This should be a special and unique month not only in the 53-year nation-building of Malaysia but the 18-month premiership of Datuk Seri Najib Razak as the theme of the Merdeka month celebrations from August 1 to September 16 is “1Malaysia Transforming the Nation” – first time after Najib’s full-year premiership and less than six months after the unveiling of the transformative NEM.
Messages and the spirit of Malaysian unity and inter-racial and inter-religious goodwill, harmony and solidarity should be pervading all nooks and corners of the country and infusing Malaysians with what they are saying are doing in these six weeks to put into practice and action the 1Malaysia slogan which Najib had proclaimed since becoming Prime Minister in April last year.
But the opposite had been the case as never had Malaysia been so divided, discordant and un1Malaysia in the past two decades, with persistent, irresponsible and inflammatory incitement of the politics of race and religion in recent months to stoke racial and religious animosity and hatred in plural Malaysia, going against the very grain of what 1Malaysia stands for.
Even the schools and the young generation of Malaysians are not spared, as illustrated by the cases of the racist outbursts against school children, one in the south in Kulai and the other in the north in Sungai Petani, demonstrating utter contempt and intolerance of 1Malaysia and our ethnic, religious and cultural diversity which are the country’s richest assets by school principals who should be the “role models” and standard-bearers of Najib’s 1Malaysia!
The NEM and the Tenth Malaysia Plan had both warned that the time for transformation is NOW, even painting the apocalyptic scenario of Malaysia on “a burning platform” if Malaysia is to successfully escape from the twin nation-building and economic crisis to become a developed, high-income nation with inclusivity and sustainability in 2020.
But the escalation of irresponsible and incendiary politics of race and religion by the powers-that-be (with Pakatan Rakyat component parties of DAP, PKR and PAS playing the nation-saving role of fire-fighters to douse racial and religious fires) cannot but raise the question whether Najib and his Cabinet Ministers have the shortest memory in the nation’s history as compared to all previous Cabinets – forgetting so quickly the dire warnings of NEM and Tenth Malaysia Plan.
It is no exaggeration to say that the country can forget about Talent Corporation and the other grandiloquent transformation initiatives of NEM and the Tenth Malaysia Plan and say goodbye to both foreign and domestic investment as well as Vision 2020 of a high-income developed nation if Najib cannot stop extremist forces from within his own camp who are dangerously exploiting the politics of race and religion from rearing their ugly heads.
The ball is in Najib’s court.
#1 by k1980 on Saturday, 21 August 2010 - 3:37 pm
“1Malaysia Transforming the Nation”
Transforming the Nation into what?
A worse one for all I know, where the racists reign supreme as “tuans” and the “pendatangs” are treated like Kugans and Teoh BHs
#2 by cseng on Saturday, 21 August 2010 - 3:42 pm
The children learn from teachers, the teachers get messages from HM, the HM read Utusan! and Ridzuan T. That is the reason!
Keep training and educating the ‘future of m’sia’ as racist! that way BN always in power!.
#3 by yhsiew on Saturday, 21 August 2010 - 4:27 pm
///It is no exaggeration to say that the country can forget about Talent Corporation and the other grandiloquent transformation initiatives of NEM and the Tenth Malaysia Plan and say goodbye to both foreign and domestic investment as well as Vision 2020 of a high-income developed nation if Najib cannot stop extremist forces from within his own camp who are dangerously exploiting the politics of race and religion from rearing their ugly heads./// – Kit
Why Najib cannot stop extremist forces from within his own camp exploiting the politics of race and religion? This can probably be explained by the fact that there are rival factions within UMNO. The pro-Najib faction seeks to uphold 1Malaysia while the anti-Najib faction seeks to destroy what Najib wants to achieve. Had not we seen such rival factions in Tun Abdullah Badawi’s administration before he stepped down? Surely it is not an easy task for Najib to quell his foes within his own party.
#4 by Cinapek on Saturday, 21 August 2010 - 4:29 pm
It is clear Najib does not have the will to make his UMNO warloads toe the line of his 1Malaysia dream. A dream it will remain with the likes of his DPM, his Defence Minister, a wannabe politician mufti all queing up to sabotage his dreams.
This task force crap ordered by the DPM to investigate the racist HM is just another window dressing charade. What outcome can you expect when the commitee is headed by the Deputy Education Sec Gen when his boss had already pronounced that the “problem has been settled and that it is all due to “misunderstanding and miscommunication”, a cliche solution to sweep problems under the carpet. You think the Deputy has the guts to contradict his immediate boss? And surely the Deputy Sec Gen is also aware of the DPM’s body language and elegant silence so far. He would end up teaching in the jungles of inner Sarawak if he so much as hint that the HM was racist. He has only one finding. It was miscommunication and misunderstanding. That is already set in stone.
#5 by somaris on Saturday, 21 August 2010 - 5:16 pm
The only peson who can make 1 MALAYSIAN is our FUTURE PM YB ANWAR IBRAHIM.so we all MALAYSIAN have to wake up for the future of all malaysian. ENOUGH is ENOUGH.its time to go all out now to tell all the kampong people to wake up for our future . vote DAP<PKR<PAS.
YB LKS.
Please be very careful the UMNOBN is going all out now to sabotages PENANG< SELANGOR.
LAWAN TETAP LAWAN.
#6 by PoliticoKat on Saturday, 21 August 2010 - 11:21 pm
At best 1Malaysia was a sound bite, a PR stunt.
At worse 1Malaysia was a cynical allusion to the famed Nazi slogan of 1Germany. “Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer”-“One People, One Nation, One Leader”
The fact that “1Malaysia” is not “Malaysian Malaysia” should not come as any surprise. The fact that we have the emergence of Perkasa (Nazi Brown shirts), is very much in line with 1Malaysia when framed in the context of 1Germany. We even have ketuanan Melayu, as the Nazis had “Superiority of the Aryan race”.
And as for NEM, it was always a newer version of the NEP, with a few sectors which the Bumiputra tycoons had no interest in, deregulated slightly.
I am not surprised and neither should you.
#7 by ktteokt on Saturday, 21 August 2010 - 11:43 pm
Since becoming PM and his so-called “1 MALAYSIA” which nobody seems to understand, racism has become UGLIER than ever in Malaysia! Is this the way Najis intends to promote 1 MALAYSIA??Anyway, what the hell is 1 MALAYSIA? Please enlighten me! With my own eyes, I can see at least 2 MALAYSIAS, i.e. Peninsular & Sabah and Sarawak separated by the South China Sea!
In addition, I see 2 MALAYSIANS, i.e. BUMIPUTRAS and NON-BUMIPUTRAS! I even see 2 BUMIPUTRAS, i.e. Malay BUMIPUTRAS and NON-MALAY BUMIPUTRAS. So how to have 1 MALAYSIA lah?
#8 by boh-liao on Sunday, 22 August 2010 - 3:33 am
While Indonesia is marching ahead, wanting 2 release its dynamism n 2 b free fr its ‘caged tiger’ inertia, 1M’sia under NR n UmnoB continues 2 transform itself fr a tiger 2 a confused, chaotic, meow meow cat, ready 2 jump fr d twin towers 2 shown d world dat an animal would weigh more when unconscious than conscious
#9 by boh-liao on Sunday, 22 August 2010 - 3:53 am
Newsweek’s Best Countries special survey
http://www.newsweek.com/feature/2010/the-world-s-best-countries.html
#10 by k1980 on Sunday, 22 August 2010 - 1:20 pm
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-teacher-response-20100822,0,4363402.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+latimes/mostviewed+(L.A.+Times+-+Most+Viewed+Stories)
Students’ test scores should be used to evaluate teachers. The effectiveness of teachers should be based on student progress on standardized tests.
#11 by Jeffrey on Sunday, 22 August 2010 - 2:40 pm
///It is no exaggeration to say that the country can forget about Talent Corporation and the other grandiloquent transformation initiatives of NEM and the Tenth Malaysia Plan and say goodbye to both foreign and domestic investment as well as Vision 2020 of a high-income developed nation if Najib cannot stop extremist forces from within his own camp who are dangerously exploiting the politics of race and religion from rearing their ugly heads./// – YB Kit.
This is very true. When Najib made the supposedly inclusive ‘1 Malaysia’, the political platform of his administration, it means that the very moral legitimacy and continuance of his administration would depend on ‘1 Malaysia’ not being discredited and sabotaged.
This also means that ‘extremist forces’ were successful in upholding their agenda of race/religion in contradiction of ‘1 Malaysia’s advocacy of pluralism, Najib would be eased out of his position due to loss of legitimacy.
This implies extremist forces are harping on race/religious issues with the ultimate object of displacing him. Surely he must be aware of this, with the number of advisers he has.
The strategy of extremist groups is (as expected) to be as extremist as possible on every issue touching on race and religion.
They strive to dominate national discourse space by asserting loudly and repeatedly their extremist views to maximise publicity.
They have no qualms to distort reality. They have no interest in the truth or fairness or rationality. They are only interested in their agenda, which is ultimately to upset the applecart of the top political leadership.
They present emotional/feeling-based rather than rational, objective and evidence-based data. Where expedient they vilify and threaten others of rational and moderate positions. They want their voice loudest heard. They constantly strive to falsely demonstrate why the ruling party – and by extension its top leader – is no longer looking out for their ethnic kind.
So whenever there is the slightest opportunity they would seize it to make their extremist point – more to test how much slack the government/authorities will cut them on each occasion.
The fact that on each occasion the authorities and those in power have always responded in the mildest of ways and treated them with kids gloves for reasons that they appear upholding traditional ideology of the ruling party based on race/religious hegemony only serve to encourage them to renew, repeat and intensify their challenges against the leader’s platform of 1 Malaysia.
Ultimately it’s a pincer movement to cripple the leader by two ways: (1) undercut his political platform and moral authority to assert his agenda discredited by open challenges to it; (2) undercut and diminish mainstream support for his political platform and moral authority to lead. Which is easily done because those whose hopes are raised by the talk of pluralism, unfulfilled by walk of it will become disappointed and withdraw their support of the leader. This strategy worked to usher Najib’s predecessor from the political stage and is repeated with greater intensity now as the PM evinces a determination to hold on to his post. He must do something stern and punitive towards these extremist forces – and not appease them – if he hopes to hold on longer to his position.