by Iskandar Dzulkarnain
 |
| Chandra - Man of flowery talk. |
Going through Chandra Muzaffar’s Merdeka wish list, I had to
read it 3 times before being able to grasp some of its meaning. Frankly, I had
trouble understanding his flowery words.
He talks about the lack of
bridge builders and the fostering of national unity, about bridge wreckers and
people erecting walls, and that national unity lies with the rakyat (populace) and not the with the government
only.
He goes on to say that no country in the world can claim
achievement in inter-ethnic unity, which will never happen as people are of
different religious and cultural backgrounds, different histories, memories and
with different experiences.
And according to Chandra, there is also a need for Malaysians
to understand in greater depth what the Constitution and Rukun Negara is all
about and not placing politics above national unity.
"That will never happen, not only in Malaysia but also
in any multi-ethnic and multi-religious society in the world. Why? Because we
are talking about people with different religious and cultural backgrounds,
different histories, different memories and with different experiences,"
Chandra told a government news agency.
"It is a very complex situation. There are differences
and they will always be there. Every now and then something will happen.We will
have to continue to reduce these differences, we have to continue to work out
some sort of arrangement for us to live together."
Very strange coming from the Chairman of the Yayasan 1Malaysia Board of Trustees. Has he not
heard about Unity in Diversity?
Is Chandra, who used to be a PKR leader before
deciding BN policies were better, trying to defend Prime Minister Najib Razak?
Is Najib now trying to excuse away his own failure at unitng the country?Or is
UMNO trying to justify its infamous ketuanan
Melayu or Malay
Supremacy?
Reality
As far back as many old-timers can remember Malaysians
were always united. Since 1957, Malaysians were so united that no country in
the world could split the nation. Communism could not, neither could the threat
of race and religion. If one were to pause for a moment and ponder, the Malays,
Chinese and Indians do respect each other. Not so much because of skin colour
but the fact that we are all different from each other. It is an inherent
courtesy.
Secondly, if we recall the past,
the Chinese gangs in most of the cities of Malaysia would fight each other, but
they would not pick a fight with Malays or Indians. Malays may go on a rampage,
sometimes with parangs (machetes)
but they will attack their own kind and not the other races. Indian gangsters
too make mincemeat of each other but seldom try to pick a fight with other
races.
Obviously, there are the exceptions and one of the most
notable was the May 13, 1969 riots, which is widely acknowledged to have been
politically instigated and manipulated by none other than the current Prime
Minister's dad, Abdul Razak Hussein.
In
Tunku's days
But in the early days of the nation's birth, long
before the advent of the 'new batch' of illegal foreign workers (from the 1980s
onwards) so to speak, the unspoken respect for the other races was high, akin
to an unspoken compromise that a Chinese thief will not rob a Malay or Indian
house. Neither will a Malay rob a Chinese or Indian home. They rather rob or
quarrel with their own kind.
Only in Primary schools, did the children fight each other as
they were too young to realise the importance of racial respect. Of course,
there are random cases of racial attacks but the fact is that Malaysians are
too nice to try and rouse disagreement with others than with their own kind.
Thirdly, a Chinese or Indian could go into a Malay village
without any fear. The inquisitive pakciks and makciks may even invite you in
the house for tea and kuih. The same when a Malay goes into a Chinese new
village or an Indian village. There is absolutely no fear unlike in democratic
USA where an Asian or a White is highly likely to get lynched, robbed and
waylaid if they wandered into a black ghetto in New York City.
Fourthly, the unity and understanding was strong enough that
Malaysians of all races could live, work and play together.The fact that we are
all different in skin colour, culture, religion and language is the reason why
it was interesting for us to bond rather than to divide.
Too idyllic? Perhaps so, but by and large if one were to ask
the old-timers, they will recall an era much like what has been described. How
come? Was it really possible? Yes, it was possible because UMNO leaders like
Tunku Abdul Rahman had focused on uniting the differences amongst the races. But
when leaders like Abdul Razak took over, and later on Mahathir Mohamad, this
was when Malaysia downspiralled into the disaster it now is.
The
real bridge-wreckers
These days, UMNO leaders including Nazri Aziz, Rais
Yatim and Muhyiddin Yassin seem to delight in pointing out the differences
between the races. They are seen to be actively warning the races not to mix.
On TV1, a program timed for Hari Raya that falsely depicts apostasy is shown
nationwide to warn the Muslims not to trust the other faiths. There is only one
thing to say to these people, May God forgive them and may God save Malaysia!
So far, despite their worst efforts, Malaysians remain united
although this unity is becoming increasingly fragile as it has not been
properly welded. So Chandra is right when he warned about "Bridge
Wreckers". There are certainly unseen forces out there hell-bent on
disuniting us, putting fear into our hearts, sowing distrust and hate for each
other and then trying to sell us their ‘antidote.’
Who are Chandra's bridge wreckers? Is it the Pakatan Rakyat?
Is that what he was trying to get at?
He doesn't mention but it is
telling that he refutes the term Bangsa Malaysia, which
appeared in the Malay version of Vision 2020 (Wawasan 2020). Chandra points to
the English version instead, where the term used was actually Greater Unity
amongst the different peoples and the different communities. "As I have
said earlier, stronger bonds is what matters," he stressed to Bernama.
Is Chandra refuting a Bangsa Malaysia and why? He then goes
on an apparent attack against those who 'question' the rights of the Malays.
"For instance, what is the language of the nation?
Malay, as spelt out in Article 152 of the Malaysian Constitution, and Malay is
the language of the Malay people. What is the religion of the nation? Article 3
of the Federal Constitution states that the official religion of the nation is
Islam. What is the religion of the Malay people? Islam," said Chandra.
"So the two characteristics of the nation are actually
the characteristics of the Malays. To ask whether a person is Malay first or
Malaysian first, actually reveals the questioner's own superficial
understanding of what the Malaysian nation is all about."
Whoever Chandra had in mind when he spoke about bridge
wreckers, he certainly comes across as one himself.
Unity
in Diversity
Fact remains, as things stand, there are unseen forces
are trying very hard to divide and rule. Even by lying, cheating, coercing,
buying votes and intimidating the people. These power-crazed people seem to be
so frightened they will use all their minions to support and cloak their evil
practises with respectability.
The multi-racial Bersih 2.0 gave the ruling elite a heart
attack and recurring nightmares. So if Chinese and Indians still think that
Malays are eyeing their freedom and constitutional rights, please think again.
It is not the Malays but selectn UMNO leaders, whose purpose is to retain
control over the Malays.
But not all Malay politicians are so lost in the pursuit of
ambition and greed. This is why PKR, PAS and DAP are such thorns to these Bridge
Wreckers.
Source : MC
EmpireMoney.com
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