The Mahathir (not Malay) Dilemma

NST - How will the Chinese cast their ballots? by A Jalil Hamid (extracts):

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad certainly has a short memory. Many years ago he remarked that “Chinese are the Masters of Malaysia”.

That had, of course, drawn a strong rebuke from many Chinese.

The attack was unjustified as Dr Mahathir must have forgotten that it was the Chinese who saved him in the 1999 General Election when Malays deserted him over how he mistreated Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, once his chosen successor.

Dr Mahathir [.....] has picked a fight with all prime ministers save for Najib’s father Tun Abdul Razak Hussein. He waited for Razak’s son to become prime minister to engage in a war. [...]

Generally, Chinese voters are divided about Dr Mahathir.

But by having Dr Mahathir lead Pakatan, DAP may also be seen as taking the Chinese votes for granted.

For Chinese voters, two issues are dear to them: Chinese education and business. [...]

Politically, the Chinese community, for whom nothing could be more threatening than the anti-Chinese violence in Indonesia, found double solace before Reformasi began; they were not only safe in Malaysia; their home even served as a sanctuary for many Chinese, who fled the violence of May 1998 in Indonesia.

Chinese voters make up 29.68 per cent of the voting population.

Many Chinese are still sore about the abuse of security laws to clamp down on human rights, such as the Op Lalang episode in the late 1980s, and the Bank Negara forex scandal in the early 1990s.

Another issue was Dr Mahathir’s likening of the Chinese to “communists” and “extremists” when rejecting a 17-point memorandum submitted by Chinese civil society umbrella group, Suqiu, before the 1999 election.

Representing more than 2,000 groups, Suqiu made a number of election demands, which, Dr Mahathir said would have undone Malaysia’s social contract and Constitution that allowed special privileges for Malays.

Dr Mahathir initially pretended to support the appeal and won the general election with the support of Chinese guilds and associations. But he made a denial after the election and lambasted the Chinese campaign, comparing the promoters with the communists and Al-Ma’unah extremists.

Al-Ma'unah was a militant group based in Malaysia. The group was made famous by their audacious raid on 2 July 2000 on a Malaysian Army Reserve camp in the early hours of the morning and stealing weapons from the armoury

Mahathir likened Suqui (representing Chinese guilds and associations) to Al-Ma'unah when it suited him to treacherously dishonour his pledge to them made prior to the election

Again, Dr Mahathir’s constant U-turns and policy flip-flops may not attract many voters to his side.

Ever since he openly spun the Chinese support in the 1969 GE which consequentially saw him lost their votes and also his Kota Setar Selatan seat to PMIP (PAS) Yusof Rawa, Mahathir had thereafter alternatively attacked and woo the Chinese, to firstly appease his personal dislike for them but secondly to ensure they voted him.

It's been said when he was PM, he kowtim-ed the EC to consider federal constituencies that in each have the golden ethnic mix of 65% Malays:35% non-Malays (or Chinese) to ensure he stayed in power.

Then, he was worried about the Malay support, but with 35% nons behind his free market economic-business promise (to an extent), he was assured of the Chinese voting for him versus their voting for a holier-than-thou PAS which wanted to turn Malaysia into an Islamic nation.

Thus he was a man who disliked (I bet he still does) the Chinese but depended on those slant-eyes for his political survival. This has been the Mahathir Dilemma, and today he has to once again re-live that dilemma - disliking the Chinese but desperately depending on them (via DAP this time) for his political resurrection.

But many Chinese suspect that he will repeat his dishonourable broken pledge as he did shamelessly in 2000, where after he had pretended to support the Suqiu appeal and won the 1999 general election with the support of Chinese guilds and associations, he made a bloody blatant brazen-face denial after the election and lambasted the Chinese Suqui campaign, comparing the promoters with the communists and Al-Ma’unah extremists.

Mahathir showed by his outrageous belakang-pusing actions that he obviously didn't understand the Chinese concept of Gee K'ee (義氣) (Gee K'ee in Penang Hokkien, Yi-Hei in Cantonese, Yiqi in Mandarin).

Gee K'ee (義氣) means:

(1) [noun] personal loyalty; code of brotherhood; code of honour; camaraderie; loyalty to friends; sense of obligation; justice; righteousness,

(2) [adj] having personal loyalty.

In other words, quintessentially, a man's word was his honour.

Sacrificing to heaven and earth, the oath at the peach garden, Romance of the Three Kingdoms

(one of the primary illustrations of 義氣)

In Mahathir's case vis-a-vis his promise to Suqui in 1999, it would be his (missing) code of honour; sense of obligation; justice; righteousness.

Obviously that was missing when he turned around and snarled at Suqui, accusing them of being communists and like Al-Ma’unah extremists.

Where was his 'word of honour'? Where was his Gee K'ee (義氣)?

A third definition would be ‘the spirit of integrity and loyalty', usually bandied in martial arts circle and amongst the military, law enforcement personnel and even medieval (not bloody modern) triad members, but which would be beyond Mahathir's character, as shown so explicitly in 2000 in the treachery of his pledge to Suqui.

OK Chinese Malaysians, go ahead and vote for Mahathir but don't be surprised if you discover after the election he will abandon every pledge he made to you. He has done that before, but then, don't blame him as he doesn't have any of that silly bodoh-saje revolting repulsive repugnant Chinese Gee K'ee (義氣).