Why Talented Malaysians Have To Leave – Part 2

Slightly more than a week ago, I wrote a letter to share with people, especially Malaysians, on why talented Malaysians decide to leave. Since then, the reactions have been awe-inspiring. They have inspired me to continue writing from where I left off.

There have been many encouraging as well as challenging responses. Truthfully, either way, I am moved by these eloquent individuals who have uttered their constructive comments in a communal manner. It is my humble intent to get the subject underway from the very beginning in order to create greater awareness.

Over the years, we have heard the government pouring out its disgruntlement over a ‘brain drain’ but for obvious reason the seepage is no way near an end. Like it or not, the flight of human capital is intimately linked to the social and economic factors and these have a lot to do with the political dynamism of the government.

It has been a year and three months (a big ‘sigh’!) since the last election but the political parties of the ruling coalition are just as incompetent of recovering from the devastation as seen from their inability to advocate change, infighting and self-denial (it cannot bear a single hard blow!).

Hence, we need to ask ourselves – do we still need this government who has not only failed us (though it won the 12th general election) but is on the verge of self-extinction with its apathetic approach to issues concerning people’s livelihood?

Previously, I momentarily mentioned that the solution to our political predicament is people’s power: ‘government to take stock and must return to basics… else a change of guard’. I am very relieved that the writer of We can buy skills and talents but not integrity was able to see my point.

When we mention people’s power, it means Malaysians regardless of race, religion or region (where are we) with the same aim ie, a vote for ultimate transformation in the coming 13th general election.

Yes, there are shameless armchair critics within the society today as highlighted by the writer of Search for better lives, non-bumis face dilemma. I do not feel any distaste towards the writer’s observation because everyone is entitled to their views. Similarly the writer of ‘We can buy skills and talents but not integrity’ felt that because I wrote a letter, I had done something which disqualified me from the shameless armchair.

Truthfully, I do not want to make a fuss concerning the shameless armchair critic. I strongly believe that all Malaysians no matter where we are (with the exception of the extremists who do not want to hear let alone do), can contribute to make Malaysia a better brand name, so to speak.

Allow me to put few facts in perspective before I proceed. Many of us who we are living away have not given up our Malaysia passports and identities. Migration absolutely does not signify one’s wealth as we fall in the category of ‘skill migration’. As a permanent resident, we had to start from the beginning and work our way through like anyone else. The only difference is that we are living in a system that cares for our livelihood and we feel safe.

As far as Malaysia is concerned, we are patriotic enough and we are not ashamed to demonstrate that. Our hearts are still with it and we are not about to leave it ‘dying’. Our feelings do not change no matter how far we are. Besides having the prerogative to vote, we know that we can continue to play a role for the betterment of Malaysia.

One important point mentioned was that we could contribute by looking at Malaysia from the ‘outside’. This is a profound view. In my previous letter, I had absolutely no ulterior intention to run down the country. I was depicting the truth based on my many years of work experience in Malaysia (17 years when l left).

Seventeen years is not a short time. I reckon a person would able to feel whether the society is functioning well given this amount of time. For example, I was definitely shell shocked by the egotistic attitude of the staff from the ministry of education when I tried to seek information personally. When I came over here, the system is completely the opposite. I was flattered by the warmth shown by the education department and schools at the state level.

I do not think it needs a genius to delineate what composites good governance. I am always dumbfounded whenever I compare the two systems. If the Malaysian ministry of education can take in two-third of their Down Under counterpart’s mind-set, I shall be over the moon. Malaysia is probably still a developing country but the concern is that some of the adored government servants are still preserving the same old styles and habits year in year out. This mentality is a large baggage to carry if Malaysia wants to become an indisputable developed nation. It is time to change.

Without a doubt, many Malaysians are where we are because of the attainment of basic needs like physiological and safety (rather than those higher in the hierarchy like esteem, and self-actualisation – Abraham Maslow pyramid of needs). Moving a way, for many professionals, is a matter of economic survival rather than a love for migration. Many professionals are global workers and they go where the opportunities beckon. Can they be faulted for this? This explanation is not to justify our reason to stay away but it is a fact of life for many Malaysians.

Truthfully, the issue is not about why we leave or where we are but how we fight and what are we are going to do. I empathise with the writer of ‘Search for better lives, non-bumis face dilemma’ in that many Malaysians do not bother lifting up the broom to tidy our home.

I for one have a high regard for the courage and scarifies displayed by Malaysians holding peaceful demonstrations within the democratic space. These people are genuine ‘freedom fighters’. Nevertheless, we need to respect that everyone has their own temperaments and beliefs.

To fight against prejudice, there are many roles Malaysians can play beyond wearing headgear and shouting slogans. I would like to refer the writer of It’s time Malaysia changes for the good. The role he can play is to continue highlighting Malaysia in Britain as a high-ranking officer in the British government. He must not feel ashamed of what is happening in Malaysia but instead replace it with proactive deeds.

As for the writer of Picking a fight with ‘the system’ our whole lives, she is at a crossroads between two systems. In my humblest opinion, her role is to make the most of the opportunity by choosing a system that can assist her in her career and which could make Malaysia proud. Eventually the world knows the quandary of Malaysians and the reason for their leaving which puts pressure on the Malaysia government (if it cares!) to act else risk losing its competitiveness. Her role is to excel herself to demonstrate that it is the system that fails her and not herself.

The point I would like to draw attention to is that while the inconspicuously average Malaysian has been doing different things (they raise their brooms), our actions have not reached a cohesive altitude to render the final push. Average Malaysians need someone to play a linking lynch-pin role.

For example, if someone could start to pick our brains from Britain or Down Under or review the issues we have raised, many Malaysians outside the country may have to chance to vote in the coming 13th general election in our residential countries. We would love that right.

On another occasion, if someone could put in some time and effort, we may have leaders from the political parties coming to the foreign shores and receive thunderous applause for their political ‘ceramah’. These are not easy passageways but we need politicians, political parties and NGO to champion these tasks. The aim is to share the roles, do different things, assist each other and together we aim for one purpose ie, a vote for ultimate transformation.

My take is that we need to work smart rather than hard. If we cannot implement democratic rights from within, we can play different roles from where we stand and meet each other at a certain intersection.

Getting all Malaysians together outside the country could add muscle to the voices within. It is time we start to work together despite of our different temperaments and beliefs. We must encourage each one to take different on positions and roles. We must explain and encourage people on the need to take up ‘the brooms’ as every single voice and vote counts. Most importantly, we must have great perseverance and patience as this is a long and hard battle.

This is the only way and the best chance after 52 years. Come the 13th general election, we should have a checklist of all the unwarranted things that the present coalition has done and circulate the list to others to remind us of why we should vote for an ultimate transformation. I can picture that many of us would be taking the next flight home come the 13th general election with one mission. I shall see you all at the polling station.

(Article written by George Lee & ublsihed in Malaysiakini on June 12 2009)

Leaving Malaysia Is Not As Simple As ABC

I refer to the letter Don’t think that because we left, we don’t care.

I agree with the writer on the grounds that Derrick Chan was absolute in his statement and that all Malaysians who have left the country had ‘abandoned’ their house keeping duties.

I must say that there are both who abandoned housekeeping duties and those who still have Malaysia at heart.

Also, I must add that Chan was wrong in any way to accuse Malaysians who left the country of throwing in the towel. Indirectly, he is suggesting that they are traitors, especially of George Lee.

Should we blame Malaysians for leaving the country for a better life? If governments of other countries have enticed Malaysians to their countries, why should these Malaysians be stopped, when obviously our government does not have the excellence Malaysians at heart in providing them with the environment and resources to excel?

If we were to take the ‘moral’ responsibility to stop these Malaysians and brand them as ‘traitors’ or criminalise them for not participating in change, are we not stopping them from excelling as an individual?

I think, rather than pointing fingers at others for being ‘apathetic’ or ‘afraid to participate in civil disobedience’ or ‘you have not right to say I’m a coward’, we should rather encourage and uphold each another.

We must recognise that leaving Malaysia is not as simple as ABC. It depletes resources, is emotionally stressful, and not to forget, it is also about letting go of our good ole’ Malaysian food (or in other words, historical mementoes).

If Chan speaks like a utilitarian, he should understand that these individuals did not leave the country like they are going out to watch a movie – with just a snap of the finger.

Therefore, what I suggest is that, whether we are overseas or at home, we do what we can and bring change to our country.

Small petty fights or accusations like these would only weaken our fight for ‘the Malaysia we dream of’.

We should also recognise those who are apathetic and encourage them to be un-apathetic. Sometimes, apathy is not an intentional decision, but probably out of disgust.

I hope all Malaysians will continue to have Malaysia at heart and bring Malaysia forward, both for ourselves and for our future generations.

(Article written by Jason LKH & published in Malaysiakini on June 10 2009)

An Open Letter To PAS Deputy President Nasharuddin Mat Isa

Newly re-elected PAS Deputy President Ustaz Nasharuddin Mat Isa was quoted by The Malaysian Insider rubbishing the stance of PAS’s spiritual leader Tok Guru Dato’ Nik Aziz’s position on PAS-Umno talk. http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/28831-no2-says-tok-guru-is-not-pas. Mat Isa said Tok Guru’s statement regarding his total rejection of PAS-Umno unity talk was personal and that PAS members “take the party’s stance.” He added that there were many issues that could be discussed between the political parties and that he (and his ilk) have “an open attitude when it comes to holding discussions.”

Before I proceed, I would like to say this to Mat Isa: Don’t test PAS members on Tok Guru Nik Aziz. Don’t test PAS members’ patience in this regard. Don’t test PAS members’ loyalty to Nik Aziz. Woe and woe unto you if you dare to do that. I can assure you that you will lose ignominiously if you continue with this kurang ajar culture in PAS.

Dear Nasa, you are overreaching yourself and you are pushing many a silent people to the limits. You would have to shoulder the consequences. Who are you to contradict Nik Aziz? Dato Dr Haron Din was quoted saying yesterday that “the difference between an Islamic and a non-Islamic party is loyalty to leadership”, now you are turning PAS into “un-Islamic” party by being kurang ajar and utterly nefarious and a disloyal figure to PAS’s ultimate leadership.

You weren’t born when Tok Guru Nik Aziz was fighting for PAS and its ideals. You can’t lecture him on PAS and what it stands for. No one in PAS can do. He is PAS’s conscience and his courage and fatigue represents the spirit of this nation. Despite his advanced age, deteriorating health and uninterrupted 20-year rule of Kelantan, he continues to wake up every morning to serve Islam, his people and nation (you do nothing). And Malaysians (Muslims and non-Muslims) can attest to one hard fact: that Nik Aziz is the conscience of this nation.

In 2008, you used his magic to win a seat in Kelantan while you couldn’t dare to stand in your home state of Negri Sembilan. In 1999, you won a seat in Kedah purely on Anwar Ibrahim’s expulsion from Umno which rocked the Malay community to the extreme. When you stood in Besut, Terengganu in 2004, you lost badly in a purely Malay constituency. What does that tell you? You have no influence on your own to steer PAS to greater heights neither do you have the vision to strengthen it for future challenges. All that you do is engage in shadowy work and even contradict our leaders and betray our friends who have been useful to us.

Ustaz Nasharuddin, when talking about PAS-Umno unity talk, please answer the following questions:

1. Why now?

2. Why not before the March 08 general elections?

3. What should we unite for? On what? About what? For what?

4. Is PAS a pure Islamic party that represents Malays and non-Malay Muslims or a Malay party?

5. What are the issues that we need to talk about? List them ONE by ONE. No cheap talk please!

6. Why PAS and Umno and not PAS, PKR DAP on one hand and Umno/BN on the other?

7. Why PAS and Umno and not PAS and PKR on one hand and Umno on the other?

8. Why you and not Najib Razak and Anwar Ibrahim, after all Anwar has more Malay support than you do and he is the head of Pakatan?

9. What is it that Umno lacks that need PAS support? The passage of Hudud laws in Parliament? Did Umno bring such laws to Parliament in the first place? And even if Umno were to do so, (which will never happen anyway), do we need to talk? Can’t we support such amendments while we are pure PAS members in Parliament?

10. Why did we go into the elections to get PAS leaders of our own and now you are telling us that we need to follow Umno leaders? Do you know we paid many prices for being in PAS? Do you know that Umno tormented us for decades for being in PAS? Do we need to list the agony and pain we went through? Or Nik Aziz as Kelantan MB went through?

11. What is it that Umno led by Najib Razak realizes today that needs our support? Be specific. You aren’t singing lullabies to children.

12. In what way do we keep the legacy of all past PAS Presidents by betraying their legacies when they left us for God’s mercy?

13. Is Umno ready to improve the police, judiciary and civil service personnel that it needs our Parliamentary support?

14. And if that’s the case, PKR and DAP will support such plans (which Umno will never do anyway), so when will we have PAS, PKR and DAP vs Umno “unity talk”?

15. Is it us who chose to be the enemies of Umno or Umno chose otherwise?

16. Is it us who tormented Umno people or it is us who paid heavy prices for being in PAS?

17. If the talk is about “issues concerning the nation” as you said, then why do we need constant talk about it in the media so much so that you fail in your parliamentary duties and as a PAS leader?

18. Is it PAS alone that’s concerned about the nation? What about PR parties and NGOs? Are they part of the “issue driven discussions”?

19. Why are you interested in something that will divide PAS and make us lose focus while we are on threshold of achieving an imminent victory in the near future insya Allah?

20. Perak PAS Commissioner Ustaz Ahmad Awang revealed in the Muktamar that a “national PAS” leader has tried to influence him to accept an all Malay state government in Perak, who is this leader?

21. Do you think Malaysia as a nation state can continue to exist if we go on that road and impose Malay leadership on a state like Perak which has more than 45% non-Malay inhabitants?

22. In your opinion, was that leader right in suggesting that idea that Ustaz Ahmad Awang rejected?

23. Non-Muslims who have shunned us for 5 decades are running to us; do we embrace them and show them the hospitality and protection Islam offers them or do we return them to the “enemy” they ran from?

24. Umno started attacking the Chinese and Indians when they deserted Umno for PAS, yet Umno won in 1999 on Chinese and Indian vote and not Malay vote, why did Umno not call for Malay unity?

25. Is it only PAS that needs to be fearful of Malays when it gets non-Malay vote? Since when did PAS Malay supporters show enmity towards non-Muslim PAS supporters? Did PAS lose Malay ground by getting Chinese and Indian support? If that’s the case, why is Umno desperately trying to woo them back?

26. Do you think Umno would talk of Malay unity if it was getting the “fixed deposit” Chinese and Indian votes as usual?

27. How would Islam’s image be affected by your betrayal to the non-Muslims?

28. Do you know that for Islam to be implemented in Malaysia, we need the understanding of the non-Muslim community? Did we learn from Sudan’s former military President Jaafar Nimeiri who imposed Sharia while ignoring the views of the non-Muslim community? Many Islamic scholars implored him to “at least” make the non-Muslim community to understand what was being done. But Nimeiri being a military man went ahead and declared Sudan an Islamic state and crushed all the opposition. Today, we have Southern Sudan (to be a separate nation in 2011) as a result. The nation continues to bleed till today. All it took was for one man to rush and pretend that he was intelligent and “God fearing” and that he was “uniting Muslims under God’s decrees”.

29. Do you appreciate that Anwar Ibrahim and Lim Kit Siang have been useful to us?

30. Do you appreciate that DAP has improved our image in the Chinese heartland so much so that Chinese villagers who would have puked at seeing PAS’s flag today overwhelmingly vote for us?

31. If yes, how do we repay them? Do we betray them and ignore them or we build better bridges with them and from thereon move forward and have our direct contact with the Chinese community established?

32. Do you appreciate that PKR and DAP have been useful to us? Between Umno and PKR and DAP, which party(ies) has helped us to be where we are now? Umno fought us, fights us and continues to do so in a cruel manner, do PKR and DAP do the same?

33. Do you believe PAS alone can rule Malaysia NOW? If yes, how? If not, how do we go about it?

34. Do you believe that Anwar Ibrahim’s New Economic Agenda, the Lingam Tapes, his detailed NEP misuse information, his mistreatment at the hands of Umno, the 1998 episode, his charisma, his experience, his networks, his campaign for our members in different states and his ability to convince DAP leaders to stop attacking PAS and instead concentrate on Umno has been useful to PAS and enabled us to win in a number of places we couldn’t imagine? Remember, it was only Anwar and Raja Petra Kamaruddin who repeatedly said Umno will be routed prior to the elections while BN media practically lynched Anwar and asked “who is Anwar”?

35. If your answer is yes, how do we repay him? Do we betray him now or we work with him and after he leaves, we install either you, Husam or Mohd Nizar as a replacement? If not, tell us how you won your seat in Yan in Kedah in 1999.

36. If you have popular Malay support, why did you lose in Besut? Why did PAS lose Terengganu since we are “more Malay” than Umno itself? Did you learn something? Why did Nik Aziz maintain his grip on Kelantan? Any lessons?

37. We used Mohd Nizar as an experiment and it yielded results; how do we achieve a national result now? And in what way does talking to Umno make PAS’s ideals realized?

38. An Islamic party has a moral duty to its Muslim and non-Muslim friends. Why are you reluctant to have a “unity talk” with either PKR or DAP or at least PKR which is a multiracial party but a Malay majority party in the grip of Malay leadership as well? Where is your honour in showing respect to comrades who struggle(d) with you?

39. What are the similarities between Umno and PAS that necessitates talk in the first place?

40. Many of our leaders are victims of ISA and other cruel Umno engineered rulings just like all PKR and DAP leaders are as well, what are the ideals we share with Umno that calls for PAS to desert like-minded PKR and DAP leaders for Umno leaders like Najib, Nazri Aziz, Kerismuddin, Bung Mukhtar Radin and Khairy?

41. PAS contested non-Malay seats and won (take Dr Siti Mariah for example); PKR (Malay MPs) have contested non-Malay seats (take Zahrain Mohd Hashem of Penang-PKR) but DAP didn’t contest a single seat with Malay majority. So, in what way does DAP constitute a danger to us?

42. If Malays are divided, who is to blame? And when did this division start? How and why was PKR formed? Why was PAS ejected out of BN when we joined them after we lost everything?

43. Which party closed its door on many Malays and even passed a resolution banning the return of any party member who has defected to another party? Umno! The same Umno wants Malay unity now? You buy that? And that unity is about what? After all, even a husband and a wife are not united!

44. PAS has been there for decades, were we united with Umno? If the unity talk is about issues, we supported Umno on certain issues in the past and we can do now when need be, so why talk about unity?

45. Does Umno have a heavenly decree to rule Malaysia and lead the Malays? Why NOT insist on PAS totally replacing Umno as the dominant party in Malaysia and lead Malaysia as well?

46. In what way do we achieve PAS’s struggle by talking to Umno or uniting with it?

47. PKR and DAP have supported issue based discussions in the past. Anwar said he is ready to meet Najib on Perak. Anwar said he is ready to support constitutional changes that improve the judiciary and other state institutions. Lim Kit Siang repeated the same. But they didn’t talk about PKR-Umno unity or Umno-DAP unity! Why us? Can’t we be a constructive opposition party without ever meeting Umno face to face?

48. Why do you need to demoralize the highly charged PAS now?

49. Umno Kelantan leader Che-Alwi has called on Tok Guru Nik Aziz to resign since he couldn’t get his “people” into PAS Central working committee, do you realise that it is you more than any one else who has divided PAS and is confusing the younger cadres? And do you cherish Umno leaders badmouthing PAS’ most respected political figure? Yet you want to talk to Umno? So you want to reward them for humiliating Nik Aziz?

50. Khairy launched a scathing attack on Tok Guru Nik Aziz and hired Mat Rempits during last year’s elections, he said Nik Aziz failed and can’t provide leadership. He came up with the Pade-doh campaign that humiliated the elderly leader. Tok Guru cried and many of us did whatever we could to rally to him. The same Khairy today says we should unite. So you support Khairy instead of Nik Aziz? For you Khairy and his ilk are better than Nik Aziz? Explain yourself!

51. Why are you wasting PAS’s time on irrelevant issues that will never happen rather than strengthen the party, raise its profile among the unwilling Malay supporters and further engage the non-Malays, Sarawakians and Sabahans?

52. Why are you silent? Why is Utusan your media? Why not the popular blogs, Malaysiakini, Malaysian Insider, Malaysia-Today, The Nutgraph etc?

53. Tell us what you have done for PAS and PR in regard to making policies, revising them or coming up with issues that are of concern to Malaysians.

54. Rather than wasting your time in seeking Utusan Malaysia coverage, why not spend time with PAS’s soldiers in the trenches in Negri Sembilan, Johore, Pahang, Malacca and other states who are preparing for the future?

55. Umno won’t give PAS the PM post, so why should we talk? Doesn’t that mean you despise your own leaders?

56. You can’t manage a simple victory like the one we have had now, how do you intend to manage a bigger one? You are exactly the kind of leaders martyr Sayid Qutb warned against when he wrote in his “This Religion” book that an Islamic leader who can’t manage victory will betray Islam’s cause.

57. Do you know for a leader to succeed, he has to be loved by his soldiers? Why are you making yourself hated in PAS and Pakatan? Why not listen to what the voters want? Are you honest with your Creator and yourself and with us?

58. What gives you the strength to contradict Tok Guru Nik Aziz? Is he your age-mate? Can you tell us one achievement he has accomplished on any front that you remotely even tried to achieve let alone achieving?

59. Many people (the intellectuals, economists, authors, NGO’s and highly educated/urbanite Malays) don’t understand PAS. What have you done in the past one year for them to understand us? What have you done to make PAS liked by all people so that it becomes a giant party in the future and even rule alone or with PKR?

60. Umno is for racism which is haram in Islam, selective justice, tribal hegemony, oppression, exploitation, endemic corruption, family rule, hatred, division, lies, sodomy and dirty politics, total destruction of state institutions (look at Perak), and in Umno’s history, it has the least popular leader in Najib Razak today. For God’s sake, what do we benefit from such a party and scandalized leadership? Do you believe we share more with Umno than with PKR and DAP?

We are waiting for answers and we demand them now. We are becoming impatient. When we voted for you (including myself who is a youth leader from Malacca), we did it because we hate to humiliate incumbent leaders and your age also mattered.

You were young and we thought a new chance had to be given to you. Removing an incumbent was more traumatizing for us as PAS members than installing a new one. That is why Datuk Husam Musa was not elected. It is not that he is not liked. He is indeed. Far more liked than you. From now on, we demand that you stop your unity talk nonsense and concentrate on PAS and PR. Otherwise tell us the truth and then we can go our separate ways. As simple as that!

(Article written by an Angry PAS Youth Leader from Malacca & published in MalaysiaToday on June 8 2009)

Do I Owe You Anything, Encik Awang?

In an article entitled The Malays are betrayed published on Utusan Malaysia recently, Awang Selamat said Chinese Malaysians were immigrants, and were indebted to the Malays.

By TAY TIAN YAN/Translated by DOMINIC LOH/Sin Chew Daily

I do not know who Awang Selamat is, but he keeps haunting me, claiming that I’ve owed him something!

Other than banks, I don’t think I have owed anyone anything.

All the things I’ve had, from the birth certificate when I was born, to the car I bought at the age of 22, and my house at 30… have all been acquired in a clean way, including my self respect.

Moreover, because I do not know Awang Selamat at all, as I said earlier, how could I possibly owe him anything?

But in an article entitled The Malays are betrayed published on Utusan Malaysia recently, Awang Selamat said Chinese Malaysians were immigrants, and were indebted to the Malays.

I am a Chinese Malaysian, one in the six million. He said the Chinese owed this and owed that, and as a Chinese, I can’t help but ask: “What have I owed you?”

Some more, I am not an immigrant. My birth cert and IC, along with all the documents of my assets point to the fact that I am a rightful Malaysian citizen.

The Constitution protects my status, my rights as well as my properties. If I’ve done anything against the laws, I will be bound by the Malaysian laws, like anyone else.

Of course, I can say proudly that I have paid my income tax and owes not a cent.

Moreover, I have never betrayed my Malay friends. We treat one another sincerely and fairly.

When my old friend Ghaffar buys me teh tarik, I’ll get him nasi lemak in return, even though nasi lemak is twenty cents more expensive than teh tarik.

But that’s not because I feel I’m indebted to him; neither do I think he’s trying to take advantage of me!

Right, Awang said Chinese Malaysians were getting more and more demanding, and racist, after the general elections last March.

What demands, or should I say what excessive demands, have the Chinese voiced up?

Scholarships? Land titles? Chinese primary schools? Democracy? Equality?

All I know is that these are reasonable requests from each and every citizen. As long as they are eligible, they should possess them.

It has nothing to do with race.

If we are denied of these things because of skin colour, then we must fight for them. This is not racism either.

Although I have no idea who Awang is, I know he is hiding under the protective net of Utusan Malaysia.

He may be an individual, or a group of individuals. And he may have his own hidden agendas for his displeasure with Chinese Malaysians.

A lawyer friend told me, it was an act of sedition just to brand ethnic Chinese Malaysians as immigrants, and that the police should probe the incident.

Or perhaps there should be someone making a police report, in particular those who claim they represent the six million Chinese Malaysians.

http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/22804/84/#jc_writeComment

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MY RESPONSE TO AWANG SELAMAT:

Politicians, Make No Mistake – We’re Your Masters!

Any right-minded person, looking at the current stage of the prevailing political state of affairs in Malaysia would be inclined to conclude, that mass democracy is moribund. It is on the way to the mortuary.

Every day when we get up from our slumber, we hope against hope to face a new revelation. But contrary to our hope, we are compelled to face each new dawn with more disgusting news, which only casts the impression that the politicians who are supposed to serve our interests are only serving the cause of their interests.

The information and news comes in various forms. It depends on our station in life. The ones from the lower rank of the social ladder become aware of the acts and conduct of the men in charge of all our established institutions by gossip in the market place, coffee shops or at discussions held at their place of work and sometimes, maybe, from the Internet.

The middle-class have more readily available options. They can obtain their news and information from diverse sources. This is the present global communication network.

The domestic mainstream print media and all the local television networks are only concerned with and propagate news which concerns matters relating to the political will of their political masters.

Hence, the opposition party politicians are more often than not, not consigned much news coverage. This situation has given rise to the use of the alternate media by a news-starved population to secure news and information of public interest.

It is now of common knowledge that every domestic print media and television network only gives great prominence to the acts and conduct of the BN politicians and the men who act for and on behalf of the established institutions. Why is this so?

In the first place, most of the politicians on the BN side, with the exception of a few, are charlatans (the opposition parties have charlatans too). Then they engage the services of spin doctors to help them improve upon and display their public relations, hopefully in a way acceptable to the public at large.

This is done to gain the control of the minds of the people. What they fail to realise is that with today’s global communication network, the domestic print media and the television networks cannot control and have a monopoly over the minds of the people whose ‘first love’ in this society, is freedom and liberty.

The situation of having a monopoly over the minds of the people, did work when the BN government had a two-thirds majority in the political arena. They did at that stage represent a mass semocracy. But now, the BN does not represent a mass democracy.

What we have before us is a political scenario where there is unfurling a highly-changing and a fast-moving picture or a pattern which is interpolated with diverse issues such as apartheid, religion, racial identity and equality, economic equality, education in English, no restriction on entry to higher education, recognition of meritocracy in government institutions, liberty, freedom of speech, choice and assembly, marginalisation and discrimination, health and the worst of all, judicial impropriety and abuse of the powers by the executive.

The above causes have given rise to the formation of various new political parties. Each claim to represent some cause or another.

As such, since March 8 of 2008 there is no way whatsoever that the BN government can ever claim that they represent a mass democracy. If there is no mass democracy, then what do we have?

Well, based on the change of the mind set of the people, and since the word, ‘race’ has almost become defunct for all with the exception of the BN parties, we can at best describe the prevailing political stage of consisting of a mosaic democracy.

The rise of the mosaic democracy has brought about a drastic change in how our economy functions. There were five state governments that were ruled by a coalition of opposition parties.

Najib has by his unethical and diabolical acts and conduct, taken back Perak. The people of the state are now in a state of limbo. So Najib, what is the meaning of ‘1Malaysia’ or that you are the ‘people’s prime minister? Shame on you.

The change in the demography of the political structure has resulted in a new stage of politics. The people are no longer concerned about ‘Malay Supremacy’ which stands for apartheid.

They have now assimilated into various multi-ethnic political parties. They are more concerned with meritocracy and shun mediocrity which is the keystone of Umno’s survival.

There was a time when the people who went to the polls were blind. In the current stage, we have a more enlightened and educated populace. The multi-ethnic political parties should find this as an opportunity to win over the confidence of the masses by providing them an alternative which is premised on the principle of good governance and equality without discrimination.

The Malaysian people have travelled a long and difficult journey. They are now in a position to make choices. They are a discernable people in a diverse but unified society.

All politicians should make no mistake about it. We are your masters. We do not want to govern but elect you to carry out the task of the government.

Never again shall any politician lord over the people. Here is the birth of a new opportunity for all those who aspire to serve the people’s interest.

(Article written by Bosco Anthony & published in Malaysiakini on June 5 2009)