///GEORGE TOWN, May 8 — Bishop Antony Selvanayagam (left) said Utusan Malaysia lied about the Penang Catholic Church’s role in an alleged plot to make Malaysia Christian, adding he will consult a lawyer to discuss legal options against the Umno newspaper.///

There is no restriction to free practice of any religion, in the constitution. There is also no restriction on who can be prime minister of Malaysia. There is nothing wrong to make Malaysia Christian if Muslims are willing to convert. That is a non-issue, and Utusan Melayu spreading fears among the Muslims is nothing new. They spread fears among non-Muslims for forging 1Melayu, and for 1bumi. It is only surprising that Utusan Melayu is allowed to create disunity in the country with impunity, and stranger still Utusan Melayu is owned by UMNO. But then considering that UMNO governs through rule by law and the laws of the land are used against UMNO’s political opponents, then the actions of Utusan Melayu is clear. That is why UMNO should be sent to opposition bench, and I wish Anwar if made prime minister will take revenge, starting from Mamakthir.

From The Star :Chinese voters must decide
ON THE BEAT WITH WONG CHUN WAI

///The question is whether the Chinese community wishes to be in the government or the opposition in the next general election.///–WCW

The Chinese want to be in the government but they do not want to have MCA-type of Chinese representing them. It would be more correct to say that the Chinese want MCA to be out of the government so that UMNO will be sent to opposition bench. In the event that UMNO still retains power, Chinese prefer MCA to be outside the government so that the Chinese interest would not be said to be represented by MCA, which over the past 5 decades have not been able to safeguard the interests of the Chinese. In particular, MCA in the 1970 was promised that NEP would be for 20 years, but now NEP is forever. Chinese want UMNO to explain to the world how NEP is not discriminatory?

///Racial representation certainly does matter in any government, whether Barisan or Pakatan, as Baru Bian himself has acknowledged. And no matter how we argue, the DAP won in the Chinese areas.///-WCW

Racial representation matters only when the government practices racist policies. That only happens, and considered to be normal, in Malaysia. The sensitivity of the culture and religion of the people are clear to all, and so long as the civil servants do not intentionally act against any racial group, there is no need to have racial quota in government.

The Chinese voted DAP because firstly DAP shows that it is able to govern Penang without corruption. Secondly DAP fights racism and corruption in government, and Chinese in Sarawak are against BN’s racial discriminatory policies.

///The DAP has said that it makes no difference whether SUPP is in the state government or not. But that remains to be seen and evalua­ted in the next five years. ///WCW

To DAP, the persons elected to serves as the government do not serve the interests of their community against others; they serve the interest of the nation. Thus in a healthy democracy whether SUPP is in or out of government should not matter. In Malaysia if MCA is out of the government UMNO will have to care about what foreigners think about its policies and stability, and it would be better for the Chinese who seek fairness and justice in the country.

///Now comes the question of the Chinese representation at federal level. Anti-establishment sentiments among the Chinese remain strong with their grouses pertaining to economic opportunities, places in public universities, career opportunities in public services, abuse of the affirmative actions and religious concerns.///–WCW

MCA is not a stupid organization, but political reality prevented them from safeguarding Chinese interests. So until UMNO changes its mindset, there is no turning back to the pre-May 13 days. Only when UMNO is forced to the opposition, or when MCA is not the convenient scapegoat would UMNO takes a close look on the statement that one can fool all the people some of the time, some of the people all the time, but not all the people all the time. UMNO certainly cannot fool all the Malays all the time, and threaten the Chinese at all time.

///The Chinese community has always placed strong emphasis on continued progression. Their migratory patterns to seek better lives have long been recorded. Even in countries that are predominantly Chinese – China, Taiwan and Singapore – the community always wants more.///–WCW

It is not true that they want more as if they are greedy; they only try to achieve their potentials. Even trying to progress, it is not in their culture to bully. There is nothing wrong in seeking progression, and that is how the society develops.

///Any politician who asks Chinese voters to be grateful would only commit political suicide, given the fact that the community makes up one of the largest group of personal income tax contributors in Malaysia.///WCW

If Chinese should be grateful, they should be grateful that they are not robbed more. Compared to the lawless days the Chinese might have to be grateful that lootings in modern Malaysia is not as rampant as a few centuries in the past. Yes Chinese and all human beings are grateful that with the passage of time, and through scientific and economic development, lives have been easier than in the past. In terms of governing the country, the BN government has clearly failed.

The fact that Chinese pays the bulk of income tax in Malaysia has no relevant to the ordinary Chinese who only wanted the country to be governed through rule of law. Mamakthir stated the fact with evil ulterior motives. It is equally irrelevant to sum up the shares of equity, or the wealth by community. The law in the country allows the citizens to own and retain their wealth, and to pass down to their descendents. The wealth being the results of hard work or luck of the individual are not a matter for government intervention. The government has no business to be involved in distributing wealth though the world over modern governments do involve in making social transfers to help the needy. But wealth distribution has been UMNO’s guiding principles, and they transfer from national coffers public funds to create private wealth of the persons chosen by the powers-that be.

///Development is after all the duty of the government. That’s what politicians are supposed to do.

But it has also been frustrating for the MCA, the largest Chinese partner in the Barisan. It has a record in education which no Chinese-based party in Malaysia can match. Hundreds of thousands have graduated from Kolej Tunku Abdul Rahman and now Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman.

It cannot be denied that even critics of the MCA have benefited in some ways from the party. As an example, many are sending their children to KTAR or Utar, which are heavily subsidised by the party and its supporters. It would be more acceptable to suggest that the MCA need to do more.///–WCW

MCA has done well as a social organization. It has failed as a political party. No amount of good work besides those in political area would compensate for MCA’s dismay performance in safeguarding the Chinese interests. For that matter all the clans and associations have been beneficial to their members, but they do not claim to represent the Chinese in terms of agreeing to government policies.

///At the MCA headquarters, every day there is such a long queue of people seeking help from the party’s officials. It resembles a busy hospital scene.

Certainly, it has been dampening and even heart-wrenching for the party to be asked what it has done for the Chinese. It has now come to a head-on: Should the Chinese vote opposition but turn to the MCA for help?///–WCW

The Chinese should go for assistance where they would be helped. It is not a trade off for having some assistance from MCA and to forgo the larger issues such as the equality as a citizen of this county. MCA can quit politics and would still be able to serve the Chinese in the capacity it claims to have done well.

///It is clear that MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek is not accepting such an arrangement. The party has decided that should it fare worse than in the 2008 polls, the MCA would not accept any government position – not even municipal council, district committee or hospital advisory board posts.///–WCW

What then is the purpose of remaining in Barisan Nasional and to allow UMNO to claim that its racist discriminatory policies have the backing of MCA said to represent Chinese? MCA needs to make a total break from Barisan Nasional. Chinese reject MCA because it is not able to safeguard the interests of Chinese. Whether or not MCA failed to fight it is clear that UMNO is arrogant, and UMNO has not changed and is getting worse by the day. So, Chinese want MCA to be disassociated with UMNO.

///The decision should be regarded not as a threat but as a matter of choice. The wishes of the community must be respected as massive defeats for the MCA in the next polls can only be seen as the wish of the voters to reject Chinese representation in government.///–WCW

It is only in name that Chinese are represented by MCA in government. If the government policies are not race-based, there is no need for racial presentation. When the policies are race-based, the low percentage of non-Malays hardly changes UMNO’s wishes. That is a myth that there were ever give-and-take on policies because of resource limitation, it has always been policies appealing to political supports from racists. The sooner MCA leave the racist game, the better for the country and the Chinese community.

///No dignified Chinese leader – whether MCA, Gerakan or SUPP – should accept a senator’s post after publicly pledging he would not accept any government post this time. It would be simply demeaning.///–WCW

There is no shortage of persons who just fit the mould of un-dignified person, whether they claim to be Chinese leaders or not. UMNO thinks that whoever it appoints, he is the Chinese leaders. Chinese have their own mind. MCA would claim that in the interest of stability, in the words of Lim Siang Chai (senator, deputy finance minister) for the sake of stability MCA would remain in government after losing worse than 308. So, to make the stability visible, MCA members would have to sacrifice their honour and accept the appointment as senators. Chua Soi Lek would be removed as President of MCA or he would accept appointment as senator due to the changing need to maintain stability. Brutus LTL will be waiting ad hoping to be the next President. Nobody wants the dog that bites.

///The MCA has readily admitted that it would have little legitimacy to be in government if it is rejected by the community. For sure, it would have little bargaining power if it is regarded as non-representative of the Chinese community.///–WCW

It is not an issue of brute force represented by votes. It is the argument in the most civilized manner as to whether government policies have been in the interest of the nation. In fact there is nothing in the constitution which says that Malays have special privilege. There is only the recognition that based on needs Malays were placed on the special position for special assistances, initially for 15 years, and subject to review. Tun Razak had to cover his track and created NEP, but that too has passed the promised 20-year duration. If MCA cannot convince UMNO to do the right things, it has to quit. MCA does not get even one-third of the constituencies to stand in general election, so no matter how many seats are returned, they are not able to stop UMNO.

Every citizen has the legitimate right to political opinion. MCA should be able to speak for the community, and if UMNO refuses to listen, MCA has no choice but to quit. It is just an excuse to claim that there is little bargaining power if MCA is not sufficiently represented. The fact is MCA has no bargaining power at all. It has only the opportunity to voice its opinion. But after voicing, MCA can choose to leave the government when voices spoken are not heard.

///If it does not perform well, then the MCA should pack up, accept the rejection, stay on the sidelines for the next five years and let its political opponent take up the interests of the Chinese community.///–WCW

MCA should leave the government. The few MPs, if any, should be independent and speak for their conscience.

///In the next general election, the likelihood is that the DAP has a good chance of retaining Penang. But there can never be a Penang factor elsewhere.

In Kedah, PAS is facing a strong challenge while in Perak, the political scenario has changed drastically with the Barisan regaining much ground.

Of the 222 parliamentary seats, only 40-odd seats are Chinese majority with over 65% Chinese votes. There are about 30-odd racially mixed seats. That means the Chinese political clout is restricted, and it has not helped with the population continuing to decline sharply.///–WCW

Mamakthir wants PAS and PKR Malays to return to UMNO, and more importantly he wants Kaka Muslim, the descendent of the Indian from Calicut, Kerela, India, to be the next deputy Prime Minister when Najib gets no better than 308 results, and Muhyiddin does to Najib what Najib did to AAB.

///In Selangor, the official statistic is that it is only 29% of the five million population, and in Penang with its more than one million population, the Chinese are reportedly no longer the majority.///–WCW

The Malays in Selangor and Penang, other than the Mamaks-NEWMalays, have learned about UMNO’s excesses, and they prefer meritocracy to racism.

///In 1957, the Chinese made up 45% of the country’s population. But the projection is that by 2035, it will drop to 18.6% if the decline continues.///–WCW

Tun Razak said that it was good riddance that Chinese left the country because of NEP. He must be laughing in his grave.

///With the indication now that Malay and Indian votes have returned to the Barisan, the scenario is moving towards an unhealthy situation where Malays are in government and the Chinese are on the opposition.///–WCW

Mamakthir’s words are repeated as if they are the truth. UMNO utilizes race as an issue to protect those who enrich themselves under the aegis of NEP. Ordinary Malays learn that 888 billion ringgit went out of the country illegally, and they are not surprised that the owners are those said to belong to the race that needed assistance. Sine they are trained to be jealous of others’ good fortune, can we expect them to support status quo of having UMNOputras mining good in government offices?

///PKR and PAS are fully aware of the Malay shift, with PKR re-emphasising its commitment to protecting Malay special rights while the Islamist party is expected to do the same at its general meeting next month in a move to regain the Malay votes.

The question is whether the Chinese community wishes to be the king-maker, to be in the government or the opposition, in the next general election.///–WCW

When PKR and PAS take those stand, Malaysia will be Zimbabwe sooner rather than later.