Should DAP leave Pakatan as it's unwanted by Pribumi

From Sin Chew via Malaysia Chronicle:

THE DAP’S DILEMMA IS THE DILEMMA OF THE NON-MALAYS – TO ATTACK DAP IS TO ATTACK THE CHINESE & THE INDIANS: IF MAHATHIR DOESN’T UNDERSTAND THIS – NO WONDER NON-MALAYS NO LONGER SEE HIM AS A ‘BORN-AGAIN’ DICTATION-TURNED-REFORMER, THEY NOW SEE HIM AS WHAT HE WAS – THE SOURCE OF ALL THEIR SUFFERINGS & STRUGGLES SINCE MAY 13, 1969

DAP is finding itself in hot soup, being a target of the government in recent weeks. Who knows there is a meticulously designed plot behind that which has a lot to do with the power transition? 

Chinese Malaysians generally believed that everything would be fine for the Malaysian politics soon after the 14th general election, and could look forward to more good days ahead.

However, to the Malays, the Malaysian politics is still very much at a phase of integration and unexpected political changes could erupt any time, as evidenced by a rumored new Malays-only government.

As a matter of fact, Malay leaders from both Umno and PPBM Pribumi have since last year secretly drawn up their grand Malay political plan which will culminate in the establishment of a Malay government.

The main objective of this Malay government is to stop Anwar Ibrahim from becoming the country’s eighth prime minister and for Tun Mahathir to complete his full term.

We have seen how DAP has come under “planned attacks” over the past two weeks. This could as well be the very first step in the enemies’ plan.

DAP’s two ethnic Indian state assemblymen have been detained under Sosma for alleged involvement in LTTE activities.

According to the police, they were tipped as early as in 2016 that these two elected reps were suspected of supporting terrorist activities.

However, DAP leaders questioned that if there were solid evidences, why had they not been arrested earlier?

Following that, former DAP member Hew Kuan Yau’s “Belt & Road Initiative for Win-Winism” comic book has raised much controversy in the Malay society and the book has since been banned by the home ministry.

These two incidents are enough to give DAP a big headache. Umno and PAS reps have even proposed in the Parliament to dissolve or ban DAP.

And then Ronnie Liu’s criticism of PPBM Pribumi has ignited the wrath of PPBM Pribumi leaders, including the 27-year-old Syed Saddiq who has unreservedly slammed DAP in the strongest terms.

Many tend to believe that DAP grassroots will generally support Liu for defending the party as well as the freedom of expression. There are people who even feel that he should have told PPBM Pribumi leaders that their party would not be able to form a government if not for DAP.

Unfortunately, most DAP leaders do not think the same way. They think that what Liu has said has hurt the Pakatan Harapan coalition and is unforgivable. DAP’s bottomline is that while you can criticize Mahathir, in no way should you involve the ruling coalition.

From what we understand, although DAP leaders oppose to the ban of Hew’s comic, they have refrained from criticizing the home minister in a bid to evade possible conflicts. It has been said that DAPSY has planned to issue a statement to protest the ban, but has somehow been stopped from doing so.

Despite being a newly formed party, factional conflicts are very much evident within PPBM Pribumi. Muhyiddin Yassin is seen as someone close to PH and in favor of a cooperation with PKR, DAP and Amanah.

Entrepreneurship development minister Mohd Redzuan, meanwhile, is seen as more inclined to working with Umno and PAS, and it is rumored that he will challenge Muhyiddin’s presidency in next year’s party election.

DAP invariably finds itself in a deep dilemma, being bound by the latest political developments in the country. It is not because the party is reluctant to act, but because it simply can’t.

And there are good reasons for such dilemma!

On the one hand, the party has tried to avoid offending its political partners for the sake of its own interest; on the other hand it has to suppress its reactions lest if fall into the enemies’ trap.

After the election, the Malay society continues to feel uneasy towards the new government, in particular the rural folks. They feel that their interest is being intimidated and eroded because DAP has been perceived as an ‘anti-Malay” and “anti-Islam” party ever since BN’s time.

DAP has 42 seats and is the second largest party in the Parliament. By right the party should enjoy a noble and stable position. Unfortunately, to the Malays it is more of a thorn in the flesh.

At a time Malay politicians are tirelessly promoting their racial and religious agenda, DAP is seen as a threat to Malay politics and Malay unity.
Politics is a number game. The rumored new Malay government without DAP and Amanah to a large extent stems from the fact that these two parties are more inclined to back Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister and reject Tun Mahathir’s plan to complete his full term.

There is this rumor that “someone” hopes that DAP will either back off on its own or be forced out so that the “new Malay government” can proceed smoothly.

In the face of unprecedented challenges from both within and without the coalition, what should the party do to deliver itself out of the doom of the country’s political reality? Should it quit PH and seek new partners to form a new alliance, or courageously fight for its own interest as it used to do in the past? This will very much put the party leaders’ wisdom to test.

In a way DAP’s dilemma is also a dilemma of the Malaysian Chinese community, which will unfailingly take the brunt in the event of any unfavorable development.

– Mysinchew

Halloween versus Hungry Ghost Festival

Star Online:

Nightmare on the Chinese subway

By Beh Yuen Hui

When ‘ghosts’ and ‘zombies’ are asked to clean up their faces before entering the station.

“PLEASE remove your make-up.”

This was an instruction given to a group of youngsters at the security checkpoint of a subway station in Guangzhou, a major city in southern China.

They did so, otherwise risked not being allowed into the station.

A video clip showing the youths removing their make-up went viral on the Internet and quickly became one of the hottest topics board on Weibo, the Chinese Twitter.

The video recorded last Sunday night showed some passengers with special effects make-up as if they were bleeding from the eyes and mouth.

They had just attended a Halloween party at a nearby theme park.

scene from film 'Visible Secret'

Chinese ghosts seem to come from the medieval period with white faces 

“They were stopped at the checkpoint of Hanxi Changlong Station and ordered to wipe off the bloodstains on their faces before being allowed to enter the station, ” the post wrote.

That Sina Weibo post on the subway incident were read 110 million times and generated tens of thousands of discussions.

Despite some people condemning the subway authorities for their lack of the Halloween spirit, most netizens supported the move.

Online polls, conducted by various local dailies, showed massive support for Guangzhou Metro, which operates the city’s subway system.

“This is scary, they will frighten the passengers especially senior citizens and children on the trains, ” wrote Mandarin Orange Indulges in Latte.

“The authorities did nothing wrong, ” wrote another netizen Zhiyu.

Another netizen felt that the security personnel had over reacted and wrote: “I think most people could differentiate between real and fake blood, these special make-up effects will not cause a major panic.”

Guangzhou Metro explained that it was merely trying to prevent unnecessary panic among passengers.

“Some had special make-up effect which were really scary, ” a staff told the local media, adding that the passengers were sporting enough and agreed to wipe away the special effects with make-up remover provided to them.

Guangzhou police has advised the public against creating unnecessary anxiety among others in public areas.

It also asked them not to wear outlandish clothes meant for activities with special themes while taking public transport.

“Action will be taken accordingly against those who refuse to follow instructions given by the authorities and disturb public order, ” the cops warned. [...]

The subway has always been the source for ideas for film scriptwriters especially ghost-related stories.

Hong Kong ghost film Visible Secret, helmed by award-winning director Ann Hui, sparked a wave of horror among the public. Many declared they dared not take the subway at night.

This was caused by the eerie poster that shows the stars including Shu Qi and Eason Chan sitting emotionless with a “ghost” on a subway train.

The 2001 film was nominated for the Best Director, Best Supporting Actress and Best Sound Effects awards, winning the Best Cinematography prize at the Hong Kong Film Awards.

*********

kaytee notes:

Halloween in China? Wakakaka, you must be joking. It's OK for those brats who followed American culture but to expect Chinese elders or more mature adults to know what it's about would be too much.

Wikipedia informs us:

Halloween or Hallowe'en (a contraction of Hallows' Even or Hallows' Evening), also known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve, is a celebration observed in several countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day.

It begins the three-day observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed.

It is widely believed that many Halloween traditions originated from ancient Celtic harvest festivals, particularly the Gaelic festival Samhain; that such festivals may have had pagan roots; and that Samhain itself was Christianized as Halloween by the early Church.

Some believe, however, that Halloween began solely as a Christian holiday, separate from ancient festivals like Samhain.

Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (or the related guising and souling), attending Halloween costume parties, carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, divination games, playing pranks, visiting haunted attractions, telling scary stories, as well as watching horror films.

In many parts of the world, the Christian religious observances of All Hallows' Eve, including attending church services and lighting candles on the graves of the dead, remain popular, although elsewhere it is a more commercial and secular celebration.

Some Christians historically abstained from meat on All Hallows' Eve, a tradition reflected in the eating of certain vegetarian foods on this vigil day, including apples, potato pancakes, and soul cakes. [...]

 

Today's Halloween customs are thought to have been influenced by folk customs and beliefs from the Celtic-speaking countries, some of which are believed to have pagan roots.

Jack Santino, a folklorist, writes that "there was throughout Ireland an uneasy truce existing between customs and beliefs associated with Christianity and those associated with religions that were Irish before Christianity arrived".

Historian Nicholas Rogers, exploring the origins of Halloween, notes that while "some folklorists have detected its origins in the Roman feast of Pomona, the goddess of fruits and seeds, or in the festival of the dead called Parentalia, it is more typically linked to the Celtic festival of Samhain, which comes from the Old Irish for 'summer's end'."

Traditionally, Chinese unexposed to the Western culture and festival of Halloween, as those travellers in Guangzhou, would be surprised and even shocked at such a festival. The nearest Chinese equivalent would be Hungry Ghost Festival, and Chinese don't fool around on such a festival with silliness like 'trick or treat'.

Tax revenue from Non-Malay are non-Halal - Don't use them for Islamic matters

Malaysiakini:

Yoursay: Motion against vernacular schools reeks of a political motive

YOURSAY | ‘Why didn’t Khairul act against vernacular schools during BN’s six-decade rule?’

Lawyer files motion claiming vernacular schools contravene Federal Constitution

Anonymous 24331438100949: Vernacular schools have been established in Malaysia for many generations now.

Yet, it is only now that lawyer Mohd Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz files a motion challenging the existence of vernacular schools in Malaysia.

If he was really sincere in adhering to the Federal Constitution, Khairul should have taken the action during BN’s rule for more than six decades.

Why did he wait until now to take action, just a year after the Pakatan Harapan government had come into power?

Khairul’s argument that the Budget 2020 allocation of RM127 million to vernacular schools prompted him to take action does not hold water as the BN had similarly been providing allocations to these schools all these while before being toppled in 2018.


Adi Purusa: "As taxpayers, we have the right to make sure the government spends money on the people, in accordance with the constitution and law,” said Khairul.

But then, what was he doing when the country was being plundered left, right and centre during the previous administration.

billions & billions were lost 

Kangkuong: Indeed, Khairul’s comments would have been taken seriously if only cases of misuse of public funds involving Felda, Tabung Haji, and other organisations set up to help improve the lives of poor Malays didn’t occur.

What guarantee is there that the funds saved from the vernacular schools’ allocation do not end up enriching just a handful of politicians or leaders?


Big Data: Going by Khairul's argument, he should have the moral responsibility of stopping the use of non-Malay taxpayers’ funds in 100 percent Malay institutions like Mara and others.

Furthermore, he is implicating that Malaysia’s first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman was wrong regarding the operation of vernacular schools.

This lawyer’s action was purely for political reasons, and will not help the ailing economy, education or unity.

Quigonbond: Should the minorities in the country start filing motions in court against the former BN government ministers and MPs for using the taxpayers' money collected from them to fund Islamic and purely bumiputera matters because according to Khairul, the tax he pays should only be used on matters that are beneficial to him.

its annual budget is more than 1 billion 

As far as most of the people are concerned, tax should be race and religion-neutral. The tax collected by the authorities includes those from non-halal certified company profits.


My2cen: Since Khairul admitted that he filed the motion in court because of his objection to public funds allocated to vernacular schools, there is a solution for this matter.

The funds for sectors or projects benefiting the non-Muslims, such as vernacular schools, should come purely from the revenue generated by taxing non-Muslims, especially non-halal activities (such as tax from gaming/gambling, alcohol, etc).

Then, people like Khairul will not feel aggrieved and it will not hinder the development of non-Muslims.


Leon Moch: I am not sure if Khairul can beat the stringent locus standi rule in Malaysian courts.

If I recall correctly, in the case of Lim Kit Siang v UEM, the veteran DAP politician tried to bring a public interest litigation suit in his capacity as the opposition leader, MP, taxpayer, etc, but failed to proceed with the suit because as the plaintiff, he was required by the court to show that he, above other persons, had been specifically injured or suffered a loss because of the defendant.


Anonymous 3b6c1f0c: Khairul obviously did not read all the relevant provisions of the Federal Constitution. The provisions of Article 152 do not make it illegal for the establishment of vernacular schools.

It provides to the contrary and states that while the national language shall be the Malay language, no person shall be prohibited or prevented from using or from teaching or learning, any other language; and nothing in Article 152 shall prejudice the right of the federal government or of any state government to preserve and sustain the use and study of the language of any other community in the Federation.

It is a basic instruction to all law students not to read any provision of law in isolation from any other related provision. And so, Articles 8 and 12 are also relevant to the interpretation of Article 152.

Article 8 provides that all citizens are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law. A citizen is entitled to learn in his or her mother tongue.

Article 12 which deals with education rights provides that there shall be no discrimination against any citizen on the grounds of religion, race, descent or place of birth in the administration of any educational institution maintained by a public authority; or in providing funds of a public authority and financial aid for the maintenance or education of pupils or students in any educational institution (whether or not maintained by a public authority).

So, the government has the right to allocate public funds including taxpayers’ money towards the establishment and maintenance of vernacular schools. It is a right under the Federal Constitution.

It is high time that learning and understanding of the Federal Constitution be made the subject of learning in secondary schools rather than Moral Studies so that we have citizens who know what the social contract is when they speak about it.

This will remove a critical area of social cohesion and relationship from being the sole purview of racists and people with anarchist tendencies in our country.

A more aware and educated citizenry will never be led astray by such as these. There are just too many purveyors of falsehoods gaining, and being given, prominence and worst still, being entertained by those in power.


JD Lovrenciear: Language is the root of civilisation. Learning and communicating in any chosen, preferred or one's own culturally-imbued language is an inherent right that no human can deny another of it.

Tamil and Chinese languages cannot be stymied using law and legal arguments. To do so is tantamount to an affront on civilisation.

To argue that vernacular languages are divisive, anti-nationalist or an enemy to the chosen national language only goes to show our shallow appreciation of languages.


SSMM: Non-Chinese students comprised 18 percent of Chinese-language primary schools in 2016, according to Education Ministry statistics, or almost one in five students.

Compared to the more than 90 percent of Malay students in national-type schools, it looks like Chinese schools are actually more racially diverse these days.

Anon Two: I guess Khairul wants all the schools in the country to be of the same quality as the current national-type schools.

Guan Eng worries about Pakatan disintegration but numbers ...?

(FMT) – Guan Eng slams ‘illegal’ moves to break up PH:

Lim Guan Eng today called for action to be taken against those attempting to illegally remove any of the parties in the ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition, amidst rumours that a former minister was pushing for a new government to be formed without DAP and Parti Amanah.

Lim, who is DAP’s secretary-general, said such attempts were a “betrayal of democracy” as well as the clear and unequivocal mandate of the rakyat.

“DAP urges all parties to respect the PH electoral mandate to rule Malaysia through the five component parties of PH comprising PPBM, DAP, PKR, Amanah and Warisan,” he said in a message to mark Deepavali tomorrow.

Lim also said that Malaysians must not underestimate the threats posed by those who wish to disrupt national unity with extremist and racist statements.


BUT


MM Online - Lawyers: Voters may feel betrayed if Pakatan sacks partners, but no law to stop this.

Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad takes a group photo with ministers and Pakatan Harapan leaders in Putrajaya May 9, 2019. — Picture by Shafwan Zaidon 

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 — Malaysians who voted for the four-member Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the 14th general election will have no recourse if components are removed as rumoured, according to legal experts.

Amid claims of a plot for a PH government without members DAP and Amanah, the lawyers said the informal nature of a coalition government meant there are no legal or constitutional safeguards preventing such an occurrence.

Constitutional lawyer Lim Wei Jiet agreed that the removal of partners from a ruling coalition mid-term may be seen possibly as a moral wrong but said it was not illegal.

“Voters no doubt have the expectation of their elected coalition to govern the whole term. And it will no doubt be seen as a betrayal of the peoples’ mandate from a political point of view.

“But there is ultimately no law which says that the coalition we elected on 9th May 2018 must govern until the 15th general election,” he told Malay Mail when contacted.

Lim pointed out that “there is no law to prohibit a ruling coalition to re-organise or remove coalition partners mid-term”.

“The only constitutional requirement is that the prime minister of the government of the day commands the confidence of the majority of the Dewan Rakyat. Of course, if any such re-alignment or removal happens, such confidence on the prime minister can be tested by a vote of no-confidence,” said Lim, who is also secretary-general of the National Human Rights Society (Hakam).

Lim said a no-confidence vote would also not be automatically triggered if a ruling coalition removes a component mid-term, explaining that a federal lawmaker must propose this in Parliament.

I wonder why Lim Guan Eng made such a silly call, considering Pakatan Rakyat (previous coalition, not the current Harapan) wanted to kick PAS out of the Selangor's state government, wakakaka.

Syiok-sendiri-wise he can squeeze his own balls but legally he must continue to squeeze those balls as there's nothing legally he can do.

Additionally, the reason why Mahathir is still the PM has been the inability of PKR Pandan Cats (Anwar's faction) to marshal enough members (112 to reform a new ruling govt) to kick Mahathir out.

If PKR has 50 MPs and Dwarf Azmin has 18 and jumps like a blardy frog (which is most likely), that leaves the Cats with 32. DAP has 42, making a pro Anwar number of 74. Can Amanah's 11 be relied upon to support Anwar in a showdown? Even so, that makes the number only 85.

Dwarfs above, Cats below 

But how many of Azmin's 18 are non-Malays (eg. Tian Chua, Sivarasa, etc) who won't find it suitable to support Mahathir Pan-Malay coalition (UMNO III) - if they do, they may well end up being notorious chow-kau of the Chinese Malaysians.

Ronnie Liu has claimed that some in Mahathir's own Pribumi party may even frog over to Anwar's side. And undoubtedly Anwar has his old mates (anti-Mahathir faction) in UMNO to rely upon. Then there are the East Malaysian allies which alas, I lack the knowledge to comment upon.

Intriguing number crunching, wakakaka.

DAP kerbau continues in Tanjung Piai

FMT:

DAP rep expects tough fight for PH in Tanjung Piai

Tanjung Piai will go to the polls on Nov 16. (Bernama pic) 

PETALING JAYA: A DAP assemblyman says Pakatan Harapan (PH) will be at a disadvantage in the Tanjung Piai by-election next month due to anger within the Chinese community over what is perceived as broken promises.

“They feel that we (DAP) have lost our principles and direction since we became part of the government,” Pekan Nanas rep Yeo Tung Siong told Singapore’s Straits Times.

Yeo Tung Siong 

“But they have to understand, it is not easy to change something that was in place before we took over.”

He said PH is aiming for at least 70% of Chinese votes, a drop from the 80% and more it garnered in the May 9 general election.

The Malay support is not entirely with PH either, he added, due to the recent collaboration between Umno and PAS which he said are targeting at least 40% of votes from the community.

He also listed other factors that might work against PH including the recent arrests of DAP assemblymen over alleged links to the now-defunct Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam separatist group and what he called the opposition playing up issues of race and religion.

His remarks come days after DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang said PH’s reform agenda had fallen below expectations.

On Sunday, Lim said the economic scandals inherited from the previous administration had prevented the government from immediately and fully implementing its pledges and promises.

The Tanjung Piai by-election will take place on Nov 16.

Wakakaka - what a spinner this bloke Yeo Tung Siong is - to say the erstwhile DAP supporters “..... feel that we (DAP) have lost our principles and direction since we became part of the government, ... but they have to understand, it is not easy to change something that was in place before we took over.”

The aim of overthrowing the previous BN government was premised precisely in the belief the Pakatan Harapan government would do just that.

Instead we get Car No 3, a consumption tax system that is worse than the simple no-loop-hole easy-to-understand GST, Kasut Hitam, return of crony system (eg. the Yamsung crony sapu-semua - see my previous posting "Dignity"? of the Crony Yum Seng-ing), Mahathir's insistence that Lynas would be good business and a model for FDI, refusal to sign the ICERD, Rome Statute, quarrelling with India and Mahathir's 'hooked nose' Jews, kay-poh interference in Hong Kong's business, etc etc etc.

And there were his participation at the Malay Dignity Congress with its contents of racist vilification, threats and kerbau 'social contract', still un-deported Zakir Naik, Young Brat's ultimatum to the DAP, "lim KHAT siang", insults and threats to popular Hew Kau Yau, Ronnie Liu, recent attempt to make vernacular schools illegal, etc.

Then there's the matriculation injury (non%) & insult (Chinese are rich not require matriculation), non-recognition of UEC, non-funding of UTAR, Mahathir's old-UMNO policies.

Yeo put on another kerbau-ish spin to say said PH is aiming for at least 70% of Chinese votes, a drop from the 80% and more it garnered in the May 9 general election.

The Pakatan Harapan (in reality Parti PRIBUMI) candidate will be lucky to get any significant Chinese support (unless the DAP is so convincing in its campaign, or those voters still believe in Mahathir, wakakaka).

As I mentioned in an earlier posting Mahathir, Maslee, Syed Saddiq & Malay Dignity Congress eff PRIBUMI's prospect in Tj Piai, there are 57% registered Malay voters in Tanjung Piai, so it's best for Parti Pribumi to rely on 50.1% of that 57% to win, wakakaka.

There are 3 possible reasons why the DAP didn't demand Tanjung Piai (its traditional seat) back from Pribumi, namely:

(a) it's subservient and obsequious to Mahathir,

(b) it will face a very hostile 57% Malay voters since the allegations (no doubt all kerbau) of the Rocket Party being pro communist, pro Christian, and pro LTTE, apart from being a Cinapek Party,

presented by Mahathir to Xi Jinping 

(c) it knows that NOW it will likely face a humiliating loss in that seat, as the Chinese in Tanjung Piai (and throughout Malaysia) are disenchanted with a guli-less DAP, the type of political party they aren't used to nor like and had thrown out in GE14.

Wakakaka.

Mahathir, more racist than ever

finance-twitter:

Malay Dignity Congress – PM Mahathir Pretends To Be Upset For Being Called A Racist

Mahathir was a master strategist. He was also a brilliant strategist at toying peoples’ emotion, especially his fellow Malay community. But it appears he is still stuck in the 1980s mentality, not being able to play other cards except racial and religious extremism. It’s also true that he no longer has the advantage of using newspapers and TV to spin and twist his (old UMNO) political propaganda.

In 1988, Mr. Mahathir killed the original old UMNO and formed a “new” UMNO (Baru) after the Malay nationalist party was declared as an illegal and unlawful organization. After the May 2018 General Election, where he stunningly defeated his protégé-turned-nemesis Najib Razak, UMNO’s assets have been frozen due to massive money laundering allegations.

At least 150 of UMNO’s 191 divisions are considered illegal today. Thus, the Mahathir government can actually tell the Registrar of Societies (RoS) to deregister UMNO like what happened 30 years ago in the 1988 crisis. But the 94-year-old premier refuses to, for now. He wanted to loot UMNO’s assets, including its precious Member of Parliaments, before terminating the party.





His party – PPBM (Bersatu) PRIBUMI – won only 13 out of 222 parliamentary seats in the May 2018 General Election. But the Malay-based party doubled its number from 13 to 26 – through defections of UMNO MPs. UMNO, once the dominant ruling government, is now left with only 37 MPs due to multiple betrayals, down from 54 MPs it initially grabbed in the 14th General Election.

Unfortunately to Mahathir, the crossing over of UMNO “frogs” have since stopped. Warlord Hishammuddin Hussein, the UMNO traitor supposedly to leave the sinking ship with 30 MPs to join Mahathir, has somehow failed in his mission. Playing safe, UMNO MPs have chosen to sit on the fence instead. Frustrated, Mahathir had openly invited all Malays to join his party. But very few take up his offer.

While opposition parties UMNO and PAS (Islamist party) consistently play up 3R cards (religion, racial and royalty), Mahathir cannot play the royalty card because he had offended most of the sultanates. That forces the PPBM PRIBUMI supremo to play the racial card even more. He figures that instead of fixing the economy, it’s quicker to capture Malay votes via racial and religious extremism.





Ergo, PPBM PRIBUMI arranged with four public universities to gather Malay community at the “Malay Dignity Congress” on Oct 6. In reality, the gathering was a follow-up to the UMNO-PAS Muslim Unity move in September. Understandably, PPBM PRIBUMI was under tremendous pressure to make the gathering more successful – more Malay than UMNO and more Islam than PAS.

The Malay Dignity Congress was supposed to win over massive Malay voters for Mahathir without inflicting huge damage on non-Muslim voters, who had voted in droves for Pakatan Harapan coalition last year. To create the narrative that it was the ultimate Malay unity gathering, leaders from opposition UMNO and PAS were even invited to share the stage. But it has backfired spectacularly.

Not only was the gathering and participants were labelled of being racist, Mahathir himself suffers the same accusation. If today is 1980s or 1990s, the premier couldn’t care less what the non-Malays think of him. The authoritarian leader would instruct the mainstream news media to simply “blackout” the minorities’ outburst of protest and magnify the success of the gathering.





It speaks volumes about Mahathir’s frustration (and the failure of the gathering) when he was reduced to posting on his personal blog on Friday (Oct 25) about Malays being accused of being racist for attending the so-called “dignity congress”. He said he attended the gathering because he is a Malay. Hence, he was surprised when he was advised not to attend the gathering.

He had argued that while other ethnic groups, presumably Chinese and Indian, were free to hold gatherings to discuss their affairs, and Malays were being accused of being racist when they hold a similar gathering. He was absolutely correct to say he has the right to attend the congress. But he was wrong to say other minority communities had held a similar gathering consisting of racial bashing and whacking.

Perhaps Mahathir can provide proof of past “Chinese Dignity Congress” or “Indian Dignity Congress” where Malays were bashed. In the last 62 years, the minorities probably had whined, moaned and bitched about being ignored or discriminated by the government, but they had never dared insulting Malays at the same scale demonstrated during the Malay Dignity Congress.





The minorities Chinese and Indians would be immediately reported, slammed, arrested, investigated, interrogated and detained without trial under the previous draconian laws such as the ISA (Internal Security Act) to silence and punish critics. ISA was the favourite tool of “dictator” Mahathir during his authoritarian rule from 1981 to 2003.

In the recent congress, not only the chief organiser, Prof Emeritus Zainal Kling, had mistaken Malays civilization with Chinese’ 5,000 years of civilization, he had also warned and threatened non-Malay that their citizenship could be suspended if they break the “non-existent” social contract agreement. He also said that Malaysia belongs to the Malays.

'social contract' my khachnooi [@&&] 

Mahathir, either ignorant or pretended to be gullible, didn’t see anything wrong with the racist remarks spewed by Mr. Kling and other speakers. Actually, there was nothing wrong with Malays attending the congress. What was incredibly wrong was for the congress to be used as a platform to bash, mock, insult and threaten minority communities just for the purpose of rallying Malay voters.





It’s mind-boggling that at his current advanced age, Mahathir continues to show his insincerity and dishonesty writing a half-truth piece – “It hurts me to think in their own country the indigenous people are not supposed to have their own gatherings without being accused of being racist.” He deliberately left out the part where Kling blackmailed other races.

Perhaps in his desperation to defend the indefensible racists like half-baked professor Zainal Kling, Mahathir has forgotten that the ethnic Malay is not the majority race in East Malaysia (also known as the Malaysia Borneo). Did the prime minister realise that Sarawak has more than 40 sub-ethnic groups, and Malays are just the minority in the state?

Did he also realise that there is an estimated 42 ethnic groups with over 200 sub-ethnic groups with their own language, culture and beliefs in Sabah alone? And the three largest indigenous groups in Sabah are the Kadazan-Dusun, Bajau and Murut. Nope, Malay isn’t the largest indigenous race in Sabah. Can the largest indigenous people in Sabah and Sarawak propose to cancel the citizenship of Malays?





In the same breath, the indigenous people of Malaysia are not the Malays, but “Orang Asli”, who happens to be the most marginalised and malnourished community, as argued by human rights activists Kua Kia Soong. Perhaps Mahathir wants to challenge Mr. Kua’s statement and rewrite the Federal Constitution to erase the recognition of Orang Asli as the indigenous people.

What is Mahathir’s definition of indigenous people, anyway? If he wishes to use ethnicity as a measurement, then he himself is not pure Malay but his ancestors originated from Kerala, India. His paternal grandfather had come from South India and married a Malay woman. At most he’s the third generation of Indian Muslim – a “Mamak” (obviously not indigenous people).

If he wishes to use years of residency as a measurement, then Tian Chua, a minority ethnic Chinese subjected to discrimination and bullying, is more than qualified to be categorised as indigenous people. Tian Chua’s ancestors arrived in Malacca in the 1500s. In comparison, the ancestors of Raja Petra Kamarudin, whose uncle was the Selangor Sultan, came to Selangor only in the 1700s.





The prime minister should explain why a Java-immigrant like former Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is considered an indigenous people, but not someone like Tian Chua, whose ancestry is more than 500 years old. More importantly, why can’t indigenous people from Sabah and Sarawak become a prime minister of the country?

Mr. Mahathir also wrote that unlike Malaysia, other multiracial countries saw non-indigenous people adopt the language and culture of the indigenous people, even to the extent of changing their names. Clearly, he was referring to ethnic minority Chinese in Indonesia. Perhaps that explains why he still considers Dong Zong as racist for going against his Vision School.

Still, the 94-year-old premier’s justification was hilariously flawed. Despite giving up their language and culture and even their Chinese name, the ethnic Chinese in Indonesia were the primary victim in the 1998 Indonesia riots that saw at least 10,000 people killed and at least 168 cases of rape. Properties owned by Chinese Indonesians were looted, plundered and burned down.





Mahathir’s chest-thumping statement continued with his declaration that 1-million of the non-indigenous people were given citizenship even though they were not qualified. He appears to suggest that since the non-indigenous people were accepted as citizens, they should be grateful and keep quiet, even when bashed by Malay racists and extremists who attended the Malay Dignity Congress.

Again, the prime minister conveniently and deliberately left out the most important part – it was a fair and square exchange of the country’s independence with citizenship to the minorities Chinese and Indians. Well, the Malays had the choice to disagree, but that would mean the British will refuse to grant independence to Malaya and continue to rule until today.

Had the Malay Dignity Congress used to brainstorm the community on how to restore their dignity, such as overhauling of the education system and make them more valuable and employable (for example), there would be zero accusations that the congress and Mahathir were engaged in a gathering to create racial hatred. Mahathir was – purposely – barking the wrong tree.