Mahathir makes news headline in Israel today
Mahathir Mohamad is the top foreign affairs news item today in the Israel National News (Arutz Sheva) under article headline ‘Malaysian prime minister defends his right to be anti-Semitic’.
Mahathir has long had an international reputation of being ‘anti-Semitic’, meaning anti Jew. He claims, however, that anti-Semitism is an invented term only. He vigorously defends his right to exercise free speech on his favourite bugbear – the matter of the Jewish race.
“They criticize me, why can’t I criticize them?” the Harapan prime minister is quoted as telling the Associated Press (AP) in an interview earlier on Monday this week.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com on 16 Aug 2018
Mahathir, chairman of the colour blind Pakatan Harapan, is described as “an avowed anti-Semite” by many of the world’s media. As The Times of Isreal put it below, ‘Virulently anti-Semitic Malaysian PM says he should be allowed to criticize Jews’.
Mahathir is famous/infamous for his 2012 remark that “Jews rule this world by proxy”.
There are only 14.5 million Jews globally, with 6.45 million of them concentrated in Israel. The world population is 7.55 billion. So Jew make up a minuscule, less than a quarter of one percent (0.2%) of the people of the world.
Yet Mahathir claims Jews rule the world, even if merely by proxy.
If we apply the identical Mahathir ‘size does not matter’ argument, can’t we say that a certain minority religious group rules Malaysia even though they’re only a small percentage of the country’s population?
Anti-semitism, race are artificial constructs, konon
Mahathir said:
“There is one race that cannot be criticized. If you are anti-Semitic, it seems almost as if you are a criminal … anti-Semitic is a term that is invented to prevent people from criticizing the Jews for doing wrong things.”
Helen’s comment/response:
In Malaysia too, there is one party that cannot be criticized. If you are anti-DAP, they make it seem almost as if you are anti-Chinese … this sneaky strawman “if you’re anti DAP then you’re anti Chinese or a race traitor” argument is a strategy that is invented to prevent people from criticizing the DAP for doing wrong things.
BELOW: Tweet today from Israel National News, ‘Malaysian prime minister defends his right to be anti-Semitic’
Race matters, no?
The old DAP used to call Mahathir “racist” (although not anymore; not ever since he’s been diBERSIHkan miraculously of his alleged racism with a liberal douse of Harapan holy water).
The new DAP argues that race too is an artificial construct and with party sec-gen Lim Guan Eng famously declaring, “Saya bukan Cina, saya orang Malaysia”.
But the Arab minority in Israel – whom the DAP support – self identify as Palestinian even though they’re of Israeli nationality.
Recently on Sunday (Aug 12), tens of thousands of Palestinians/Arabs – they’re Israel citizens – gathered in Tel Aviv to protest their country’s new nation state law, the very same law which Guan Eng and DAP claim also to vehemently oppose.
The protesters in Rabin Square wore the keffiyeh – chequered black and white scarf symbolizing Palestinian nationalism – and waved the Palestinian flag. They carried signs and placards in the Arabic language and called Israel an apartheid state (see pictures).
Is Malaysia a nation state?
Since Guan Eng preaches the paramountcy of nationality rather than ethnicity (“Saya bukan Cina, saya orang Malaysia”), then his newfound support for those of Israel’s Arab minority (who identify as Palestinians rather than identifying as ‘orang Israel’) is difficult to square.
So what is DAP’s real stance on the nation state concept (objectionable when Israel practises it)? After all, Guan Eng had issued a DAP statement in his own name “mengecam sekeras-kerasnya tindakan Knesset (Parlimen) Israel meluluskan undang-undang negara Yahudi yang bersifat zalim, tidak adil dan demokratik sama sekali”.
In another two weeks on Aug 31, Malaysia will be celebrating our own national day. It is an important issue and we want to know where the DAP genuinely stands on this.
DAP ‘Malaysian First’ rhetoric cannot pass scrutiny
Israel Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu complained that some of the protesters carried PLO flags while many waved the Palestinian flag, chanting “With blood and fire we will redeem Palestine”.
In other words, Netanyahu is complaining that minority Israeli Arabs are over asserting (insisting too strongly) their Palestinian identity.
If the Sunday protesters were to follow Guan Eng’s Bangsa Malaysia rhetoric, they would be declaring, “Kami bukan Palestinian, kami orang Israel”.
Guan Eng’s hypocritical support for the Palestinian cause is causing cognitive dissonance among confused Dapsters. DAP party followers and the general public are exhorted by him to be Malaysian First but here the Arab minority display their Palestinian nationalism, and through “blood and fire” if need be.
BELOW: In the bad old days, Perkasa and their patron Mahathir were deemed racist by the Pakatan people
On one hand, Guan Eng criticizes the Netanyahu-led parliament for passing what he calls the “Ketuanan Yahudi” or Jewish Supremacy nation state law.
On the other hand, Guan Eng and Hannah Yeoh and all their Bangsa Malaysia ilk are trying to obliterate any ethnic self-identity among Malaysians – to quote Hannah, ‘no Malays, no Indians too and zero Chinese, all Malaysians’.
If Guan Eng and DAP Baru truly believe in nationality first (Malaysian First / Israeli First), then to align with DAP dogma, they should be calling for “no Jews, no Druze too and zero Palestinians, all Israeli”.
But hypocrites that they are, DAP’s ubah leaders expediently posture without posssessing any consistent principles. At least Mahathir is the leopard who doesn’t pretend to change his spots.
Live by the sword, die by the sword
When the norms of power sharing are turned upside down, it is expected that our social foundation will be upended too. A destabilized country is never a safe country.
Contrasting Harapan with BN
• In BN, the premier is from the biggest party; the Harapan PM is from one of the smallest parties
• In BN, cabinet seats are distributed proportionately; the Harapan cabinet disproportionately favours Malay party Pribumi and Islamist party PAN at the expense of multiracial parties PKR and DAP – see charts below (more…)
Umno starting to give DAP a taste of its own medicine
Recall the DAP’s behaviour and methods over the last decade.
It’s time now to treat DAP in the very same way the DAP have always treated their enemies.
The Umno ex-president shows how to return the favour. (more…)
Syariah-compliant dress code for private sector receives enthusiastic support
The government will prepare a syariah-compliant dress code for the private sector, Minister in the PM’s Department Mujahid Yusof Rawa was reported by Malaysiakini as saying. The set of guidelines is expected to be completed by the end of the year, announced Mujahid. (more…)
DAP’s buffalo in Balakong
Former Selangor Speaker Teng Chang Kim intimated that DAP could parachute even a buffalo into Balakong on its by-election ticket and it would still get the votes (read Malaysiakini story here).
Teng further remarked that many of the DAP new breed politicians are entitled millennials who are “arrogant and cause chaos after coming to power”. (more…)
A picture of Malaysia Baru
It was only less than a month-and-half ago that I pondered ‘Will dogs have a better life in New Malaysia?’
This week, through the photographs below, we can see the answer. Dogs tortured in Shah Alam have suffered their legs chopped off.
Two biggest Malay parties are in the opposition
Sungai Kandis was the Rubicon and Umno has crossed it.
In the general election earlier on May 9, the Harapan candidate had won the Sungai Kandis state seat handily with a majority of 12,480 votes.
In the byelection held there yesterday, the Harapan candidate won with a greatly reduced majority of 5,842 votes.
It can’t be downplayed – even though Harapan is desperately trying to do just that – an inconvenient fact that PKR’s majority in Sungai Kandis suffered a huge drop of 6,638 votes in only three months between GE14 and byelection. (more…)
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