What Ahmad Ismail said was stupid, but how some political leaders reacted is the one thing that really disappoint me. What Ahmad Ismail allegedly said was wrong, and we shouldn’t encourage it… but instead of pure criticism, shouldn’t we seek out the crowd to communicate openly about the issue instead?
As said earlier in another post… there must be a portion of Malay that still have the Ketuanan Melayu mindset locked in their mind, and even a small portion like 10-20% means that million(s) of them are still thinking that way. Some of them are pure arrogant, but lots of them are simply fearing that their life will be miserable once their special rights are gone.
I don’t want to debate about the special rights here, it’s another long story. Point is, if we are going to abolish those special rights and create a fair country for every Malaysians in future… communication among races are strongly needed.
We need to convince those who hold firm to Ketuanan Melayu ideology that it’s not a bad thing to create a Malaysia for all Malaysians… but have we really done that or trying to do so? All the (non-Umno) politicians know is to demonise those who hold that ideology but seek no communications to assure that Malay will not be neglected in the country development with or without the special rights.
How are we supposed to create communications when we are going to report to the authorities every time something controversial is being brought up? While Chinese think that questioning of our citizenship is being racist, how do you think some Malay would feel when we question their special rights?
I am not here to dictate what’s right or wrong; what I want to emphasise is that we need communications between races, between all Malaysians… we need to find a platform to communicate about sensitive issues in a civilised manner; or else we won’t have the chance to create a Malaysia for all Malaysians in a harmonious way.
For goodness sake I am one of those who don’t believe in absolute freedom for speech, yet I can see the need for more open communications… and ironically some of those freedom fighters are eating their own words instead.
Bukit Bendera Umno division chief Ahmad Ismail has been suspended from the party for three years over his racial rants; he will be stripped of whatever posts he now holds which are related to the party.
Ahmad Ismail said that he accepted the decision by Umno’s Supreme Council (MT) and would remain loyal to the party; but he still remains bullish that he has done nothing wrong and try to look like a saviour to the Malay race.
Read more on Bernama and Thestar; below is a video from Malaysiakini of Pak Lah speaking about the suspension…
Like it or not, the Chinese community should see this as the end of the saga. It’s up to the authorities to charge Ahmad Ismail with sedition act or not, but both the Chinese and the Malay community involved have to stop retaliating about the issue… don’t let it roll into a snowball that we can’t control of.
The Ahmad Ismail saga has been straying for way too long. Not sure if he did slur those ‘Pendatang’ or ‘Penumpang’ words, but I chose to believe those reporters that claimed to hear what he said loud and clear.
The issue is obviously being politicised and blown out of proportion, and some of the Chinese communities are over-reacting on this issue. Seriously, are the Chinese really THAT offended with what Ahmad Ismail said? Or is that the Chinese politicians thought that they finally found an easy target to win back some Chinese supporters?
Personally I don’t bother much about what Ahmad said… I believe most Malay are liberal and willing to share equal rights with every Malaysians, but there must be some portion of the Malay who didn’t share the same sentiment… and it means million of Malay even if 10% of them are ultra-supporter of Ketuanan Melayu. It’s a fact of life that Malaysians have to deal with, and we have to deal it maturely.
What Admad said was stupid… and the Chinese leaders have retaliated with enough criticism, and the case should have been put to rest. Both side should realise that there is not enough rooms to push the thoughts any further… Malaysians are not that harmonious yet to allow racial debates to be carry in public On second thought, read this instead.
A public apology doesn’t mean anything. Just look at Hishamuddin… he did apologise for once or twice for his keris waving, but his sincerity will always be questioned, and the damage has already been done regardless. It’s not like the Chinese would gain anything if Ahmad Ismail apologised; we will question his sincerity anyway… it’s just a needless moral victory that some of the Chinese are craving for.
Besides, how far off are Chinese from being racist? Just go ahead and read the comments from Lim Kit Siang’s blog and other popular blogs, some of the comments are far more racists than what Ahmad Ismail had said… and those same bloggers who criticised Ahmad Ismail couldn’t bother much about criticising their own readers instead. How ironic is that?
When Namewee was caught in the Negarakuku saga, ridiculing Muslim prayers… you said that the Malays were over-reacting, that sedition act was barbaric, that freedom of expression was not respected.
When Ahmad Ismail was caught in the racist saga, calling some Malaysians as squatters… you justified the Chinese’ reactions, that sedition act is great, that freedom of expression has its limits.
What Ahmad Ismail said was stupid, and deserved his share of criticism… but please show the same attitude when it’s one of your own that made the insensitive act.
We should abolish the quota system of the Public Services Department (PSD) scholarships once and for all. Well, maybe not now… but it should be made as a goal that should be achieved in near future.
Why should racial issue came into questions when deciding who is more fitting to accept a government scholarship for further education? It should be based on their academic achievement, the economic background, and to some extend their co-curricular achievements.
Lots of fuss have been created since the government decided to increase the non-bumi quotas from 10% to 45%. The most recent argument came from Umno Youth Education Bureau that it’s not a good idea because increasing the quota for non-bumiputras without increasing the actual number of scholarships has drastically affected the bumiputras.
Umno Youth Chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein yesterday (April 25) apologised to the Malays and non-Malays for wielding keris two years ago… but does it sound like an apology?
He apologised to the non-Malays that the keris wielding has caused unease, while apologised to Malays for failing to uphold the Malay emblem as their symbol of heritage (video below)…
Thing is, most of the non-Malays have never denied the importance of keris as a symbol of Malay heritage… the non-Malays are offended because it was used at the wrong place, wrong function, and wrong timing.
And to add fuel to the fire, Hishammudin has in numerous occasions ridiculed the non-Malays for being too sensitive towards the keris issue instead of looking into the responds seriously.
In fact in this so call apology, he is trying to say that the non-Malays are scared of the keris as a Malay symbol, and as if the non-Malays are trying to take away a Malay heritage. Yet again the non-Malays are being ridiculed while he is trying to make himself a Malay hero.
The next thing he would say is that he has apologised, but too bad some of the Malaysians are not that forgiving… yada.
Gerakan has initiated disciplinary action against its Youth vice-chief S. Paranjothy over his racially sensitive remarks against Umno.
Gerakan acting president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said Sunday (Dec 23) the party viewed the matter seriously and that the case has been referred to the Disciplinary Committee for a decision on the action to be taken before it was to be brought to the party’s Central Working Committee (CWC). [Bernama]
Paranjothy is alleged to have issued a press statement to Malaysiakini claiming that he was not happy with Umno and the way Indians in the country were being treated. Excerpt from Malaysiakini…
In an audacious move, a notable Gerakan politician has taken Barisan Nasional coalition leader Umno to task for inciting racial sentiments among Malays to gain political mileage.
“They incite racial sentiments among their community in a petty attempt to further their political career,” Gerakan Youth vice-chief S Paranjothy alleged today (Dec 21).
Such attempts, he said, include taking potshots at other BN component parties which draw their support from non-Malay communities.
“Umno leaders are very found of picking on component parties and use them as their punching bag or stepping-stone to gain popularity in their community,” Paranjothy said in a hard-hitting four-page statement entitled ‘Discrimination from Womb to Tomb’.
He singled out Umno Youth Chief Hishammuddin Hussien’s keris waving and his deputy Khairy Jamaluddin’s claim that non-Malays would take advantage of a weak Umno leadership, as prime examples of racial posturing.
He also cited Khairy’s speech at the Umno general assembly last month, during which he blamed newspaper vendors for not wanting to work on Deepavali day. He made a pointed reference to the fact that the sector is predominated by Indian Malaysians.
The India government seems to be concern about Malaysian Indians’ welfare since the Hindraf rally. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi was the first to respond, but was told by Malaysia’s Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Aziz to back off.
Nazri’s response has probably created as much debate in the India Parliament as of the Hindraf’s plea itself. For once though, I have to agree with Nazri that this issue is none of India’s business.
Malaysian Tamil, Malaysian Indians, Malaysian Chinese, or Malaysian Bumiputras, whatever… we are MALAYSIANS. Whatever issue it is, it should be settle in Malaysia itself, and is none of other nations’ business.
I am pissed with some opposition leaders and political bloggers for supporting India’s stand regarding this matter. Anwar Ibrahim for example has told NDTV that India is right in taking up the issue of ethnic Tamils in the country… well, would Anwar approve if India decided to up their ante and send their armed force to ‘protect Malaysian Tamils’?
We can’t hail everything that is against the government simply for objecting sake; we still need to use our logical mind to see what is right or wrong… and Anwar is losing his mind here. So, what’s next? Chinese asking for China’s help for discrimination?
Fine, it’s freedom of speech… India’s leader can say whatever they want, but it ends there. Any further demands are unwanted and unwelcome. We don’t need foreign interference to handle Malaysian matters, period.