Lighting 3 minute visit and being ushered back to the car before a temple official could present him with a picture of the temple as a souvenir shows that ‘1 Ketuanan’ is the Stark Reality that ‘1 Malaysia’ has zero chance of changing.

For under 1 Malaysia, the mantra is just not “tolerating” but wholehearted embracing of cultural diversity. So what’s in an innocuous souvenir of a temple’s picture? However in Malaysia it will be twisted to something else – like how could a muslim leader accept a picture of a temple??? It is symbolism, the issue here. Just like one may ask what’s the big deal about sportingly wearing the sigah, the Kadazan head-dress when officiating a Kadazan ceremony? Thats how Ku Li last minute lost the 1990 Semangat versus BN election when A photograph of him wearing the sigah was distributed 36 hours before polling day and a letter was circulated saying that the symbol on the sigah represented a Christian cross and when he wore that he was a sell-out to Christians. That did the trick…

Much as Najib wanted to charm the Chinese voters who form about 67 per cent of the 54,695 Sibu voters he didn’t want victory there to be at expense of a political debacle for him in Peninsula esp when he is surrounded by what he perceives are many wishing him ill both within and outside his party.

The implied message to Sibu Chinese voters is clear on what is Stark Reality:

1. Being first prime minister to attend a celebration in honour of a Chinese deity is already a strong symbolic commitment to 1 Malaysia. However there’s practical political restraints.

2. Surely 1 Malaysia cannot, even if it were ever possible, change so easily the well-entrenched politics of Ethnocracy based on Malay supremacy for last ½ century in the country.

3. Ethnocracy here is defined as politics of one single ethnic group completely controlling/dominating virtually all positions or spheres of any significance in judiciary, public administrative organs & Civil service, the police, the armed forces universities, GLCs etc in degree disproportionately excessive to their ratio within the general population). It is an ethnocracy that surpasses in sheer resilience the Apartheid in South Africa since dismantled. Which is why TDM feels that he & Perkasa cannot never go wrong to leverage on this principle against 1 Malaysia. For 1 Malaysia is but just a token tentative baby step to counter something (Ethnocracy) that has spun a seamless web, grown deep roots around the whole fabric of national life holding it together under one theme, official or unofficial.

4. Nevertheless 1 Malaysia is a palliative to ameliorate the pain of Stark Reality which is 1 Ketuanan that all who are non malays in Peninsula are familiar and bear;

5. The carrot to Sibu Chinese voters is the traditional one : “you guys are practical people and whilst wishing things to change for the better should know the difference between what (practically) may be changed and what not, so easily. Meanwhile here’s RM15 million in financial assistance to 65 Chinese schools. Don’t forget who’s the real “God of Wealth” on earth to roll out the lollies…That’s’ the traditional way MCA does in Peninsula.”

Will Sibu Chinese voters take the route of their counterparts in Hulu Selangor by election?