini boleh berlaku, adakah DAP akan terus berjaya sebagai parti untuk semua kaum?
melihat dari apa yang sudah, sedang dan akan berlaku, saya melihat DAP ialah ‘MCA’ yang ditransformasi sebagai satu parti baru untuk menterjemahkan ketidakpuasan-hati masyarakat Cina bukan hanya terhadap dasar-dasar kerajaan BN pimpinan UMNO tetapi kerana ada perilaku sebilangan pemimpin UMNO yang menyentuh sensitiviti mereka.
sekalipun “UMNO knows that it has lost the Chinese vote”, tiada pilihan selain meneruskan perjuangan dengan kekuatan yang ada dan kita tidak akan tahu apa akan berlaku kepada negara kita selepas PRU13 nanti.
rgds.
aiiiyaa banyak susah lo … masalahnya terdapat segelintir atau mungkin ramai rakyat yang mahu setiap permintaan mereka dipenuhi … come on lah dalam suatu keluarga pun antara adik beradik kita bertengkar tentang hajat yang tak dapat dipenuhi …ini kan lagi hidup bersama dalam sebuah negara … umno dah banyak berkorban serah kerusi yg majoriti melayu kepada india dan cina ..tapi sekarang ni pengorbanan itu tak pun dihargai dengan kerja keras tapi malah di cucuk pulak dari belakang … tak nampak satu pun usaha yg konkrit dari mca terutamanya untuk tarik pengundi cina ..
so nak tak nak umno terpaksa kuatkan usaha tarik undi melayu untuk jamin kelangsungannya …kata le apa yang anda suka ..tapi itulah yang mungkin orang lain juga akan lakukan
I do not for one-minute buy into this whole “social contract” nonsense – an unwritten agreement in the words of that deceitful Mahathir – and the so-called erosion of “Malay rights” as “guaranteed” in the constitution.
However, let us say I buy into this social contract fable and the “job” that goes with sustaining it, if the MCA did doing their job they would not be facing extinction.
If UMNO did their job post 69’ instead of consolidating power for UMNO, we would not be in the clusterfuck we are in today. People are suckers for the good life.
If the integrity of our institutions was not fucking compromised and the trains ran on time, nobody would give a fuck about the kool aid, PR is dispensing now.