By Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz | January 3, 2012
Free Malaysia Today
Some folks in my hometown Pekan are now calling me Dato’ DAP. Its quite amusing and comical.
The most common question to me is why DAP? Weren’t they the ones who started May 13?
The thrust of that reminder is to remind us – fellow blogger Aspan Alian and me -of their commonly-held belief that DAP started the May 13, 1969 incident.
Well since they want to know, what if I said Tun (Abdul) Razak allowed it to happen because the ensuing troubles would give him an excuse to kick out (then Prime Minister) Tunku Abdul Rahman?
The point is, there was no single contributor to the May 13 incident.
But I would place some blame on Tun Razak who as Home Minister allowed things to degenerate. He allowed it so that a proclamation of emergency could be made.
Anyway, lets step back a look at DAP.
When I was an ADUN (assemblyman) in the Pahang legislative assembly (2004-2008), I have never heard the lone DAP member ever speak about anti-Malay themes.
DAP never raised ‘race’ dominance
He spoke about abuse of power, about mindless spending and he spoke about maladministration.
The first book Lim Kit Siang wrote that I read was ‘Time Bombs in Malaysia’. After that I read so many books written by Kit Siang that touched on the Maika Scandals, the BMF financial scandal and so on.
If we are honest enough, we have to admit, the issues raised were never about one race dominating the other.
It was always about the abuses of those in power, corruption, and a continuous attack on policies that are ruinous to this country.
So tell me how has DAP politics been inimical to the general political health of this country?
Can any DAP Chinese leader be a PM when it’s contesting only at most 50-55 seats? Can any DAP non-Malay leader harbor the dream of becoming a PM in a country dominated by Malays?
Has the DAP threatened the institution of Malay rulers? DAP has never done that or will not be mad to countenance such rebellious idea, but Umno on the other hand insulted the Malay rulers as far back as in 1998 constitutional crisis.
Can we reasonably accept the allegation that the DAP is instrumental in claims that Malays are being converted into Christians when most DAP members are not themselves Christians?
We have to do better than that to take Malays to be imbeciles. Only Umno seems to do that.
Umno fears loss of monopoly
What is noteworthy is that DAP is a democratic party committed to the rule of law, good governance and good government. It abhors corruption and abuse of political office. Umno on the other hand has turned its back on these.
Umno harps only on one primal worry of Malays- when Umno is threatened it shares the threat with Malays at large.
So a threat to Umno is translated mindlessly into a threat to Malays as a whole.
Nothing can be farther from the truth. But that is how Umno has approached politics in Malaysia.
Umno basically makes its fears public and gains private for selected Malays within its fold.
To the Chinese, Umno is a chauvinist Malay party whose leaders can be easily bought.
The Umno Malay will sell all to abandon their cause.
Enough reason to encourage Malays to join DAP en masse!
It’s a party committed to democratic principles and rule of law. I can only imagine, so many can prosper under a regime of freedom of speech within DAP
The interest of Malays can be fought on any political platform other than Umno’s. And that is Umno greatest fear. It will no longer have monopoly.
________
The writer is a former Umno state assemblyman and a FMT columnist.
#1 by dagen on Tuesday, 3 January 2012 - 12:54 pm
When a political party makes it its policy to object all demands on anti-corruption and fairness and good governance and transparent and fair election process then that party will be doomed. And when that party (somehow) was elected to rule then it would, as surely as night follows day, collapse.
“ABU”
#2 by monsterball on Tuesday, 3 January 2012 - 1:13 pm
Tun Razak brought Mahathir back to UMNO…go against Tunku was the first sign ..he wants to steamroll to be PM.
You can say…Tun Razak planted the evil seed and grew up to be UMNO b.
Now his son is worst than father.
#3 by sotong on Tuesday, 3 January 2012 - 1:19 pm
Continue to paint the real Malaysian Chinese a threat is bad politics……majority of real ordinary Malays will lose in the long term.
#4 by Jeffrey on Tuesday, 3 January 2012 - 2:01 pm
Its natural the ruling party and every politician of it will want to stay in power forever if they’re allowed to do so. This wish is not the sole preserve of UMNOputras. This is the eternal class schism between those who have access to power to direct affairs (in a way beneficial to their interests) and those directed and governed whose only power is the ballot box, which may be rigged and skewed and whose votes are subject to the political elite’s political propaganda. Notwithstanding to continue power preservation the ruling elites must have a credible and viable theme to play. To keep on playing communal politics might have served a purpose at one time but at this time and age 5 decades, and to continue pitch with greater fervour one segment of countrymen against another, when the country is facing politically and economically challenging times – and the class differences (intra race) as evinced by National Feedlot and other scandals unexplained and unresolved – is crazy and reaching the end of the road.
#5 by Jeffrey on Tuesday, 3 January 2012 - 2:02 pm
As Ku Li said this was “the end of the road for an old way of managing things. It is said you can fool some of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all the time…” It is silly and anti national for ruling politicians to keep harping on communal issues to drive rifts between the citizens of this country just so as not to lose power and privileges that come with it. For the world including Malaysia is greatly changed. A poor Malay fisherfolk trying to eke a living in the village of Bachok, Kelantan, a poor Indian vegetable seller in Cameron Highlands or a Chinese vendor in Pasar Malam in KL have more in common in socio-economic terms and bread and butter issues than their different ethniticities and religons played up. After over 5 decades of living together, the vast majority of the ordinary people have more things in common than differences.
#6 by Jeffrey on Tuesday, 3 January 2012 - 2:02 pm
The real disparities of their income, wealth and power and those in power using race and religion to try make them ignore these disparities becomes more difficult and difficult to sustain in each passing day in the face of unremitting exposure of financial scandals and corruption disseminated quicky via the Net and blogosphere. What more we have an ex insider (for eg Anwar or Zaid) saying hey that’s a scam. Then we have cattle scandals that even ad advocate of communal politics like TDM said was no good that it could not be explained. In a political protest & demonstration even Perkasa admitted that it would be likely Malays marching against Malays showing this is more an intra ethnic class conflict than inter ethnic conflict. More and more Malay intellectuals are openly criticising the system with this writer joining the DAP. The fact that the president of UMNO tried to switch platform to 1 Malaysia and ETP showed the head grasped the futility of flogging the dead horse of communalism and the need for a game changer that the rank and file rallied by rival warlords have just refused to accept or understand.
#7 by Jeffrey on Tuesday, 3 January 2012 - 2:02 pm
These reactionaries afraid of change due to vested interests still believe that communal policy that purposely portrayed the non-Malays as threats to the sovereignty and success of the Malays will work (as it did in the past) in a world where Malays and Non malays should be united as Malaysians to thwart the challenges of the Globalised world if all were to proper and live in peace for the common weal and well being. The march of history is against UMNO & BN, especially poignant at this stage, if it keeps playing the old hackneyed game, exposed, and even if it wins the next GE, it is unlikely to be a comfortable win and faces the prospect of eviction in the next, with a lot of instability and bad things happening to the country in the interregnum. Meanwhile the unimaginative just want to kick the can of problem down further the road by thumping of race/religious issues, use money to buy kataks and propagandists, hoping to buy just a little more time for them to make their walk to riches before the curtain falls, without thinking beyond.
#8 by yhsiew on Tuesday, 3 January 2012 - 3:01 pm
There is no such thing as monopoly in politics. Political parties come and go and leaders rise and fall. Umno must face up to such reality.
#9 by dagen on Tuesday, 3 January 2012 - 3:28 pm
2012, according to many economists will be the start of a potentially very bad economic downturn for the world. According to them, we could see recession on the scale of the 1932 great depression. It could be worse. Even if dreaded eventuality could be avoided the global economy is unlikely to improve. Instead we would see the economy dragging along merely and it will be a long long time – taking many many years – before recovery comes.
Umno of course continues to deceive us with claims that our economy would be alright and would not be affected by the going-ons in the europe and america. That is irresponsible. The is wicked. That is evil. Perhaps DAP could run a short series of public forum on this issue explaining to people what to expect should the economy turn disastrous. The aim is not to monger fear and panic but to educate people so that they would be better equiped to respond accordingly (well, hopefully) should (touch wood) the global economy collapse. You see for one thing not many people realise the full effects of say hyperinflation.
#10 by artemisios on Tuesday, 3 January 2012 - 4:33 pm
Perhaps we can answer the question “Why DAP?” with another question, “Why UMNO?”
Is it for the NFC rm250,000,000 scandal?
rm24,000,000 diamond ring?
“you help me I help you”?
“AP Kings”?
non-stop POLITIK LUCAH?
So… Why UMNO?
#11 by Godfather on Tuesday, 3 January 2012 - 5:59 pm
Would you not cheat, lie, steal or beg to preserve your right to untold riches ?
#12 by Loh on Tuesday, 3 January 2012 - 6:19 pm
In a truly democratic election, the people deserve their government. But in an election where electors have disproportionate weight in voting right due to vastly different population sizes in electoral constituencies, the government can fool enough of the populace to get re-elected. With the Election Commission serving as the arm of the political party, some ballot papers did not correspond to human voters. Thus, minority does decide the government.
Unless the government accepts the views of Bersih and acts accordingly, the ballot papers would not determine who won the support of the people.
UMNO government does not serve the people and hence the nation. UMNO only makes use of the power to ensure that the voters who they were able to fool continue to be fooled with all the sweeties it can offer using government funds. The three Rs were for re-enforcement of the continued support on a different dimension.
Had the people been free from preoccupation with race and religion made relevant by the constitution, which meant it for a limited period, voters would have been able to demand that the government ministers are elected servants of the people. Corruption cannot be perpetuated, let alone institutionalized.
UMNO is officially a race-based party and yet it disparages DAP to be a Chinese party and hence it is chauvinistic.
Had DAP been Chinese party without non-Chinese as members, it would have as much right as UMNO to represent the interests of all Malaysians. It appears that UMNO is against opposition parties representing Malaysians’ interests in opposing UMNO’s racist policies and yet it declare unabashedly it represents Malays; though it would not allow MCA or MIC to freely air their stand for the interests of Chinese and Indians.
It would be impossible to change the mindset of the people to move away from chauvinistic racist thought when the political parties are race-based. But every person in the country can contribute to make a change. DAP is not organized like UMNO or MCA where the position in the party has to depend on seniority much the same as in the civil service which promises lifetime tenure. In DAP, persons who have the caliber to serve would soon be discovered. When there are Malays elected on DAP ticket, the myth that DAP works against Malays as was UMNO’s propaganda would soon be exposed.
Many a talents among UMNO members were sidelined since Mamakthir’s reign; and they never saw the talents put to proper use. It may be time that they contribute to guide the nation back to its rightful destiny, by joining DAP.
#13 by k1980 on Wednesday, 4 January 2012 - 12:21 am
//Some folks in my hometown Pekan are now calling me Dato’ DAP.//
Well then, saifool should be called Dato’ Lee What, and CSL be called Dato’ Soiled (third)Leg
#14 by k1980 on Wednesday, 4 January 2012 - 7:07 am
http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=25608:%E2%80%9Cwe-can-recruit-more-let-them-leave%E2%80%9D-who-is-soi-lek-trying-to-kid?&Itemid=2
The two time bombs (resignations in Penang and Johor) have exploded but the mainstream media, especially MCA’s mouthpiece, The Star, has down played the news.
Party insiders are saying that about 30% of MCA members were ready to quit in the run-up to the next general election.