Anwar is Anugerah Tuhan
Azmin is an angel
Wan Azizah is a martyr
Tian Chua is malaikat
Saifuddin is maksyuk
Nik Aziz is maksum
Mat Sabu is mukalaf
Hadi Awang is Mahdi
Nasrudin Hassan Tantawi tak pernah berhibur
Guan Eng is God’s Gift
Ng Wei Aik, Ngeh, Nga and Hannah are Beauty, Truth, Goodness & Righteousness (in corresponding order, i.e. Ng Wei Aik is Beauty, Ngeh is Truth, and so on)
It is this halo of holiness that shines like a beacon of light in the sky
Shepherding the Army of God in their triumphal march to Putrajaya
Oh goody!
What more can a Malaysian ask for?
Click YouTube icon on taskbar to view on YouTube
ABU, ABU, yabba dabba doo
It’s impossible to get through to the ‘x’ percent (estimate say 30%) who are adamantly ABU while ‘y’ percent – the opposite 30% who are resolutely ABAI – will now plant feet more firmly to defend their ground.
The remaining fence-sitters can tilt either way but Tunku Aziz’s departure from DAP will definitely carry an impact especially with the Malay middle. He has effected a turning of the tide.
I really don’t begrudge anyone who wants to kick out Barisan. And I won’t pick a fight with someone who insists on voting Pakatan. My blog has never been about trying to influence how you vote.
Tunku Aziz Tunku Ibrahim appraises Kim Guan Eng
Quotes from Tunku Aziz:
“I am not against the party at all. I am just against the attitude adopted by the secretary-general.”
“The son is a different kettle of fish.”
“What is CAT? Cat is a slogan. But to him no. But when it comes to 1Malaysia, 1Malaysia is just a slogan. But CAT is not.”
“This man has no sense of decency”
“I’m trying to find an English word for this behaviour, and I can’t. The only word is a Malay word, and it’s ‘biadab’.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There! That feels good — the copypasting, I mean.
The following line from Tunku Aziz is a cute rebuttal to the conspiracy theorists.
He said:
“… the point is it’s not as if I asked to join [DAP] to be a mole or Trojan horse. I was invited to join …” (LOL)
I do wish DAPsters would take a deep breath, expel the phlegm, and inhale.
Not living in suburbia
For those puzzled as to why I’m not with the 80-90 percent of my fellow Chinese … well, a blogger friend (who’s Indian) once observed that I do not possess any herd mentality at all.
A quick note on my background will help you understand.
Nobody in my immediate family is Christian or has ever been a Christian.
My home language is Chinese.
Although both my late parents were English educated, they did not speak English in the house either to each other or to their children. In retrospect, I’m grateful.
A reader Joe had commented: “I normally describe FMT writers as part of the middle-class lala brigade. I have to make an exception for you now.”
Easily explained, Joe. I do not live in Subang Jaya or Damansara Utama or Bangsar.
I live on the edge of a Chinese new village.
In the small pekan, they still have musty sundry shop-cum-Chinese medicine hall where luncheon meat (tinned pork) is displayed on the shelves. These shops don’t stock high-end products or branded goods.
There is also an old shop selling joss sticks and other Taoist prayer materials, and an even older shop selling household stuff, e.g. dusty basins poignantly hung outside the shop front above the five-foot way. (Will anyone ever buy a chipped, cracked pail?)
There are one or two small tailor shops, one or two motorbike repair shops, and several bukan-Starbucks punya standard coffeeshops (cheap hawker food — I eat) where they play Chinese songs that sound like music from the bygone era of Rediffusion. The kopitiam tables are usually filled with not-young, decidedly un-hip Chinese people.
This is the area where I’m residing now. One of my more distant neighbours even has a (disused) well in his yard.
My neighbour next door has an altar in her home and burns paper offerings openly on occasion.
If you Google images, you can find many pictures of the Yang Berhormat Adun Subang Jaya in her tudung at the mosques. I’ve never come across any photos of her mingling with the adoring crowd at Chinese folk belief religious festivals.
It always amazes me how people seem to think DAP is a Chinese party.
Behind the scenes in blogosphere
A brief narrative of my experience with bloggers and journos.
When Perkasa made their police report against me, Joceline Tan was the first to send me a note of support. I thought that was most decent of her.
My Barisan Rakyat friends didn’t bother to send messages of encouragement. Ada lagi al-kisah tapi malas nak cerita.
When this blog debuted in end-July 2011, the first blogger to put me on his blogroll was ‘A Voice’ (blog name: A Brick in the Wall). He can accept that we have differences of opinion and willing to give me a shout-out.
I’m not on the blogroll of Barisan Rakyat bloggers (e.g. Zorro) or pro-Pakatan bloggers who write in English, with the exception of one or two. However, a handful of the pro-Pakatan bloggers who write in Malay have placed me on their blogrolls.
You’ll be surprised to learn this next little detail: Big Dog’s blog “follows” my blog. Big Dog is bashed a lot by the Pakatan crowd but I think many of his postings tackle sober topics/economic issues plus attracting quality commenters.
I was mildly surprised but not entirely shocked to find myself recently added to the blogroll of Demi Negara. The DN blogger, Kijangmas, is the guy who initiated the Satu Sekolah Untuk Semua petition. I had called him “far right”. He’s aware that I’m opposed to the SSS movement.
Yet he’s broadminded enough to want to read my views.
Similarly, I was pleasantly, a slight bit surprised that ‘Stop the Lies’ has included me in his blogroll too.
Then there is Rockybru without whom my blog wouldn’t have been able to take off the way it has. Rocky was kind enough to put me on his live feed soon after my launch, and through which this blog was introduced to the bloggers in his extensive network.
If not for Rocky, few people would have even known that I had started blogging. As mentioned earlier, the Barisan Rakyat bloggers largely ignored my writings which is not their cup of tea. Nowadays, my articles appearing in FMT are never aggregated. Are they fair-minded, you think?
It’s common knowledge that the two alpha males of Malaysian cyberspace – Rocky and Haris Ibrahim – have engaged in several public bouts of ‘arm-wrestling’.
A minor but telling detail: Haris remains on Rocky’s blogroll. Rockybru was removed from Haris’. I’m not on Haris’ blogroll either (never been put there).
I don’t want to say much except that on a person-to-person basis, I simply feel more comfortable in the company of the pro-establishment set. This however doesn’t imply that I support BN over Pakatan. I’m equally sceptical of both.
DAPsters like to claim that their side is ethically, morally and spiritually superior. Nonetheless I remain unconvinced that they will make a better replacement to BN.
If they’re no better but 2×5, then I prefer to be spared the tiresome bullshit that our country will be reformed once – by the grace of God – we come under Pakatan rule.
Alright, I’m willing to concede that the above is just my personal, fallible opinion. No need to kill each other because we disagree on politics.
My parting thoughts
It must have taken quite a bit to push the Tunku to strip Kim naked:
<quote>
“I mean, that’s [i.e. kebiadaban Guan Eng] what really made me decide I will not work with this man.”
<unquote>
Now please consider the tweet below. Evaluate very carefully.
Hannah Yeoh in her live Twitter session is asked by a member of the public the question: “How would you deal with your daughter growing up to have different political views from yours?”
Now ponder on Hannah’s reply:
“Shay will not be raced based in her views.”
How would you interpret her response?
I’d read it as Hannah will not even entertain any remote possibility that her daughter could grow up one day deviating from the Malaysian First creed.
What do you make of such a cocksure mother who rejects out of hand any suggestion of potential variance and the possibility that her offspring can have a mind of its own?
“Shay will not be raced based in her views” is an absolutist diktat.
Like I said, I’m just more comfortable with pro-Barisan people (not necessarily the BN government though). That’s all.
If you hold Pakatan as saviours and messiahs, itu lu punya pasal lah. Don’t come to my blog dan mencarut is all I ask.
Helen Ang 
Wow…now thats a MALAYSIAN……..
Hey I meant…Helen bukan mdm shay..
Thanks. My natural assumption had been that you meant Tunku Aziz.
As for YM Tunku he is TOWERING MALAYSIAN indeed but it was naive of him to think that he can fight and advance his beliefs thru a political party.
See me no T words for u maaaaa..
“Shay will not be race based in her views” he he he ! I laugh out loud when I read that statement. Of course Shay will not be race based. Instead she will be morality based, with a bit of Anglophile delusion added on (read : morality based, meaning that if people do not agree with her, or worst still, go against her, you can expect the name calling, prostitutes, sinners, adulterers, corrupt, you name it folks).
Oh Malaysian First is not race based. Malaysian First is morality based. Next time you hear someone or some people calling you names like sinner ! prostitute ! you know that those people are Malaysian First.
“This man has no sense of decency”. What did you expect then ? If he can go around town calling people names, what did you expect him to show you ? Decency ?
You’re now telling people that you only know about him after you were invited to join his party ? Oh please, stop this nonsense. The truth is, you’re too naive ! You’re a know nothing. If people invite you to something, it’s obvious that they are up to no good.
And Helen, thanks for the video clip. Ashleigh and Pudsey actually won the talent show. But the same can’t be said of Aziz The Toon or those Pakatan hordes you mentioned.
Mungkin ini jelas menunjukkan bagaimana orang yang dah lama berkuasa mengawal selia kuasa yg ada berbanding orang yang baru 3 tahun lebih mendapat kuasa. Saya tak dapat cari pepatah dalam bahasa Inggeris untuk situasi ini. Tapi dalam bahasa kebangsaan Malaysia, ia berbunyi; “Seperti monyet mendapat baru bunga”.
You are right Helen. We are whatever comes out from our mouth. In this case, the pro-pembangkang totally said too much. It smells, and nauseous.
I’m not saying BN is the best, but is there any option left? Not in thousand or trillion years I will ever give my precious vote to PR.
When Sheikh Abdul Kadir left UMNO, do you hear any of BN member’s maki hamun too much on him? I think the baddest thing I’ve heard was orang tua yang tak cukup perhatian, but no calling names..I dont know if there is. When Tunku joined DAP, wah wah..pujian melangit..sekarang ludah ke langit bertempek jatuh ke muka sendiri. Double standards, HIPOKRIT, talam dua muka, that is PR.
Sepanjang hidup saya, saya tak pernah dengar orang memuji Najib melampau2 seperti Dear Leader, Anugerah Tuhan, Malaikat, Maksum or etc. Why? Satu jawapan sahaja, pemimpin sejati tidak perlu bodekan melampau atau panggilan lain untuk mengukuhkan kepimpinan mereka. Cukup dengan shj Ah Jib Gor untuk beliau meneruskan transformasi untuk berkhidmat setia kepada rakyat. If they dont care about their leaders’ moral, then how come they so mind of Najib’s moral? If they said it was fitnah, why cant we also said that it was fitnah on Najib?
Jangan jadikan suara minoriti untuk menguasai suara majoriti. Dalam demokrasi, perlu ke kita dengar suara minoriti?
PR sangat kelakar.
Yikes! Typo. Supposed to be “Seperti monyet baru mendapat bunga”
regardless, totally *like* :)
Tak ada “baru” pun tak apa,..kalau ada baru, tentu ada lama,..nanti jadi “seperti monyet dapat bunga lama”?..amacam? ..kena tak bunyinya?
Give honour where it is due… I’ve not been following blogs for very long until now… First I liked you, then I didn’t but now, I appreciate your frankness by opening up especially in this piece. I’ve always thought, a Chinese girl that articulates in BM so well but still gets bashed by racist remarks even by pro-establishment folks. Is it worth while? Can we change anything?
I “admit” or accept in a harmonious way that I’m “second class” but does that still keep the indigination that people pour on us? The racial & religious divide is so great that I just wonder when things will “heal.” That is why when you pour so much contempt and vile on Christians especially DAP= Christianity it makes me riled up. What has Christians done to you? I appreciate that you have your own belief system.
First, I “admit” that I appreciate what we have in Malaysia and for our co-existence. Second, I’ve not only mastered the BM language but Malay adat has rubbed off on us (budaya halus) but these guys won’t leave things alone. Race must be brought up. May 13, Babi….
Yes, there are Christians among the DAP lot but like in any other “religion”, then are many types of practitioners. I 100% disagree that they use Christianity for political gains in Sarawak or elsewhere. The Pg pastors do was a total “no, no.” What the hell were church leaders doing attending a meeting organized by secular DAP? Using the pulpit? Another “no,no” There is clear distinction between church & state. We can “engage” the state but not assume the role of the state. If in that case, its better to live in Vatican… How many Christians do? Its a place for monks!!
But when you propagandize Christianity=DAP= whatever shit they are saying, it adds fuel to the racial and religious divide.With this particular slant, burning down a church will only be a matter of time.
I for one… as a thinking individual… some of your comments are valid…. Anak bangsa Malaysia? Yes, yes I get it but do people know that we can appreciate our unity in diversity? If SABM is the “all” important thing, I think they should visit & fight for the Orang Asli, Sabahans & Sarawakians especially Penans first!! So I get what you are saying about the BS these people talk.
Our only hope is that there will be a third force, especially a new breed of thinking & progessive Malays to bring us out of this terrible muck called Malaysia. Obviously, it isn’t the place I grew up & loved so much.
Salam dek Helen,
Buat Tok Rojak, mungkin kita sebaya, atau tok lebih tua, maklumlah dah “tok”, saya masih “pak”.
Kita selalu mengumpul dan mengasing. Mengumpul semua orang di negara ini sebagai rakyat Malaysia, mengasingkan mereka kepada bangsa keturunan. Mengumpul semua warganegara berketurunan Cina sebagai Cina Malaysia, mengasing mereka kepada keturunan masing-masing, seperti dek Helen berketurunan Han. Kita pilih untuk mengasing atau mengumpul dan kita lebelkan….
Masa muda-muda dulu saya balek kampong dari perantauan naik keretapi, saya duduk “second-class” kerana itu yang saya mampu. Sekarang monorel di ibukota dah tak ada “class” pakat rebut naik ramai-ramai.
Pak Ard lihat sahabat Cina kepada dua kumpulan, Cina lama dan Cina baru. Pak Ard lebih rapat dengan Cina lama dimana kadang kala kami duduk bersama berborak sambil minum teh Cina, lalu saya ketuk meja dengan jari perlahan-lahan tatkala ada rakan tolong tuangkan teh kedalam cawan saya. Tak perlu diucap, kita sama-sama faham dan saling hormat menghormati…
Semoga panjang umur, Tok Rojak…
Ribuan terima kasih Pakard. Semoga kami dapat lanjutkan perjalanan bersama… Walaupun jalan kadang kala di hadapi batasan, itu tidak menjadi masalah dan menghindari kami untuk menujur ke sasaran. Orang Malaysia walaupun berkauman lain pernah mengatasi batasan melalui penghormatian sesama diri dan lain. Ya, kita bangsa negara Malaysia walaupun berbeza. Apa yang maafaat ialah menrendahkan diri supaya mempelajari sesama lain terutama adat si jiran. Orang muda suka pakai istilah dan pikiran tinggi2 seperti Anak Bangsa Malaysia tetapi tidak mengambil masa untuk mempelajari adat sendiri supaya membina jambatan ke perkauman lain. Tiap adat ada yang baik dan ada yang tidak senonok. Ambil yang bagus, buang yang tidak penting. Apakah adat Bangsa Malaysia? Si muda pun tidak boleh menjawab kerana pikiran masih mentah.
Jika kita sering membawa isu2 perkauman dan agama, apa sisah lagi yang kami boleh merwarasi kepada generasi yang akan datang? Konfrontasi harus dalam halaman isu2 negara dan perkembangannya. Contoh: Pemimpin tidak baik kerana tidak secocok dengan jawatan atau korupsi bukan isu bangsa atau agama dia! Jika saya tiap hari kritik isteri tidak cantik, tidak guna, apa akan terjadi kepada keluarga?
Cermin yang dipecahkan susah dipulihkan. Banyangan kami pun tidak sama walaupun kami boleh mengkumpulkan sisah2.
Sekali lagi, terima kasih. Berjuang bersama untuk tanah air.
Words of wisdom…
I know there is a ‘feel-good factor’ in Helen’s latest post, but I have to admit that I still feel a little sick when I read a commenter refer to himself as a ‘second class citizen.’
In my opinion, it was that false belief in being ‘second class’ that created the DAPster mentality in the first place.
Overseas Bumi, I totally agree with you on the term “2nd Class” but can it be anything else? By whatever name you call it, its the underlying truth and dynamics at play in Malaysia.
20 years ago, Malaysia Truly Asia because of our multi-cultural uniquess. Where else on earth do you find this? Maybe in a smaller part in Singapore because of the same British divide & rule policy. But seriously, Singapore, truly Asia or another Chinese satellite city? The trouble with us Chinese is our hubris… Forget Chinese, forget Indians… every thought about the Kadazandusuns & Ibans. Then we have the Runggus, the Bidayuhs, Kayans, Kenyahs, Kelabits, Lun Bawangs etc… Malaysian politics doesn’t revolve just around the ethnic squabbles of West Malaysians.
The Melanaus of Sarawak or even Bajaus of Sabah will say they are Malays, out of political expendiency or answering the ignorant. But when they look at the politics of West Malaysia, they are laughing at us…. In Sarawak, they are proud of be Melanau especially the Dalat/Mukah Melanaus because Taib Mahmud hails from this area – the aristrocracy of Melanau.
My point? We truly Asia? Bangsa Malaysia? That is why the Hannah Yeoh’s are truly delusional. Trying to create something that cannot be… We are too diversified but the faster we accept our dinstictiveness the better. Unity in diversity.
The second point… once anybody touches on things Malay (customs, rulers, language, religion etc), not Bumiputra (as explained above about East Malaysia as an example), outsiders get shot down, particularly Chinese. So how can the debate & discourse go on in the public square? Two approaches, either shut up or fight back… neither works because we misread the dynamics.
Yes, Tun M was right… The Malay Delimma… The Malays are trying to find their self identity, self worth and place in the sun. What do they get instead? The White Man comes with the barrel of the gun and tells the Malay family, “buka pintu, terima tamu!!” Due to Malay adat & hospitality, he brings the stranger into the house. At first everything good, then the tamu starts to misbehave…
What I’m saying is that the Malay Delimma now spills over to become the Malaysian Delimma. If we want a way out, they must lead and feel confident about themselves. They must set the agenda – where do we (Malays) want Malaysia to be in 10-20 years. The Malay Agenda will bring about a Malaysian agenda because it will be an inclusive policy. Yes, maybe get rid of the Chinese & Indians, so what? But what about the East Malaysians? They are realist.
Therefore, we need good and progressive Malays to lead the way. not these broke vessals we have on both political divides.
DAP? A clear example of radical socialism(the more street fighting type rather than the sauve French persausive model) married with Chinese hubris. The outcome? A rabid dog that misbehaves badly.
Can’t we call the chinese malaysians as the privileged 2nd class or economically dominant minority (as per Amy Chua’s designation in her book World on Fire), for the sake of accuracy?
My Malaysian friends complain that our rates as engineers overseas are in the ‘TCN’ or third country national category, even though it is far higher than local malaysian rates.
Many of these engineers actively seek ways to gain residency or citizenship in Western countries. Their rates would jump another 100% or more if they succeed. Also, they think it’s a slur to be referred or considered ‘third country’ or ‘third world’.
The term ‘third world’ was not originally a slur. It was supposed to refer to the group of countries that did not fall under the West or communist world during the Cold War period.
Malaysia is part of the Non-Aligned Movement. We are blessed in that sense. We can go and explore for resources in sudan, cuba or iran. Our wealth can certainly be traced to our ability to find resources in these countries suffering under western sanctions.
So, in conclusion, I think it’s disingenuous when the politically active chinese/indians or unhappy christian east malaysians or others who use that language to refer to themselves as ‘2nd class’ like as if there is no other way to describe themselves. Most of these politically active minority groups are actually privileged economically. It’s the non-politically active who are marginalised, and they exist in all communities regardless of race.
i love your statement “Like I said, I’m just more comfortable with pro-Barisan people (not necessarily the BN government though). That’s all.”
Live well Helen Ang and continue espousing your independent thoughts.
People who think any set of politicians are more honest / righteous than another are being naive. All politicians have the “bastard gene” in their DNA.
I have one jibe to offer re Hannah’s tweet: Shay will not be race- based in her views, because Mother will not even acknowledge her Indian heritage.
Analyze that. Yes, much cheekiness. :)
Joe,
That’s a good one… She’ll get a Malay son-in-law, mark my words…
From Penang… celup kopi as DAPsters say… LOL!
It’s nature not nuture:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/9267147/Its-nature-not-nuture-personality-lies-in-genes-twins-study-shows.html
I am sure if in the future Hannah yeoh’s daughter mated with LGE’s son they’d create the ultimate DAPster.
helen, masukan ini terbaik! saya gelak sasau baca intro awak. :)
btw, i first read you in haris ibrahim’s blog. i hardly go there now except when linked from some other site i’m reading. haris and his PeePee [which unfortunately turned out to be just sprays after all] lost creds with me when he threw his lot with anwar ibrahim. yep, i believe anything touched by anwar ibrahim is blighted.
in any case, i thought you feisty and independent and love your way with words. the clincher of course is that impeccable BM. anyone who can do wit, political wit to boot, in malay is superhero in my book. ;)
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thanks. — Helen
interesting self exploration. i grow up in more or less the same environment and my understaning and knowledge of chinese history and culture is at least 10 times better than you, is that why i feel insulted with term like chinkie but seem like you don’t? perhaps you are not as chinese as you imagine?
What makes you think I don’t feel insulted by term “chinkie”? If you feel insulted, then go ahead and tell that other reader who used the label so.
There are a number of comments/views with which I personally don’t agree with (one obvious e.g. is 153) but it’s impossible for ‘me’ to start rebutting every one of them.
And I if keep disagreeing and taking offence, the flow of the forum will be impeded b’cos the Malays would be reluctant to express what’s really on their mind.
Believe me, I have had reservations but I elected not to control the Reader Comments content. The eco-system has to self-balance (self-regulate in as far as is possible but admittedly a disequilibrium – i.e. due to our predominantly Malay readership – exists.)
You may recall the rapid-fire exchanges between Anon & Shamshul and I-hate-N’Sync. For a long time I kept quiet even tho’ I disagreed with much of what Anon said until I-hate-N’Sync came along, and they had quite a “rumble” (KPanjang’s word).
Naturally I sided with I-hate-N’Sync’s arguments but still it put me in a spot as a moderator who needs to be more impartial if I’m pushed into playing the role of referee.
As for hua ren, yes lah, as a kid I was taught to use that term too in referring to ourselves. You’re right about the anomaly of opting for han. Could it be a deliberate mental disassociation with the hopeless punching bag ma hua ? (grrrr!)
helen, i did write ‘seem’ meant i am not very sure, thanks for clarifying your stance. to be fair to anon, though i seldom agree with him but his decorum is one of the most excellent here, i don’t see him used much derogatory term and even have the courtesy to explain ‘bloke’, I think he is perfectly warranted to get personal because the flow of debate were inclined toward personal in the end, in fact I don’t think nsync feel insulted at all. you owe anon 10 apologies at least.
my concern is some used disparage term when no debate even started and the term is not direct to one single person, since all comments go through moderation, i suppose you did at least briefly read through hence I hope you would understand why i raised such question. most of the time i opt to ignore but if i choose to move into the same path, would that not turn your blog into a racism and vicious warzone?
“There are one or two small tailor shops, one or two motorbike repair shops, and several bukan-Starbucks punya standard coffeeshops (cheap hawker food — I eat) where they play Chinese songs that sound like music from the bygone era of Rediffusion. The kopitiam tables are usually filled with not-young, decidedly un-hip Chinese people.”
touching, i think we might still have this in pj oldtown, and yes, I miss rediffusion.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Tell the guy you find “chinkie” objectionable lah. — Helen
To be entirely honest, saya dah tak ingat sangat apa yang hot tentang exhange Anon, saya dan Shamshul. I remember it was some comments about the Chinese in general and it started from the abang-adik mentaliti, history, etc. In any case, kehalusan budi bicara is wasted on me. I mean, I take one look at HuaYong’s quantitifaction of “Chineseness” and all kinds of bells went off in my head.
Are you telling me that one feels more offended by racist taunts because they are more in tune to their ethnic culture and history? If that is the case, no wonder Mahatma had been accused of not being Indian enough in his time.
I don’t think Helen’s background was a big determinant of her present views. Many Chinese in Malaysia practically sprang from the same cloth but have gone on to form far more radical positions on interethnic relations.
nsync, do you believe me when i claim that my understanding and knowledge of chinese history and culture is at least 10 times better? my question were premised on the same self-exploration of background, did not helen reply give a clear answer?
btw, don’t you think the anglophile vs chinese-ness is another false dichotomy? we are already occupied ourselves with race and religion absurdity, and the theme here seems to suggest we move into another one, is that the way forward?
I think it is interesting to note the possibilities. Some anglophiles retained what they consider certain essence of their “chineseness” or identity, I can give you a few examples, but the matter, as you noted, is whether it is productive to add more fragmentization to the simplified, stereotypical images.
The Chinese are hardly a homogenous or a monolithic lot, but many people don’t remember that.
heck, i too find the term “chinkie” objectionable, and i’m technically not a chinese. bet many rightminded people here do too. likewise, lain2 racist epithets. they so don’t help with meaningful discussions.
but as helen said, she can’t be rebutting everyone or butting heads over every slight here. benjol habislah kepala!
i say shame on those who can’t seem to keep a civil tongue in civil company. you may not be able to contain your prejudices, but surely your parents taught you how to be respect your host and other guests when you’re a guest. otherwise you’ll be no better than those few who just drop by to hiss and spit.
most commenters here seems to be smart. how come a few don’t realize that nastiness and bad-manners turn people off? seriously, they might as well swallow their own bile because most people [except those equally belligerent] will eventually skip their posts. what a stupid waste if they actually have reasonable points to put across otherwise…
Mekyam,
Sure, everything is more palatable on a civil discourse. But a person should take as much as they give. Don’t stay in the kitchen if you can’t bear the heat. Tunku Aziz realized that now, didn’t he?
I am just an occassional guest here, but I think unless there is something worth contributing to a response, then all the simple ayes and nays are just background noise. Don’t preach to the converted, take it to the folks who haven’t considered a matter differently.
dear IhN’S,
even at the risk of being consigned to the ranks of those who only provide background noises, because according to you contributions of worth are only those which take opposing views head-on, i’d still stand by my insistence that debates can be bruising but they do not have to be taken to the gutters.
in any case, i’m sure you’ll agree that the kind of incivility we’re referring to here is the throwing of racial epithets such as “chinkies” and other derogatory slurs that did not add a lick to whatever the discussions or arguments were that were taking place.
i notice that even one who feels that “a person should take as much as they give” such as you, actually stopped short of cheap ad hominems to press your points too!
having said that, i’d like to add that one shouldn’t be too quick to jump to the conclusion that those who don’t think being unnecessarily burnt or scalded by inepts playing with fire are naive about the heat in the kitchen. some people may just believe there are more than one way to skin a cat, and getting stupidly clawed isn’t one of them.
i can’t speak for others here, not even for those who share the noise-gallery with me, but i personally do not visit any of the malaysian political sites i frequent to preach to the unconverted or otherwise. i go to wherever i think i can get a healthy handle or a different perspective on the current events in malaysia, but where i can also enjoy good writing and intelligent discussions. and if they are also in wonderful malay, then i’m in linguistic heaven.
usually i try to limit my engagements to just casual observations. i have my reasons. however, i do occasionally succumb to the menyampuk vein in me and break my own rules. chalk that to malaysia being strong in this girl… :)
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“getting stupidly clawed” … LOL at that one. I wish there was some way I could entice Anon to come back. — Helen
Dear mekyam,
I don’t think we differ in the reason why many visit both pro-BN and pro-PR blogs and news websites. We all need to get a handle of the people’s pulse, although we should all be aware that the internet channels the voice of a certain segment of the population better, and I am not talking about the ethnic but stratum divide.
What I think is crucial is that the average individual must be willing to engage the foul-mouthed (or foul-keyboarding). The threat of physical violence is almost zero with anonymity online (although I am sure the facebook uncle would disagree), and we can see more honestly and less tact in communicating our differences. Online exchanges are an imperfect medium, but it has its own strengths. In a live, face-to-face discussion, it becomes important to be able to bullshit one’s way through. Online, while we have the luxury of time in response, the matter of credibility and sources of authority becomes crucial. If the ones in the background speaks up, it will be one more voice to the plurality and diversity, not just the end means, but the rationale for a similar path.
Helen,
You are one interesting Malaysia blogger! Keep up the good work!
Metamorphics
‘Anwar is Anugerah Tuhan
Azmin is an angel’…
more like
“Anwar is Anugerah Syaitan’
Azmin is a Syaitan’
Anugerah Tuhan dan Angel (Malaikat) tak akan buat apa yang mereka buat..
My gut feeling tells me that Karpal will abandon ship well before GE 13 after realising that he, too, had been made use of by Kit Siang and Dear Leader. What good is he there holding the numero uno post when everybody seems to ignore his heavily muffled ‘roar’.
Helen, don’t mind any of us who may seem objectionable. Just keep doing what you have been doing. I read your postings, all of them, but I seldom comment; maybe sometimes. I thank you for educating old me on a number of subjects.
I just like to expand on what “I hate N’Sync’ says: “Don’t preach to the converted, take it to the folks who haven’t considered a matter differently”. This is very true.
During Helen’s heydays in Mkini, not matter how factual it was, her articles were (usually the highest number of comments) flooded with DAP troopers [attacking], with only a number of sporadic commentors who would fend for her.
The problem in Mkini then and currently even more exacerbated is a converted attitude and not one that consider the issue in hand. I think the recent rebuke that Edmund Bon faced when he spoke of “Lawyer defends right to do ‘butt exercises'” http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/198046 is a classic example.
This was about a right not whether the action was appropriate (I don’t agree on action but acknowledge the right issue). This is what happens in Mkini with their herd mentality who are unable to distinct between a right issue and the action as their brains are clogged with political nonsense.
I am sure even amongst us there are those convertee either for BN/PR and that is okay and at a tolerated level as Helen says sometimes it makes no sense is arguing on everything.
Helen here in her own position as a journalist have probably created a blog which allows rational Malaysians to think differently for the betterment of fellow Malaysian rather than being a blinked convertee for political purpose.
I would also like to thank the commentors here who have maintained their civility in disgorging their opinions even when we disagree amongst us.
MiNY….I don’t even read MK these days for they have lost their way and all their objectivity. They have allowed their paid subscribers to run wild and spew venoms and vile comments.
They have stopped allowing even neutral voices, suppressing them in favour of rabidly pro-PR columnists.
I recall many years ago, MK was like a shinning beacon in the dark landscape of Malaysian democracy. They deserve great credit for playing an important part in the enhancement of Malaysian democratisation.
However,I feel they have completely squandered their chance of pursuing a middle path in bring this process to a greater heights by allowing themselves to be used by Pakatan.
It is so obvious that their mission now is entirely devoted to put PR in Putrajaya.
We can complain about MSM, but MKini is far worse and more partisan than any BN-owned media.
I know your are motivated but my objective is not run down Mkini Mkini is as Malaysian as we are, maybe distracted and miscued for material enrichment that serves their purpose but nevertheless I think we owe a duty and responsiblity for the benefit of the community to educate them as and when issues matters rather than what is politically expedient. Whether they accept it or rather be thick skin is not my issue as truth and reality is beyond any self serving agenda for the masses in Malaysia
Thanks Helen for giving us more than a peep at what and who you are. No wonder, in spite of your articles oozing with class, they’re devoid of pretensions.
True isn’t it. You should just read this bloke Terence Netto in Mkini, what a giveaway after four decades of journalist.
HY, you say btw, don’t you think the anglophile vs chinese-ness is another false dichotomy? we are already occupied ourselves with race and religion absurdity, and the theme here seems to suggest we move into another one, is that the way forward?
HY, let me ask you this, did you know there was a massive wave of Anglophile activities in the 80’s amnogst the poorer segment of M’sian Indians when Dr M and UMNO was cutting deals in changing the landscape of plantation into residential, commercial and industrial lands whereas the rest just sat quietly and ripped the benefits.
Race and religion absurdity did not matter then as it filled everyone’s pocket. Move on into the 90’s and henceforth, the scum of the society is the Malaysian Indians. Why? Is this because it fits us well or we are genuinely such as Joan of Arc?
Seriously it does not matter whether anglophile vs chinese-ness is another false dichotomy, but rather what have we done to check and balance something on a humanity irrespective of race or origin or religion basis rather than burying ourselves in the cyber blogs as armchair critics besides acting at least in our own capacity. If that was the case,
We definitely don’t need to justify ourselves nor find a solution in the cyber blog.
The only real failure in life is not to be true as our ritual and dogmatic practices knows so we rather F**K the truth and love a lie as long it fits our agenda for ourself as oppose to the rest no matter how truthful and sound it may seem. Nothing personal HY, just speaking my mind out and do apologize if I am overboard.
MiNY,
I’m sorry to interrupt your discussion with HY, but I would just like to know, from your opinion that is. How do you define “humanity”. Sure it is easy to just say, oh this is humanity, that is humanity bla bla bla. But do realize, that the definition of humanity itself varies from person to person, that my views of humanity is different as compared to yours. Granted certain aspects are inhumane, such as murder, or robbery, or rape, as those are generally accepted by everyone to be the norm. However, things like jail time, capital punishment, heck even setting up a burger stall in front of a house, these are situations where we may differ in our terms with regards to “humanity”. To me, humanity/acting all humane is a smokescreen if you do not define it. Is your version of humanity as defined in accordance to the UDHR and secularism? Or what? Egalitarianism?
MiNY
From the way you keep hammering the same point, it seems that “humanity” to you are those who agree with you, the moment we don’t, we are inhumane :)
But never mind on that, what I found interesting is when you wrote “did you know there was a massive wave of Anglophile activities in the 80′s amnogst the poorer segment of M’sian Indians when Dr M and UMNO was cutting deals in changing the landscape of plantation into residential, commercial and industrial lands whereas the rest just sat quietly and ripped the benefits.” I think I know what happened, my question is what this have to do with “massive wave of Anglophile activities”? Would appreciate if you could enlighten me.
And no worry, I consider myself an authority when come to getting personal, I am at least equal if not better than most that commented here.
Dear Tok Rojak, let me minta ampun first not because of what or who you are but a respect for your thoughts. You speak of your Malay agenda with such zealousness, but how have we the rest of the Non-Malays who like to think that Malaysia is our nation fits in for us Malaysians if you disregard us without even understanding our grievances.I can understand that you care for your community ie the Malays, but don’t you think we the non Malays who are equally patriotic for Malaysia for how it should be is afforded a voice even if we are a minority on a sake of humanity. Seriously are we Non Malays that unreasonable in our approach or disrespect the Malays. I am not talking about politics that BN/PR encourages to divide and rule but rather between us as Malaysians. Don’t you think it does not matter whether it is a race or religion based direction but rather what is humane amongst. Do we dictated our thoughts how it fits us or how it should for the community when the cry is real, truthfull and the reality that they face.
By all means true dear Sir/Madam except I’m not Malay. You see the Chinese talk like you and me… its always “us”, “we” & “I” Have we really seen how the Orang Asli/Asal live? Why call them Asli or Asal? For fun? No other term? Or is there meaning & defination & culture embedded in its etymology. You & me (Chinese) feel slighted, how about them? How about the East Malaysians? They don’t have these racist wars going on there.
You yourself said, the 80’s were OK becos everyone have money ma… Today, more men, less share. There is a prize to be won… Don’t you see the buzzards circling for the last savannah? So you need to convince & shackle the masses to push you to the top. You have to find a common enemy to reach these “lofty” goals. We are the casualties of war. LGE doesn’t make it easier by perception.. He needs a MAJOR make over. Look at his padang speeches (eg. Lynas).. taunting…. the rabid doggy look… Is this Chinese culture? Angophile? Or just radical socialist at its worst? Or that mad Chinese woman shouting at the reporter at Bersih 3.0. Was she educated?
You think my Malay friends can analysis this and say, OKOK… they have problem la…. tiga suku or bangsa ini….biadap.
Hannah Yeoh? Who is she kidding? Not Chinese, not Indian… not Chindian or Inchi … Bangsa Malaysia.. We can’t even accept ourselves, how to form a agenda?
Tell me MsianNY, if you are a handsome & rich devil with an equally beautiful wife, you afraid she will leave (hey, sorry ladies, I’m actually a feminist at heart) you? No, because you are self confident. If she leave so what but you are no going to be threaten by some punk.
But if we continue the discourse around race & religion, isn’t there enough political vitriol? After mixing the stew and now adding poison, is there any looking back?
A new set/generation of Malays need to arise – visionary, self confident charting the way. If I predict correctly, they will also be inclusive in policies (meaning you & I have a place to share the sun too) … Read what some modern, charismatic Malays talk about NEP, PPMSI etc… They are already in our midst.
The key is not to let the buzzards tell us and make us believe they are setting the right agenda. The buzzard only know what he knows to do best – the nature of the beast. They are no foes taken alive even among buzzards. That is their code.
I have overstayed my welcome. Thank you Helen
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Not at all, please stay. — Helen
So what, if you are not Malay, seriously does that make a difference if humanity is what you pursue. What actually do you preach? you seem delusional that you dictate all the the answers within your closet mind, if so then why you the white knight have failed us so far.You say “Tell me MsianNY, if you are a handsome & rich devil with an equally beautiful wife, you afraid she will leave (hey, sorry ladies, I’m actually a feminist at heart) you? You know what, i am all you descript so how thus this fit into an equation when you need to do something for another. Like you which I can only assumpt is not how good looking I am but to induce what is humane for one another. Let’s deal with the issues in hand rarher than siapa lagi bagus.
Salam dek Helen,
Tok Rojak, kita akan dilihat terlalu idealis, tidak berada dijalanan cuma melihat dari kamar sempit berjendela satu.
Anda ada menyentuh soal “2nd class” Saya ada bercerita tentang keretapi dulu dengan gerabak “second class”nya dan monoril sekarang dengan gerabak tak ada “class”nya.
Apabila ada perbezaan, kita perlu asing-asingkan,apabila ada kesamaan kita boleh satukan. Dulu yang naik keretapi ada yang kaya dan ada yang miskin, Tambah sikit harga kepada sikaya dengan “first class” dan murahkan tambang “2nd class” untuk yang tak berada. Tapi apabila semua dilihat sama berkemampuan dengan perbezaan tak ketara, monoril tak perlu ada “class” lagi. Yang terlebih kaya naik kereta, selebihnya naik monoril sama-sama.
Politik semasa juga Pak Ard lihat begitu, Satukan atau asingkan, kemudian labelkan. Orang politik lakukan, kita lakukan, disini dan dimana-mana. Apabila kita satukan atau asingkan satu kumpulan manusia dan labelkan jenama bangsanya, kita racist, tapi kumpulan yang sama kita labelkan jenama lain, tidak mengapa pulak, walaupun halatuju dan perjuangan kumpulan itu sama saja. Sekian.
Helen,as you know I hardly have anything good to say about DAP but credit must be given when it is due.
I must say that I am deeply impressed by LKS’ magnanmious gesture in this sorry eposiode. He behaved in a respectful and graceful manner. This reminded me why I was attracted to DAP in my younger days when people like Patoo, LKS, Karpal, Lam Thye,etc were driven by principles and fought injustice fearlessly.
However, the new DAP is a totally different breed. Just look at the megalomanic Dear Leader and the vain and self righteous Hannah. The Old DAP was all principles and selfless work and sacrifices. This New DAP is all about power, ego and relentless self promotion.
The gentlemanly way LKS conducted himself is a total contrast to the bullying, arrogant and corrupt attitude of the Dear Leader. This illustrates, better than any words,the state of DAP today.
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I concur. LKS stood head and shoulders above in this matter. It’s DAP 2.0 that is the problem. Karpal next to sink after Tunku. Then the party will have no saving graces left. — Helen
Hi Helen, and sorry Calvin for my menyampuk,
I owe you Helen a heartfelt “thank you” for your awesome reply to me in another thread, so, thank you. I should’ve replied there, but right now personal time for me is a slippery eel eager to escape my clutches.
Anyway, this Karpal thing caught me by surprise. He’s infamous for his “over my dead body” remark, so when he recently castigated Haji Hadi for the latter’s newest round of hudud rhetoric, I thought it was same old, same old.
Who knew he’d be stoned by the same people whose support he’s been trying to win for decades?
I know he wasn’t buried under an avalanche of rubble, but still, the few pebbles that struck his white-topped crown must’ve hurt. I mean, the guy was facing a supposed opponent when he got hit by friendly fire (stones, so friendly pelting?) from his alleged supporters. From behind.
Even worse for him, the hits weren’t due to misfirings or ham-fisted lobs, but were deliberate and well-aimed missiles.
I wonder how he feels.
Oh well, tough cookies for him. Live by the sword, die by the sword. Make a living shouting people down, last-last people shout you down also.
But isn’t Malaysian politics something else? I wonder if future scribes will refer to convoluted plots as “Malaysian” instead of “Byzantine”.
Once again thanks MalaysianinNY. Hope the weather there is nice. Let me quickly says what I think directly:
1) We talk about human rights, civil liberty, no talking about being 2nd class but equal, meritorcracy… 100% agree with you. Who shouts the loudest? Chinese & Indians esc. in W. Malaysian context.
But do Chinese shout for the silent majority? Orang Asli when they don’t have water & electricity or when their church gets mowed down? How about the Penans? Their children sleeping in sulap with tthe dog & monkey that treats them better than humans.
We need to talk of a comprehesive agenda where everything if fairly distributed not who shouts the loudest.You call this justice?The weak also need a voice, through us or through progessive Malays.
2)We have already tried the “you say something, we kena hamtam” route. How many times you need to kena pukul until you give in or get out?
So I rather Malays deal with the Malay agenda, then tell us we have a place or better to vamoosh… I tell you, there are Malays equally suffering and not combatants but also captives to a generational cycle. Are there modern, thinking and evolving Malays out there that want to get rid of NEP, wrong practices etc… Yes!!!…. But when they see a rabid dog attacking inccessantly, soon they will become regressive if seen to be under a seige. At least here there is restaint but in some blogs, no hold barred on what they say about your race, religion, father & mother.
And we can’t rely on the existing broken vassals. Patched up too much already.. need fresh blood. But some will say,,, aaah see, orang Cina pandai… mahu kami lawan sama diri… How to answer to that?
No offense taken by your comments. After years of same BS from all sides, got a lot of time & patience to still refine & evolve my thinking process.
Thanks.
qoute MalaysianinNY “So what, if you are not Malay, seriously does that make a difference if humanity is what you pursue”
yes it does, why, take example of your self just because the commentar using “Tok Rojak ” automatically in you mind this person is MALAY that try to defend his race and bash him qoute MalaysianinNY
Prejudice statement coming from someone that talk about human rights. This is why we have to understand each other before you claim want to be the champion for others.
And… andi scores a zinger!
Pak Ard. Salam!!
Analogi keretapi sungguh tepat & mantap. Yang ideal tidak ada gerebak Kelas I atau II.. Dulu mungkin boleh tetapi sekarang kami di zaman moden… tidak hidup di “kampung” lagi tapi kampung yang lebih besar (global village).
Apakah impian orang Melayu, Cina, India, Dayak, Dusun atau orang si Malaysia… cari rezeki, hidup damai, dihormat-menghormati dan insyallah, di berkati dengan lebih sedikit oleh kerana rahmat, apa salah.
Tapi keretapi harus ke sasaran yang sama di mana kami adalah penumpang. Tapi jika banyak arah bermaksud malapetaka atau melanggar keretapi yang menuju ke arah yang berlawanan.
Kesimpulan analogi, keretapi harus ada driver bukan bagaimana bergerak dan menuju ke sasaran? Saya tidak membantah jika driver itu adalah orang Melayu yang ada perdalaman, hikmat, tabiat & sifat seorang pemimpin baik dan boleh membawa kami ke sasaran. (Tapi kadangkala ada orang yang mahu jadi driver tapi jual keretapi juga!!)
To carry this analogy one step further, I think we must wake up to the fact that new tracks and railroad need to be laid down before we can move into uncharted territories.
I think there will always be a gerabak kelas 1 dan 2 dan kelas yang langsung tak tersenarai (stow-aways and the underbelly of our society). Whether it is socioeconomic status or political power or other axis of differences, the real matter here is to get everyone to realize that we need each other for the journey.
And, that’s why we need those under-represented people to have a voice in the political discourse. The opposition was suppose to serve that purpose, but instead was hijacked by NEP & UMNO-haters.
Helen,
I like your blog beacause you do not write on things that are ‘remeh’. Like many people around me, angry with BN but not trusting PR. So I read blogs such as yours and find hope that one day there will be a better alternative.
Please keep writing.
Helen,
What many Chinese fail to understand is that Malays do realize they( Chinese) also have legitimate concerns. We( Malays) are not worried about that.
What Malays cant tolerate is several Chinese politicians who questions Malays right and hiding under guises of meritocracy, freedom of press and many other fantastic ideas.
Some Chinese politicians survive simply by harping on Constitution that guarantees some provisions on Malays. They keep asking how long Malays want NEP.
But they are silent on the source of all disunity:SEPARATE SCHOOL SYSTEM
I am not living in utopia. Making one school concept will not make all Malaysian problem dissapear. But it is a start for genuine integration. Tossing Yee Sang by UMNO MB is just not enough in showing real integration.
Just like the Malays, Chinese must make some sacrifice. Malays have accepted reality that Malaysia is no longer an exclusively Malay country once the Malay rulers put their Royal signatures on Independent Instruments. Like wise, Chinese must accept that they have to integrate.
Nobody is asking them to discard tradition or language. But they will be the loser if they simply refuse genuine partnership with Malays.
Extremists come from both Malay and Chinese side. Both communities must work together. For sizable Chinese community to turn a blind eye on extremist DAP will only court disaster.
Remember, a knife can cut both way. If ( sorry to say this) Chinese tacitly approve DAP’s way in challenging the Malays , then remember
Malays will naturally point at the Chinese.
I am not asking the Chinese not to be critical. Voice your concern but do not approve DAP in challenging what perceived to be the rights of Malays.
If Chinese insist on non Mandarin speaking teachers are out of Chinese schools(meaning Malay teachers), then do not be surprise that Malays nowdays are warning UMNO that it has to blame itself if it loses in Malay constituencies by fielding non malay candidates.
“Kalau mereka sendiri tak mahu cikgu melayu di Sekolah Cina, buat apa kita bodoh sangat nak pangkah wakil MCA kat kawasan kita ni”, as one UMNO member in Pandan told me.
It takes two to tango.
Yesterday in clinic there were several Chinese patients who spoke fluent Bahasa… A little bit of accent no doubt but still fluent. Although I try my best to be as impartial as possible to patients from all walks of life, I am only human and it is difficult to ignore the tenderness and comradeship evoked in the heart by fellow Malaysians who share our common language. It encourages inclusiveness and shouldn’t be underestimated. In my advice to them: “Masalah *orang kita* nie ialah teh tarik dan nasi putih, sebab itu tahap gula naik…” No slip of the tongue, rolled out completely naturally. Have a great weekend.
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I owe you an article (sorry for delay). It’ll be up today. — Helen
En. Shamshul Anuar,
Tidak terkira banyaknya lafazan “terima kasih” yang ingin saya persembahkan kepada En. Shamshul di atas kupasan saudara.
Memang apa yang En. Shamshul sebut itu sedang terbuku di hati saya, dan selama ini memang saya mengamat-amati bagaimana hendak meluahkannya. Namun, En. Shamshul telah lebih dahulu berbuat demikian, dan dengan penuh gaya dan hemah.
Terima kasih sekali lagi. Saya berharap kami akan dapat limpahan ilmu daripada En. Shamshul lagi di masa hadapan. Insya Allah.
Kepada puak-puak yang tamak haloba, sedarlah, kami orang Melayu tidak sesuka hati memanggil orang lain bangsa pendatang. Budi pekerti kami amat halus, dan kami tahu betapa kasarnya bahasa sebegitu. Tetapi, ini ungkapan yang terucap apabila sudah terlampau marah akibat terlalu banyak beralah dan berhadapan dengan orang yang sudah diberi betis, meminta peha pula.
Servant of God,
One MCA friend of mine told me MCA fared badly in 2008 because of MCA association with UMNO. I told him off MCA should be thankful for association with UMNO. Had not for UMNO, MCA is now a legacy worth a place in a museum.
The truth is that in the past MCA was s timid and afraid to challenge DAP. In honesty, an UMNO member told me that MCA is happy that DAP is vocal as it(MCA) wil use is bargaining toll against UMNO.
I do not know whether it is the truth but I believe MCA knows how dangerous to be an ally of an extremist party.
As for the Chinese, there is no 2 way about it. accept reality that as they shout for “malaysian first”, very few Malays believe it. PAS does not believe it but find it acceptable just to agonise UMNO or puts UMNO in defensive mode.
Many chinese due to DAP’s continous slandering UMNO actually believe UMNO as racist. I told them if UMNO is racist., what is stopping them for punishing the Chinese if it had really wanted to do so. It had ample time to do
I reminded them it is UMNO that stands firm on accepting a pragmatic method of alliance with non Malays as non Malays constitute 40% of population.
Of course, it is easy for PAS to condemn alliance with non Muslims when it was confined to Trengganu and kelantan, states with 85% population is Malay. Reality in other states necessitates different approach which PAS silently adopting the very method it claimed as “Sinful”.
One Chinese friend of mind said he can not stand UMNO dominating Malaysian politics. I told him nobody is stopping DAP from taking a dominant position from UMNO. UMNO earns the dominance through a legitimate manner, ballot box. There is nothing to be embarassed about it.
Many Malays are lulled in thinking that PR will take care their interests. i am not so sure about it. Looking at how cruel DAP can be to Malay traders simply because they are Malays make me praying that Allah may in HIs infinite mercy to Malay and Malaysians to continue granting power to UMNO.
That does not mean that I am flatterig UMNO . I lambasted UMNO for its mistakes too. some UMNO ministers are downright “lembik”.
AS FOR CHINESE, until and unless they make genuine effort to reach for Malays( after all these years complaining they are 2nd class), then they must accept that fewer and fewer Malays will vote for MCA.
Why not make the first move. How? By the Chinese telling off DAP that they will not tolerate it twisting facts or slandering UMNO or Malays.
In other words, the interest of Chinese community is too important to be sacrificed just to perpetuate Lim Dynasty that in reality belongs to JURASSIC AGE
Samsul;
To make changes in any country, I strongly believe in strong leadership. Some time may required dictatorial or autocratic leadership. I can’t recall in any country that changes happen when two strong communities decided harmaniously to integrate with a common language. Not in Canada, Singapore,Thailand, Indonesia, Philiipines and in other part of the world.
In Malaysia,It happen during the first wave of Chinese immigration because the Chinese were very small minority then.
In Thailand , the immigration of Chinese was similar to Malaysia. The early Chinese immigrants intermarry with native Thais and acquire the Thais culture .No problem of assimilation during this time. However, the later immigrants , big in number started to create their own community and live within their own cocoon.. Once they have the numbers, arrogance started to crept in.
“In A.D. 1824-1851 Reign of Rama III – Thailand
A band of Chinese insurgents capture and loot the city
of Chachengsao, causing the majority of the Siamese
population to flee the city. The government successfully
dispatched troops to put down the affair. After a few
confrontations one of the rebel leaders changed sides
and led his troops to capture the other rebel leaders. The
rest of the rebels soon fled the city and were surrounded
by the government troops. The town folk returned and
initiated a massacre. Some Chinese tried to flee by
becoming monks, but were not spared and many hanged
themselves to avoid the slaughter. Deaths numbered in
the thousands”. – quoted from chinahistoryforum.
What make the Chinese in Thailand assimilated with the Thais, talks Thais and behave like Thais because of one Thai dictator by the name of Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram. This guy of Chinese Thai descent forced the Chinese to assimilate, encourage Thai nationalism by encouraging the Thais to purchase Thai products instead of Chinese products. . During his reign, life were difficult for the Chinese.
But the early sacrifice of Chinese in Thailand resulted with Thai Chinese today identify themselves as Thais instead of Chinese , They communicate in Thais and behave like Thais. Even though the Chinese represented only 15% of the total population, most if not all of elected Thai Prime Minister were of Chinese descent.Interesting isn’t it. !!
I am not sure whether this is the right model . In last year election in Thailand, I noticed that Thais native party led by former Thai general was formed and contested in the election. I am sure there are native Thai discontent in Thailand. The native because of their economic situation compare to the Chinese are demanding more attention.
I think other commenters know that I have lived many years in Thailand. I have seen the behavior of the thai-chinese there. They made their wealth many generations ago and the current thai chinese elite exist just to curry favor with the royalty and strengthen their political positions.
The thai chinese command not just the political/economic arena, but the sociological/media arena too. The media and advertisements that blare on the BTS skytrain all show fair skinned thais (obviously with chinese ancestry) acting out scenes as professionals and successful businessmen.
On their national TV, ‘native’ thais are depicted in ads as farmers or the underprivileged. Every once in a while you will see a man in orange robes (a buddhist monk) appear on TV to talk about being happy (มีความสุข) as way to cope or deal with the situation, while a video montage of brown skin children playing around shacks and in dirty slum water is shown in between.
All brown skin thai ladies actively seek to have a ‘farang’ (ฝรั่ง) or western (white) boyfriend in the hopes that one day their offspring can appear white. Their mindset is to achieve ‘whiteness’ (ผิวขาว), and that concept is also now very common among the bumi/malay community and is not discussed often enough. The skin whitening industry is another culprit in this regard, and it is dominated by the thai-chinese and westerners, of course. Indians/arabs and other brown skin foreigners are referred in a derogatory fashion by the term ‘khaek’ แขก, similar in sting to ‘chink’.
Thai-chinese still marry among their people. Some still teach their kids the chinese dialect they grew up with. One girl i knew spoke fluent mandarin, though never taught in school. Some thai-chinese admit to me they are barred by their parents to marry brown skinned thais. One thai chinese man i know told me he had to marry another thai chinese, and soon thereafter migrated to singapore. No, their so called assimilation is a myth. I call it forced. integration.
I would not say that the Chinese in Thailand are well assimilated. I do believe most of them still speak their own regional dialects at home or among those of their own clans. That most, if not all elected Thai Premiers were of Chinese origin is not surprising as they dominate a large part of the economy and social spheres. What separates the Thai Chinese community is in the strategy they use to pursue their goals, or to be more precise their agenda.
overseasbumi,
i noticed this when I watched a Thai movie aired by Astro few months ago· The movie was about a Thai tomoi fighter that later on progressed to become a gangster and a hired killer·
The movie also reflected two segment of Thai society- one rich and powerful played by the Chinese while the other segment – poor and brutal played by the Thai native. After seeing the movie, I believe it reflected the actual life of the Thai native overthere.
I beleive this situation is also similar in Phillipine and Indonesia.
My view that assimilation via a common language like the Thai, Philippine and Indonesia is not enough. There must be an affirmative action to bring the native able to compete with the Chinese and and also share the economic cake.
I think before we put forward an argument, we should at least look into the mirror and ask ourselves when we bla bla bla about the Chinese, do we scrutinize the Muslim in the same manner at a comparable situation? Are we operating on a double standard? Are we giving our detractor an easy way to undermine our position? For instance, there are Malay Muslim in both Thailand and Philippines, what is their number and do they assimilate well? And the frequent brough up failure of multiculturalism in Europe as narrated by many here was referred mainly to Muslim community, is the failure was due to Muslim or government policy? Both Chinese and Muslim live as majority and minority in different country, thus don’t we think we should be more mindful before giving out some apparently illogical and stupid claim?
Think before write la. But of course if the bla bla bla is purely with the intention to insult, I have to say many of you fail miserably, the feeble attempt so far is only good for laugh, and pretty childish. Another suggestion, learn from AI, at the least up to now i cant yet find a way to rebut most of his viewpoint, evidently we are from a different camp though.
I am with n american friend in a night club in the uae. I can give scathing accounts of muslim countries and their people in general. But my chauvinism prevents me from doing so.
I would criticize muslims (esp of the pas variety) in a different forum. Am not yet prepared to criticise it here. It might scare away helens malay readers.
She wouldnt want that
“But my chauvinism prevents me from doing so. ”
:) i think i like u more n more. i meant i like to read you more n more.
I am not too sure what kind of assimilation will please the Malays by reading some of the comments here. Honestly, what gives?
Servant of god,
Boleh tahu nama encik
I want to state that Tunku Aziz probably deserved getting kicked out of DAP in the most humiliating way. I still remember his swipe at ‘mamaks’.
He he he ! Why address him as Tunku Aziz ? The man is like a cartoon character, I call him Aziz the Toon. Woohoo !
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Q.4u: The politicians who are Datuk would be addressed as Datuk by most. Do you think people will call Nicole David ‘Datuk’ face-to-face? — Helen
People may call Nicole David as Dah Talk. I know its not funny, but to interpret Datuk as Dah Talk may not sound that bad at all. Dah Talk Nicole David he he he !
I don’t know. I kinda liked Tunku Aziz, he spoke his mind and most of his views were sound. I am more inclined to adopt his view that LGE is biadap, to be honest. I feel that a lot of the opposition media are painting him (Tunku Aziz) in a bad light because he no longer serves their purpose. And I am pro-Pakatan (and anti-UMNO). Just speaking the truth (or rather my mind).
P.S. I hope I was the blogger who vocally observed that you did not possess the rampant herd mentality that is so prevalent. If not, ditto that — I certainly agree with said blogger.
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Yes, it was you lah but I kept the reference vague to preserve your anonymity. :) — Helen
Crankshaft,
I concur with Tunku Aziz. BERSIH 3 is not at all about free and fair election. It is about one man’s obsession to be Prime Minister at any cost .
Anwar Ibrahim is a classic example whom Muslim will term as “enggan menerima Qada dan qadar”. He can not accept reality that the last election was won by BN.
That is the real issue. That refusal resulted in him concocting story about Sept 16, 2008. He knew he could not buy UMNO MPs. But Sept 16, 2008 gave him the greatest of pleasure making UMNO MPs jumped literally like cat on hot tin roof.
Anwar, due to his “nafsu” was unable to see that at the end he would be deemed as “moron” after Sept 16, 2008 when Abdullah Govt was still intact.
CRANKSHAFT,
Yes sir. You said it clearly. Guan Eng is rude. That is the reality. Glowing tribute such as “khalifah” or “god’s gift” actually fail to “cover” his glaring weaknesses. He does not have an idea about developing Penang.
His trademark is blaming all ills to BN and especially UMNO. Anybody who dares to question him( like Tunku Aziz) will automatically accused as being UMNO lackey.
Khalifah ? God’s gift ? The man is not even circumcised and people call him a Caliph ? Come on ! What kind of Caliph are you talking about ? Caliph of the disbelievers among the Muslims ? Caliph of the infidels ? Or both ?
Ahmad ibrahim,
That is what Guan eng said. That he is so impressed with the humility of a great leader, a Prophet’s companion, Khalifah Omar. Although everybody knows Guan eng’s attitude is a direct contrast to that of Khalifah Omar.
And this politician representing Subang Jaya, better known for tweeting in State assembly hall, commented that Guan Eng is God’s gift to Malaysia. Now I know why my father, when he had been alive said some politicians are blind to boot.