Thursday, September 28, 2006

Bolehland, where official pyromaniacs eat baked pies

This is a letter of sheer frustration by SK Wong, a Malaysiakini reader. Please read it to understand the feelings not just of Chinese but all right thinking Malaysians:

Reading the news and readers' comments nowadays is an increasingly depression-induce undertaking. In every piece of news I read about Malaysia, I have to shake my head in disbelief and disgust.

Where else but the Bolehland black can be white and vice-versa?

Where else but the Bolehland self-confessed corrupted politicians can go scot free while righteous politicians are chastised and reprimanded?

Where else but the Bolehland a deputy prime minister can dismiss the facts with a straight face and still claim to be "principled"?

Where else but the Bolehland the police behave more like hoodlums than law-enforcement officers?

Where else but the Bolehland the powers-that-be who spew hate speeches and instigate intolerance, wielding a weapon and threatening harm are condoned while apologies are demanded from those who speak the truth?

Where else but the Bolehland a sincere dialogue and meeting of the minds is eschewed in favour of patronising monologue?

Where else but the Bolehland an apartheid-style policy can be defended in the name of "peace", "unity" and "harmony"?

Where else but the Bolehland street gangs can be heroes with a stroke of a pen, or a keyboard?

The Chinese have a proverb that aptly describe this state of affair - allowing the officials to create conflagrations; prohibiting the citizens from lighting lamps.

We had greater peace and harmony until they came along. The Umnoputras think they own everything. They are obsessed with quotas because they get to divide the pie others baked rather than doing the hard work themselves. But when it comes to building vernacular schools, they quickly forget about quotas. Their mindset can be summarised as ‘what belongs to you is mine, what belongs to me is still mine’.

The ruling parties behave like an insatiable monster that is ever ready to wreck havoc if not well-fed. I salute those who doggedly fight the good fight, but I have totally given up hope on Malaysia finding any form of redemption anytime soon.

We have only ourselves to blame if we keep deluding ourselves with their empty promises time and time again. As the saying goes, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.


I have only one appeal to the voting public come next general election: it is hazardous to rear a tiger, if you let it run loose, be prepared to be mauled.

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