A week to go for the 51st Merdeka anniversary on 31st August.
Never before is the country so devoid of National Day enthusiasm.
This the point I tried to make during question time in Parliament on Wednesday but it ended up in a pandemonium. (video)
The Sun report on the parliamentary proceeding as follows:
Uproar over Lim’s words The Sun – 21 August 2008 At the Dewan Rakyat by Husna Yusop OPPOSITION stalwart Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur) came under fire from Barisan Nasional MPs yesterday over his remark that the government was focusing more on Malay unity rather than Malaysian unity. Lim made the comment after he was not satisfied with Deputy Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Teng Boon Soon’s answer to his question. In his supplementary question, Lim said the national integration programme had failed as the BN government was emphasising more on the Malays rather than Malaysians. “Especially in the last six months, there have been pressures over racial issues, Malay supremacy, Malay sovereignty and Malay unity which should actually be about Malaysian unity, not Malay unity. “And there were extreme reactions towards the Bar Council’s forum on social contract and conversion to Islam. And recently, in Permatang Pauh, we found bunting saying Melayu Ditindas, Mana Keadilan? (Malays oppressed, where is justice?) “Is the MCA agreeable to this? What about Gerakan? There has been talk that they wanted to leave BN? Aren’t these signs that efforts to create national integrity have failed?” he asked Teng. Teng said the issue of national unity needs the commitment of everyone, especially political leaders. “If we do not incite the rakyat by provoking them and together we honestly and fairly tackle the problems that the country and people are facing, I think we would be able to enjoy a more comfortable situation,” he said. Lim was not satisfied with the answer, saying it was only 11 days before the 51st National Day celebrations but the feeling or atmosphere of national unity is still lacking “as the government was only focusing on the Malays”. This created an uproar among the BN MPs led by Datuk Tajudin Abdul Rahman (BN-Pasir Salak), who shouted that Lim was being racist, and voices were heard telling him this is not China and asking him to go back to Singapore. However, it was not long before Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia managed to get the situation under control and the proceedings continued with the next question. Earlier, Teng told Datuk Mohd Jidin Shafee (BN-Setiu) the government is satisfied with the effectiveness of the national integration programme but efforts must be continued to instil the spirit of unity among Malaysians. “Everyone, including the politicians, must cooperate and work towards uniting the people by giving priority to national interest and not being too enthusiastic over individual aspirations and party agenda,” he said.
At least RM100 million was spent last year to commemorate the 50th Merdeka anniversary – all gone down the drain without fostering any greater sense of national unity or Malaysian nationalism!
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