Najib Razak will have to pay a heavy political cost on the issue of Rohingya if he chooses to disregard Malaysian public sentiment rejecting these illegal immigrants.
Regular blog commenter tebing tinggi remarked @ 2015/05/19 at 11:20 am, “I think we have enough pendatang problem, why adding more?”
Above are the results of my online poll on the Rohingya
(The opinion survey was uploaded on Friday evening and the latest results taken at 1pm today)
From the total of 664 readers that have taken part so far, 60.3 percent (401 participants) said ‘No’ – Rohingya boat people should not be allowed to stay in Malaysia.
Only 29.0 percent or 193 participants said ‘Yes’, the Rohingya should be allowed to stay. In other words, the number of those saying ‘No’ (six out of every 10) is double those saying ‘Yes’ (three out of every 10). The Prime Minister’s Office should take note.
Among the remaining respondents, 7.37 percent said, “The government knows best” while 3.31 percent said they did not hold any strong opinion (“Don’t know”) on the issue.
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Najib rarely takes initiative nor goes on offensive
The BN chairman should be prepared to bleed even more support from the 48 percent of the electorate that voted the ruling party if he is seen now to cower before the loud, liberal NGOs.
Like what beast of burden (one of the regular commenters in this blog) said @ 2015/05/19 at 12:29 am, “Why must Malaysia [be] put on the defensive?”
Indeed.
Najib, instead of showing firm leadership, is more often than not put on the backfoot.
The Home Ministry has said that Malaysia will push back the Rohingya that have arrived in the trawlers. We are waiting to see if Najib has the gumption to stand by his government’s decision.
GRAPH: Illegal immigrants started coming in hordes once Australia’s populist politicians reversed the previous government’s strict Closed Door policy and opened the floodgates
The Australian Experience
‘How political correctness killed 1,200 people‘ by Thomas Hobbes
“These people [cheap publicity-seeking politicians] don’t give a shit about refugees. They don’t give a shit about helping people, or making the world a better place. They are interested in their own power, and that alone.”
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Najib’s response in his “Tun M FAQ”
(My comments in brackets)
Responding to claims that BN will lose at the next general election, Najib said, “If I get the support that I need to pursue the transformation programmes, we will succeed.”
(The truth, which Najib himself is well aware, is that he is hemorrhaging support due to his lack of firmness in leading the country.)
Najib said, “If we are united, and stop the infighting, we will succeed”.
(The rakyat will not unite behind an indecisive leader who is unable to take strong action and lacking in direction.)
Najib said, “If we focus on constructive rather than destructive politics, we will succeed.”
(The DAP’s Politics of Hate is already destroying the fabric of our society while its GE13 tsunami has wiped out the BN Chinese-dominated parties. Najib should focus on neutralizing his political opponents instead of preaching a futile ‘moderation’ to the likes of Bintang Lima.)
BELOW: The things that Najib does which cause him to lose Malay votes
Najib said, “If we focus on work instead of believing and spreading rumours, spins and half-truths, we will succeed.”
(The big problem is that those vicious rumours are not immediately nor successfully countered by Najib and his team. Ugly spin which is the opposition hallmark is not deflected either. Najib will not succeed unless he is able to squash his enemies and their ugly methodology of fabricating untruths and spreading half truths.)
Najib said, “A clear plan has already been set in motion.”
(It is most unfortunate then that Mr Clear-Plan-Najib appears to be stuck with the label ‘clueless’.)
Najib said, “As you can see, these are fruits of the Transformation Programme launched 5 years ago. It is finally happening and I am very excited that we are starting to see the impact.”
(The impact is that the BN will get kicked out if Najib continues on his present trajectory.
Please do not renew the senatorship of Idris ‘Evangelista’ Jala when his term expires in another four months. Without being a senator, the Pemandu CEO can no longer sit in the cabinet.
Dissolve TalentCorp and the NUCC. If Najib fails to take these measures, Umno will lose its traditional civil servant and Felda votes. Umno’s drastic loss of votes in Rompin already signals this message.)
Najib said, “This is what actually matters to the people. Improvements are happening before our very eyes. But I know that many would of course rather look at the bad and continue to harp on never ending rumours, half-truths and spins.”
(Many voters have been taken in by the “never ending rumours, half-truths and spins” because of Team Najib’s weakness in debunking them. What we see before our very eyes is Najib pandering to the slimeballs.)
Najib said, “They continue to believe that the ‘end is nigh’ and that the Opposition will win.”
(The 48 percent of registered voters who supported BN last time will continue to believe that the ‘end is nigh’ and the Opposition will win because Najib has allowed the Dapster evangelistas to take charge after they’ve mercilessly bullied everyone else.)
Najib said, “These are claims that have been made over and over again in the last five decades and yet we are still here.”
(For how much longer will BN still be in Putrajaya, you think? See bar chart below of all the general election results since 1959.)
Click to enlarge
BN vs Opposition track record
The red bar in the graph denotes the performance of the opposition which peaked once and for the first time in May 1969 and attained its apogee (best ever) in May 2013 – the polls conducted under Najib’s watch.
In a series of eleven general elections – 1959, 1964, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1995, 1999, 2004 & 2008 – the opposition NEVER managed to obtain more than half (>50%) of the popular vote. Support for the opposition only ranged from between 34.8% and 48.6%, i.e. the 12th general election held during Abdullah Badawi’s tenure.
It was only in two general elections that the opposition won the popular vote and got above 50 percent – obtaining 50.7 percent in 1969 and 50.9 percent in 2013. In all the history of our country’s elections, the opposition did their best ever in GE13 when Najib was the BN chairman presiding over the federal capital.
Najib said, “While everyone is free to criticise me and list all my ‘failures,’ it is also important to recognise how far we have come in the last six years, in order to have a fair view of things.”
Najib’s failure is in leadership. In the last six years, the Dapster evangelistas have gained so much dominance due to Najib’s conciliatory nature.
Our country needs a leader of men, not a ‘moderate’ facilitator who panders to the extremists that control the opposition. Najib needs to be a war general.
Tick tock tick tock
What happens when the ancien regime is ousted and a new one takes over?
Here’s a clue: Former Egypt president Mohammed Morsi has been dealt the death sentence. He faces execution.
Back in Malaysia, I’ve been asking “What kind of people are they?”, “What will they do to you?”
What will the DAP do to Najib (and Tun) if they succeed in grabbing power?
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Najib needs to be a war general, Read, ‘Nations are forged in the cauldron of war‘
Helen Ang 
How representative is your poll? Your audience and readers are mostly from the far-right ultra-conservative type who believe in the supremacy of race and religion. Certainly not representative of the entire nation.
Does allowing the Rohingyas to land equate to giving them visa permits to live and work in Malaysia? They are short of food, water, fuel, medicine, and their boats will not last long. After allowing them to land and recover, we can repatriate them to Bangladesh, similar to how shipwrecked survivors are eventually returned to their country.
re: “How representative is your poll? Your audience and readers are mostly from the far-right ultra-conservative type who believe in the supremacy of race and religion.”
“Far-right ultra conservative type”? And your friends are the “moderates”?
I concede that there is an inbuilt bias to my poll respondents where the issue concerns local politics. However Rohingya boat people is a non-partisan issue.
An anti-BN individual like ‘HH’ is as likely to vote ‘Yes’ as my blog’s traditional BN/Umno supporters. Meanwhile some DAP “type” (e.g. ex Johor DAP deputy chairman Norman Fernandez) is saying ‘No’ just like some of the traditional BN/Umno supporters.
I believe everybody’s view whether ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ is valid and I’m quite willing to agree to disagree on this one. This poll is just to let the government to know.
re: “Your audience and readers are mostly from the far-right ultra-conservative type who believe in the supremacy of race and religion.”
If you accusation about supremacy of religion is true, then the results would have been the reverse since the Rohingya are Muslim. It would be 60 percent ‘Yes’ if my audience are the Muslim supremacists that you allege.
re: “Does allowing the Rohingyas to land equate to giving them visa permits to live and work in Malaysia?”
After they land, where are they to go and how long allowed to be allowed to stay?
re: “They are short of food, water, fuel, medicine, and their boats will not last long.”
They paid human traffickers to be allowed on the boat which you now say “will not last long”. Would you get into a car and drive it knowing the possibility that the brakes will soon give way? How about taking personal responsibility?
re: “After allowing them to land and recover, we can repatriate them to Bangladesh, similar to how shipwrecked survivors are eventually returned to their country.”
How are we to repatriate them to Bangladesh? By AirAsia like the 40,000 your friends claimed were flown here to vote in GE14? Bangladesh does not want them.
Finder’s keepers.
We find the Rohingya, we have to keep them.
Funnily none of those who advocate taking in the Rohignyas can propose anything beyond housing and sheltering and then repatriating them.
Any long term solution?
Any long term solution that wouldnt affect us economically, socially etc.? Housing them is free? Repatriating them is free? What if the home country refuses to accept them etc?
Any long term solution that wouldnt exacerbate the problem?
NADA. ZILCH.
It’s just “hey let’s point to the evilness/cruelty/racism of UMNO/BN/Malay gomen” without offering a single iota of a workable solution.
Typical of them.
re: “affect us economically, socially etc”
Of course. Look at how having the Chinese and Indian immigrants affected Malaya.
Re: Of course. Look at how having the Chinese and Indians immigrants affected Malaya
Umpama tangan yang meyuap mahu di gigit pula
“Of course. Look at how having the Chinese and Indian immigrants affected Malaya.”
In a positive way. Thanks to their pre and postcolonial labour, our nation has become more advanced than its neighbours in South East Asia, with the exception of Singapore.
The labour of Indian estate workers brought profit to the white big plantation owners. It did not enrich the Malays.
The labour of Chinese in the tin mines brought profit to the Chinese tin mine owners. It did not enrich the Malays either.
The infrastructure brought about by the colonial economy was build in the towns and cities. At Independence, many Malays were still living in the kampung and rural areas. Most Malays, with the exception of the elites, did not attend English schools in the urban areas – one of the reasons being the parents’ distrust of the Christian missionaries who ran such education centres.
So the development under the colonial system overall did not benefit the Malays much either.
But it was a Malay-led government which inherited the infrastructure and systems after 1957.
The infrastructure was inherited by the country. The Chinese benefited also from the railway line, as one example, when we buy our train tickets to travel KL-Penang-KL. Chinese businessmen benefited from the ports and the roads linking the godowns to the towns. Chinese benefited from the schools left behind by the missionaries, e.g. Penang Free School or Victoria Institution.
Malays did not inherit British ownership of the colonial assets, say the rubber plantations which remained in British hands post-1957. But the Malays conducted the Dawn Raid on Guthrie in 1981.
Many Chinese also lived in rural villages and mining villages far from major urban populations and later, New Villages during the Emergency. Ditto for the Indian plantation workers deep in the rubber estates. Many people in these areas were limited to Chinese or Tamil medium schools.
The Malays who could access English medium schools also benefited from these institutions. For instance, Tun Mahathir, Daim, many former and current ministers, ambassadors, businessmen, and businesswomen.
(1) Indians were the isolated estate workers and manual labourers as I’ve written in my Hindraf pieces. But the town Indians, especially the Ceylonese, were also the clerical class and other skilled administrative workers (better educated than the Malay masses). They owned the first houses in Bangsar – hah! – before the township took off to its current yuppie property values.
(2) There were the New Village Chinese but the Chinese also controlled the towns. You can easily check this from the voter demography of the May 1969 general election, and that’s why/how the opposition swept the urban areas in Selangor, Perak and Penang. It wasn’t an idle boast when the Chinese shouted on May 12 that KL was theirs.
(3) The Malays who could access English-medium education were rare – either exceptional like Dr M or privileged (the traditional elites). It was the lack of access that prompted Dr M’s Malay Dilemma soul-searching.
He was a doctor and his ownership of big car Pontiac along with a Chinese driver (on purpose, I believe, to underscore a point) was a status symbol in Alor Setar. Which goes to show that the rest of the Malays hadn’t yet caught up. In his writings, he complained about the Alor Setar town economy (business ownership) being in Chinese hands.
Afendihamat
I ended my discussion with you the last time with ‘to each their own’. I am done with the Rohingya issue. Since you pose a valid question, I think it deserves some thoughts.
Let’s assume, hypothetically speaking of course, if Malaysia takes in the Rohingyas, who bear the cost? How not to burden. the country?
The answer would be the Malaysian government to bear the cost and yes, you betcha it will burden the country.
Humanitarian aid is not meant to be ‘easy’. If causes like these are profitable, then we wouldn’t be having this discussion.
The Rohingyas would be welcomed with red carpet and kompang.
When it comes to humanitarian effort, I bet you don’t ask what you get in return when you donate to your favourite charity. You either give or don’t give, period. No compulsion. That is the very essence of charity. No different in this case.
On a side note, I do understand where the folks are getting at when they cite their concern on the impact of immigrants on society. It is a legit point.
But then we have some whom on another thread brought up their objection on the basis of job competition with the locals.
Duh.
IMF seems to concur with the Malaysian Government on their aspiration to become a high income nation by 2020 being within reach.
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2015/03/20/malaysias-high-income-nations-target-within-reach/
It is interesting to note some still regard cheap foreign labour as a direct job competition to the locals. We are talking about the unskilled labours, mind you.
If local Malaysians are competing for jobs with 3rd world workers from Bangladash, Myanmar and Nepal (among others), then it is time to ask some hard questions.
“Since you pose a valid question, I think it deserves some thoughts.”
And unfortunately the question remains unanswered, just as I expected.
This is despite the rather long-winded explanation of charity and “humanitarian effort”. Perhaps you believe the concept is alien to me.
Good effort at explaining the concept though. Doesnt answer anything, but cant really fault you there. Like I said, it is expected.
“On a side note, I do understand where the folks are getting at when they cite their concern on the impact of immigrants on society. It is a legit point.”
Putting this as a side note, with a simple nod to it being a ‘legit point’ reinforces what I said earlier about people having no long-term solution but always want to say something to make others look bad.
Impact on society – no amount of money can repair.
Impact on society – might take generations to heal.
That should scare anyone.
And people keep going on about money…DUH…
Money boleh cari…esp with the GST now, it’s hard for some people to hide their income.
So please la, stop simplifying things. I might join the game of simplifying things and then I’ll enjoy it so much and my productivity goes downhill.
PS – I’m no legal expert, but arent illegal immigrants somehow in breach of our laws? What do we do? What do other countries do?
Afendihamat
Quote: “And unfortunately the question remains unanswered, just as I expected.
I answered. Probably not what you wanted to hear.
Quote: This is despite the rather long-winded explanation of charity and “humanitarian effort”. Perhaps you believe the concept is alien to me.
Yes, I think it is …. after going through your reply.
Quote: Money boleh cari…esp with the GST now, it’s hard for some people to hide their income.
People who hide their income ought to be slapped with penalty. But those who have no income to hide? They still are taxed under GST.
Quote: PS – I’m no legal expert, but arent illegal immigrants somehow in breach of our laws? What do we do? What do other countries do?
You don’t need legal credentials to know ‘illegal’ workers are illegal. The word says it all.
You might want to pose your question to the Immigration authorities. The government would have the means to clamp down on illegal migrants.
But I hope it is not an ‘alien concept’ to you here are indeed legal foreign workers. In fact, I was talking about the legal workers.
Ah well, seeing how the discussion is going, I no longer need to bother.
“I answered. Probably not what you wanted to hear.”
Yup, the question was about long term solution. You definitely gave a long-winded non-answer. Like I said earlier…ZILCH.
“Ah well, seeing how the discussion is going, I no longer need to bother.”
That’s good. Come back when you actually have an answer. It’s quite simple. Unless the concept is alien to you.
Correction: should read..
But I hope it is not an ‘alien concept’ to you there are indeed legal foreign workers. In fact, I was talking about the legal workers.
So I suppose we should let them be and let them die at sea when their boats finally break apart or they perish to thirst and hunger?
No mention about tackling the root cause in Myanmar? What good is ASEAN for?
According to reports on the Net, Rakhine has a population of 3.1 million. The Rohingya are 1.3 million and the second largest ethnic group in the state.
Population-wise, they are just a little behind (equivalent) the Chinese in Penang, i.e. quite a large number in one particular state but a minority at national level.
Doubtless the Chinese in Malaysia complain that we are discriminated against but we’re not wallowing in poverty. The Rohingya actually have strong numbers in Rakhine even if they’re oppressed (which I believe is true).
Some Chinese have emigrated and the Rohingya are trying to. The choice is to pack up and leave, or to fight for better rights as citizens in the country. Nonetheless it’s most unfair to push the blame to the destination countries (Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, etc) for the perils that the emigrants face at sea.
When our Chinese forefathers sailed here across the South China Sea, some passengers perished making the journey too because the conditions in the tongkang those days were bad. However I can’t blame the Malays of Tanah Melayu if my great grandfather’s uncle or cousin died in the boat.
Isn’t it ironic that (if the press reports are correct) the Philippines (a predominantly Catholic nation) is willing to provide a refuge for the Rohingyas (who are mainly Muslims) fleeing Myanmar?
The Philippines presidential spokesperson said that as a Catholic nation, the Philippines has a duty to be “compassionate” to these refugees.
I note that in all the finger pointing, no one is taking the Myanmar government to task for what is well-documented discrimination and persecution of the Rohingyas. The other Asean countries are studiously bending over backwards to avoid offending the Myanmar authorities in this matter.
Even Aung San Suu Kyi, the darling of liberals and foreign NGOs has been conspicuously silent on the subject of the Rohingyas.
When Muslims were persecuted by the Serbs in Bosnia (with documented occurrences of genocide, rape and torture), it was the “crusader nations” of the West who finally intervened and brought the perpetrators to justice.
Are the unfortunate Rohingyas of the wrong colour and religion and in the wrong place at the wrong time?
‘The result of this tension is an uneasy two-way xenophobia, with each side accusing the other of racism even though both are Han Chinese.’
Paku dulang paku serpih.
‘The visible influence of China in the everyday lives of Singaporeans has sharpened their sense of identity as Singaporean rather than as the descendants of Chinese mainlanders. If the Chinese of Singapore once defined their Chineseness in opposition to Malaysia, today they are distancing themselves from China. As one Singaporean Chinese friend of mine told me before heading to Japan for work this past autumn, at the height of tensions between China and Japan over the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands, “I just need to make sure they know I’m Singaporean, not Chinese.”
Karma is a two way street. Melayu kata padan muka!
‘On the face of it, few cultural mergers could be more seamless. Singapore’s multilingual educational system treats Mandarin as a de facto second language after English.’
Bahasa Kebangsaan Singapura masuk longkang!
re: “Singapore’s multilingual educational system treats Mandarin as a de facto second language after English. Bahasa Kebangsaan Singapura masuk longkang!”
Describing Hannah Soalan Mulut?
Singapore’s population is about 70% ethnic Chinese.
And your point is…..?
It’s like Indonesians and Malaysians! You know, the “abang-adek” thingy?
And the “masuk longkang” comment? Another manifestation of a rampant inferiority complex writ large?
So we let them die at sea? Can we swap all of them and put you on a boat and send you far far away?
Why don’t you offer your hostel in Sekolah Demokrasi DAP to house them? Can also offer the under-utilized Penang Institute building to be used as a transit centre.
PS Penang Institute is building a new wing beside its current heritage bungalow. Sure there would be space.
Employ a few to upkeep the institute.
Better still employ 500 to clean up Komtar.
“If you accusation about supremacy of religion is true, then the results would have been the reverse since the Rohingya are Muslim.”
Race AND religion. Hence the totally different reactions between the plights of the Muslim Rohingyas and the mostly Muslim Palestinians or Syrians.
“After they land, where are they to go and how long allowed to be allowed to stay?”
If they are a flight risk, they can be confined to refugee camps before being repatriated.
“They paid human traffickers to be allowed on the boat which you now say “will not last long”. Would you get into a car and drive it knowing the possibility that the brakes will soon give way? How about taking personal responsibility?”
Plenty of accidents and mishaps happen on our roads and seas from neglect of personal responsibility, misadventure, and dereliction from duty of care. Perhaps we should disband our emergency medical services and search & rescue services?
“How are we to repatriate them to Bangladesh? By AirAsia like the 40,000 your friends claimed were flown here to vote in GE14? Bangladesh does not want them.”
If they embarked from Bangladesh, then they should be repatriated there. Many of these boat people apart from the Rohingya are Bangladeshi citizens.
For a long term and more concrete solution to the boat people crisis, we and other ASEAN members should pressure Myanmar to find a positive solution to the Rohingya and Rakhine state conflict. ASEAN members tend not to concern itself with the conflicts of their fellow member nations, especially during Mahathir’s so-called “prosper thy neighbour” policy. Unfortunately, the externalities of these disturbances spill over across the border into our backyards, sometimes literally.
re: “Plenty of accidents and mishaps happen on our roads and seas from neglect of personal responsibility, misadventure, and dereliction from duty of care. Perhaps we should disband our emergency medical services and search & rescue services?”
Let’s put you in a car with faulty brakes, ya, since you know the risk but still wanna drive. After you get into an accident, we don’t mind calling an ambulance.
Well, I suppose that Malaysians can’t be faulted for having the “compassion fatigue” syndrome.
There are, after all, about 1 million illegal Indonesian immigrants (depending on who is counting) in the country. What is being done about them? It appears that nothing substantive will be done because no one wants to upset Indonesia.
What about tourists from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Africa and the Middle East who “overstay” their visas and land up in Malaysia’s “shadow economy”?
The situation in Sabah with regard to migration from the southern Philippines is well known.
Malaysians are not amused with the perception that the country’s borders are “porous” and that political will to tackle illegal immigration is lacking.
The unfortunate Rohingyas are the tipping point.
European welcomes migrant ( refugees ) with “open arms”. .
http://rt.com/news/259781-eu-naval-mission-refugees/
“What about tourists from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Africa and the Middle East who “overstay” their visas and land up in Malaysia’s “shadow economy”?”
I think you miss another large group – the Chinese.
LOL. Mata Rithmatist is so sepet dia tak boleh nampak semua tu!
“Another large group – the Chinese”.
Are there any official statistics to support your statement? Or is it just an off-the-cuff statement that bears little relation to reality?
And, for the sake of argument, if there are really a “large group” of illegal immigrants from China in the country, why aren’t the authorities doing anything about it?
Like denying them entry at the airports. Monitoring their whereabouts. Rounding them up and jailing them and then deporting them.
But, no, where China is concerned, it is apparently “softly, softly…”. Because no one wants to be on the wrong side of a grumpy and temperamental gorilla. And with the US hardly inclined to pull Malaysia’s irons out of the fire.
So, gotta do what needs to be done.
Tough talk gives way to realpolitik. Right, Helen?
re: “Tough talk gives way to realpolitik. Right, Helen?”
Held to ransom?
A Freudian slip?
Who is being “held to ransom”?
Definitely not the party that is busy reclaiming parts of the South China Sea to join up reefs, is it?
And not the party who has LCSs (Littoral Combat Ships) rotating though a port in the region, yes?
So, who does that leave clutching the sarong when the music stops?
Hahaha….
Typical pendatang antics!
And you would know that how?
Hahaha…..
You want statistics on Chinese who are in this country illegaly? Hah, like you provided any evidence on your sweeping statement of “tourists from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Africa and the Middle East who “overstay” their visas?”
There were about 6000 Chinese visitors who overstayed their visa in 2013 (google it if you want confirmation), then there are those who misused their visas who ended up working in the “entertainment” industry. And the government gives on arrival visas to quite a lot of nationalities not just China.
“.. why aren’t the authorities doing anything about it?” Yeah that’s a question that we all agree needs an answer.
Wait. What is Singapore doing to help our fellow ASEAN friends?
Why don’t we send a few thousand to Singapore? I am sure Singapore needs construction workers and maids.
They are already getting construction workers from India and Bangladesh, brought in legally, no nonsense.
And domestic helpers from Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar, India and Nepal. Again, brought in legally. No hanky panky, grey areas or rogue agents!
Next?
LKY punya buttboy ada sini rupanya. IC masih simpan ke bro? Ke ulang-alik hari-hari dari Iskandar masuk Ang Mo Kio?
The PM’s office should take note of a poll conducted by a right wing self deluded and hate inciting crazy like you?
OK I am a crazy and deluded. I don’t want Roghinya help.
Dod, why don’t you take in a Roghinya or two or three? They could help in your home.
I’m one of those who voted (conditional) “yes”, because I’ll admit I’m a bleeding heart. I can’t stand the idea that these people would die at sea unless we help them.
Then there’s the pragmatist in me who recognised the validity of the arguments against helping them. Then there’s another part of me who can’t stand the idea that these people are being used by certain groups to show up the “evil” of the BN government.
Hence on this issue I’m glad we have the government to make the tough choices. If it was up to me I’d probably set up aid centres for them on Pulau Ketam or Pulau Terkukur or whatever least inhabited island off the coast of Selangor (home of the bleeding heart liberals).
Thanks for this comment, orang kampung.
Under the condition of anonymous voting, the silent majority 60 percent said ‘No’. However the voice of this ‘No’ segment is not heard in the media. On the other hand, the ‘Yes’ camp wearing their Christian charity heart on the sleeve rule the airwaves with their loud ‘Yes’.
Najib Razak has allowed the Dapster evangelistas to seize control of the media to the extent that the pro-establishment views – in this particular Rohingya issue, ‘No’ is the opinion aligned to the government decision – are drowned out and beaten down.
And here (the national narrative, public perception, social media conversation) is where the majority Malays and Muslims are losing your country to the more savvy aggressors who are masters of the digital age.
I’d already guessed that your vote would be ‘Yes’. (Mine is ‘No’.) On a personal level, I suspect that my Malay friends are ‘Yes’ too sebab naluri diorang mudah kesian. Here is the difference between “Us and Them” (the Dapster evangelistas).
I do not knock your ‘Yes’ stance even though we diverge in this one, and you too would understand why I opted for the hard, unpopular ‘No’. We’re able to each see where the other is coming from and understand the grey areas in between, and are able to respect each other person’s position on this.
Not so with the Dapster evangelistas as evidenced by their name-calling hysteria. I shouldn’t be surprised at all that very soon those of us who say ‘No’ would be demonized as “murderers” with blood on our hands or likened to the Butchers of Auschwitz when the first news of a fatal casualty comes from the boats.
As the one-out-of-10 BN Chinese voter, more often than not I find myself caught in the same predicament as the Malay-Muslims, i.e. being the target of attack in the same vein as the Malays are (“stupid/moron/idiot/ignoramus”, “racist”, “bigot”, “extremist”, “hater”, “ultra far right” … and now “inhumane”, “callous”, “heartless”, “merciless”, “lacking in compassion”, yadda yadda).
It’s only natural that I’m able to see the Malay point of view since I’m subjected to the same treatment meted out to BN Malays by the Christian opposition. But the Dapster evangelistas prefer to accuse that what I pen on these pages are not my own genuine views, and thus insinuating that I must be paid by Umno to blog. Which is a stupid accusation because Najib’s Umno has lost touch with the Malay ground and is divorced from the anxieties of the Malay heartland (think Perkasa, Isma articulation).
I believe that I’m by nature a liberal – a real one, and that’s why due to my belief in Freedom of Expression, contrary commenters are not banned and nor are critical comments censored in my blog. Unlike the scores of Twitter users who have been blocked from Hannah Yeoh’s timeline.
Here’s another difference. I don’t preach Freedom of Expression but I practise it and that’s why this blog is plagued by the likes of xyz (won’t mention names, wink) commenters because they’ve been given free rein and I’m sure all of them will admit albeit grudgingly that they’ve never been censored.
On the contrary, those who tub-thump Freedom of Expression the loudest cakap tak serupa bikin. Recall Guan Eng’s “you dare you print lah and you see what I do to you” – threat against reporters over the Rainbow questions.
Hannah Yeoh by blocking scores of dissenting tweeters, has reduced her Twitter timeline to an echo chamber where the sycophantic twits in her thread are only wishing her “Good Morning, YB”, “Oh, you’re so pretty” and telling her where the best Bak Kut Teh and the tastiest Nasi Lemak Ayam can be found.
Despite being bleeding heart liberal myself, I’ve had no choice but to become a pragmatist on account that the Dapster evangelistas perangai macam setan.
It is ironic that in spite of the abundant resources available to the government, Malays and Muslims are still so deprived of a media platform (in the English language), so much so that some of you have had to rally around my personal blog to ventilate your thoughts.
This is a heavy burden on my shoulders, i.e. to provide the platform for the contrarian (suppressed, bullied) views – ‘cos it draws the opposition hornets to zero in on me with their relentless and ruthless smear campaign. I’m just one individual with scant personal resources and it has been taking a toll on me, especially since I really need to concentrate/focus on my own bread-and-butter matters.
I voted the gomen knows best. I second orangkampung feeling especially when I put myself in their place, or my descendant in their place.
My frustration in me with houlier than thou people made me come up with an idea that UMNO should take all refugees, teach them Bahasa and made them Malaysia national. Might as well! In their gratefulness they might vote current opposition from power.
I told one of my FB friend that one of my cousin happily married with Rohingyan who I believe already Malaysian, if not got PR status. After knowing this tahu pula cakap pasal Kedaulatan Negara, as if gomen decision not to accept them has nothing to do with Kedaulatan Negara.
Immigrants seem to be problematic in many places around the world.
I wrote the following in one of my earlier articles:
In the examples above, the individuals adapted their names, changed their religion and speak the language of the land (English) and not Punjabi or Hindi or Swahili. They wear baseball caps and go to baseball games.
The Chinese in Malaysia have adapted almost nothing. But they declare themselves Malaysian Firsters and label the majority race “racist” and “bigots”.
We Malays are not very good at labeling and name calling these days. I wonder why.
I agree with you on the point about the Chinese adapted almost nothing. Unless someone wants to count “nasi lemak ayam”.
We should take back the national discourse from the actual bigots (DAP/evangelists), hatemongers (DAP/evangelists) and slanderers (DAP/evangelists) controlling the social media.
Unfortunately, I dont see BN/UMNO doing anything like that anytime soon. Too “tidak apa..”
Afendihamat,
Part of the blame lies with Malays too. Remember that PAS has been accusing UMNO as “assabiyah” whenever UMNO mentions anything about malays.
The hatred campaign is so successful to the point that Malays begin to think that thinking about your own race is sinful and simply “islamic”.
many times I reminded my Chinese friends that they got their citizenships and the priceless status was consented by Raja Raja Melayu. I often said this whenever they complained that they (Chinese) are poorly treated( meaning by UMNO that is perceived as Malay government).
I said this many times not to irritate them but simply to remind them that the so called “racist” Malays are the one granting them citizenships, thus changing their status from ‘pendatang’ to “warganegara”.
Najib, who “kaut all privileges due to being the son of iconic Tun Razak simply loses touch with reality. And he makes it worse by depending on they very people who want UMNO dead. He does not understand the reality as he creates a cocoon of fantasy around him.
Take bull by its horn. If Hannah Yeoh insults UMNO by painting it as racist, say it out loud DAP is the most racist of all parties on this planet. SAY IT WITH CONFIDENCE. Says with conviction.
Repeat saying it 1000 times the way Hannah insults UMNO. say it in front of chinese voters. Say it bluntly.
takut apa. tanpa undi cina pun UMNO masih berkuasa.
I do not agree at all allowing sea-stranded Rohingyas be settled temporarily here and least convinced the govt will be able to repatriate them after 1 year staying.It is easy said than done. We are currently facing illegal immigrants non ending problems in our midst, not from one nationality but many, even from Latin American countries.Why strained our resources and give away our subsidised goods and services.How confident our govt are in repatriating these Rohingyas to country of origin or third countries. We were lucky in case of Vietnamese immigrants as many third countries willing to take them in, but today due too many factors third countries are not too generous as they were in yesteryears. We will eventually saddle with unwanted and unwelcome Rohinygas in our midst. Though we are not signatory to UNHCR, yet we still took them in as refugees, by estimate around 50,000. The problem not created by us but Myanmar govt who seemed to take hand off and feel not guilty to their ethnic cleansing activities. Looking at turn of even Malaysia and Indonesia will be facing bleak future in repatriating these Rohingyas and they are seemed to have found greener pasture that they dreamed of. We are saviour of mankind for wrong reason…these immigrants are not genuine refugees of prosecution but economic refugees… They can afford to pay human smugglers for their trip here and they have connects already in Malaysia who feed them with story of promised land. No wonder some interviewed by journalists on the boats can speak BM and knew about Malaysia well in advance. To they planned and created the miserable situation to get world attention and sympathy of ever forgiving Malaysian govt…the moral of the story is who is actually running to the bank?
Hannah Yeoh petitioned the prime minister to “have mercy”.
Wearing her always troubled, aching, broken heart on her sleeve does “something good to her soul”.
‘The Chinese in Malaysia have adapted almost nothing. But they declare themselves Malaysian Firsters and label the majority race “racist” and “bigots”.’
Berapa ramai Cina Malaysia kerja cuci toilet, courtesy of apartheid Malaysia?
Tengok Lims kat Singapura, apa buat? some Lims kat Malaysia pula sibuk dok jadi api dalam sekam…
HYPOCRITE when it is in front of their faces https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1219916934703064&id=100000543084712&set=p.1219916934703064&source=47&ref=bookmark
Hazlan Zakaria suggested the brilliant idea to make those Rohingya in the boats, plus the hundred thousands more to come, project MyKad holders. The BN can take back Selangor and Penang after the election, haha.