Archive for July 5th, 2010

Muhyiddin should explain whether 1Malaysia is meaningless slogan or serious policy to make Malaysia more competitive by creating a nation where every Malaysian perceives himself or herself as Malaysian first and race second?

Deputy Prime Minister and UMNO Deputy President Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is getting very defensive.

In Parit Sulong yesterday, Muhyiddin accused me of being more “racist” than him and defended his earlier statement that he is Malay first and Malaysian second, and he asked:

“Tanya Lim Kit Siang sama dia akan mengaku Cina atau bangsa Malaysia.”

It will be tragic if after 53 years of nation-building since Merdeka in 1957, Malaysian politics is reduced to political leaders exchanging allegations of who is more racist.

Firstly, let me state that I have not called Muhyiddin an “ultra”. However, he owes a full accounting to all Malaysians as to whether he really supports the 1Malaysia policy advocated by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and whether Najib’s 1Malaysia is a meaningless slogan or a serious policy to make Malaysia more vibrant, productive and competitive where every Malaysian perceives himself or herself as Malaysian first and race second?
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Making Monsters Out Of Our Students – The “Lucifer Effect” On Our Campuses

By M. Bakri Musa

I commend Defense Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for his swift action in reassigning the commandant of the Royal Military College (RMC) over the death of one of its students, Naim Mustaqim, during a ragging incident. Earlier, the college had expelled the alleged abusers. Likewise, I praise Higher Education Minister Khaled Nordin in issuing a stern warning of his “zero tolerance” for ragging in our public universities.

Ragging is now entrenched in our universities and residential schools, creating monsters out of these students, the “Lucifer Effect” being operative (more on that later). The ensuing scars and damages are consequential, both physical and psychological. A few like Naim get killed.

Ragging is one of those unsavory “traditions” of the colonial British that Third World natives have picked up with a vengeance. We denigrate everything associated with the colonials but somehow when it comes to ragging, we have no qualms in quickly adopting it. We have bested the Indians and Sri Lankans in the savagery of our hazing rituals.
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