Destroying Malaysia - Are We On The Way To Be A Failed Nation?
Destroying Malaysia - Are We On The Way To Be A Failed Nation?
SEREMBAN: Former Bank Muamalat Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Redza Abdul Wahid has apologised to the Agape Community Church and the Wah Chai Association on behalf of the Islamic banking community after the bank allegedly rejected a cheque issued by the religious group.
The news grab provided above is a consequence of an officer of Bank Muamalat rejecting a Maybank cheque which their customer wanted to bank-in, on the ground that the cheque was not halal. The cheque was eventually accepted after the bank’s HQ intervened. It was pretty obvious though that the bank’s HQ intervened only after it dawned on them that the escalating bad press it was receiving did not auger well for their image and the image of the Islamic banking community in Malaysia.
This article however is not so much about how non-muslims in Malaysia are being discriminated against and their legitimate rights under the federal constitution eroded through the ever increasing imposition of halal haram policies. This article is about nation building and the part the Malaysian government played or did not play in it. It is an article about missed opportunities and the sad consequences thereof which we are seeing today.
May The 13th Incident (Peristiwa 13 Mei)
The Malaysian nation, if anyone cared enough to admit it, did not start off well. Less than 6 years after the nation was born, it was rocked by race riots that was later on referred to as the May the 13th Incident (Peristiwa 13 Mei) or the May the 13th Tragedy. What caused the riots is debatable but the consequence was clear: Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia’s 1st Prime Minister was forced to resign as prime minister in favour of his then deputy Tun Abdul Razak Hussien on Sept 22, 1970. It was a coup d’etat that allegedly was backed by the army and the police.
And, just like the Kampung Medan, Petaling Jaya riots in 2001, armed forces personnel and members of the PDRM brought in to quell the rioting were said to have shown bias treatment, resulting in unwarranted injuries and deaths. There was however no reports of any government inquiries made to investigate the alleged bias behaviour of the armed forces and the PDRM dispatched to the scenes of the rioting.
Tunku Abdul Rahman also stepped down as UMNO’s president in 1971.
Dr. Kua Kia Soong, writing in his book the May 13: Declassified Documents On The Malaysian Riot 1969 said that the riot was caused by the ‘ascendant state capitalist class’ within UMNO who wanted to implement the Malay agenda.
Supposedly, through affirmative policies of the Malay agenda, the widening socioeconomic gap between the Chinese and the Malays would be arrested and over time, reduced.
For the Malay agenda to be successfully implemented, peace and stability must prevail in the country. There was a need to promote harmony among the various racial groups in the country and for all Malaysians to move forward, united as one nation.
The Rukun Negara (RN)
One of the hoped for catalyst for the moving forward as a nation was the national principle, otherwise known as the Rukun Negara.
The Rukun Negara (National Principles) was declared on 31 August 1970 to commemorate the 13th anniversary of the Independence of Malaya. It was introduced following the May 13 incident in 1969 which had weaken unity among the races in Malaysia. The purpose of the RN was to promote strong unity among Malaysians. The principles contained therein clearly are keys to harmony and unity and for the sake of the success and stability of the country.
The principles and the ideals contained therein are as follows:
· Achieving and fostering better unity amongst the society;
· Preserving a democratic way of life;
· Creating a just society where the prosperity of the country can be enjoyed together in a fair and equitable manner;
· Ensuring a liberal approach towards the rich and varied cultural traditions;
· Building a progressive society that will make use of science and modern technology.
These ideals were / are to be achieved through the application of the 5 principles namely:
· Belief in God
· Loyalty to the King and Country
· Supremacy of the Constitution
· Rules of Law
· Courtesy and Morality
The Rukun Negara, which used to be found on the back cover of school’s exercise books, to reinforce classroom teachings of the values enshrined in it, is now largely forgotten or ignored. One thing for certain, political leaders within successive governments especially those from Malaya have shown themselves to be not interested in the Rukun Negara and not interested in promoting it and the values contained therein.
A video clip that was trending in social media recently features current Prime Minister talking about the Malay Agenda and stirring up feelings of anger and resentment against the non-malay Malaysians.
https://www.facebook.com/100074003274426/videos/346532906936088/
The New Economic Policy (NEP)
On the heels of the Rukun Negara came the New Economic Policy (NEP), the body of the supposedly affirmative policies that was to address the problem of the huge socioeconomic gap between the bumiputra and the Chinese (and to facilitate the Malay agenda). It was launched in 1971, coinciding with the 2nd Malaysia Plan and it was supposed to last until the end of the 5th Malaysia Plan which was in 1990.
In 1970 and the years before, poverty rate in Malaysia stood at 49.3%, impoverishing some 791,800 households. The vast majority of the poor were Malays and the ethnic races of Sabah and Sarawak.
The NEP had twin objectives : to eradicate poverty among Malaysians regardless of race and to restructure society so as to eliminate the identification of race with economic function. Supposedly, the NEP was intended to cultivate and foster conditions for national unity by eliminating inter-ethnic resentment caused by big gaps in the socioeconomic status between the various racial groups. In reality, the NEP was largely pro-Malay and its primary function was to promote the Malay agenda.
There is no doubt that the NEP had managed to largely eliminate hardcore poverty among the Malays. The Malay middle class has grown, the economy has diversified, and Malaysia has become an upper middle-income nation but there were also failures. While the middle class among the non-Bumiputeras had adapted as best as they can to this racially discriminatory policy, the working class, and the poor among the non-Bumiputeras had to cope with a life of abject poverty and marginalisation.
The UMNO-led government (pro-Malay) policies not only resulted in discrimination of the Chinese and the other non-Malay races in Malaysia but it had cause inter-ethnic resentment and mutual suspicions to fester.
The Kampung Medan riots in Petaling Jaya in 2001 was attributed to the festering discontentment and to urban poverty and strangely, it involved the Malays. It was said that the riot was one sign that the NEP, which was supposed to have achieve its objectives (and then expired) in 1990 was a failure. The Malays who benefited most from the NEP were members of the ruling elites in UMNO, the group which Dr. Kua Kia Soong refered to as the ascendant state capitalist class (and the members of the royal families). Many rural Malays and the urban poor Malays continue to struggle with poverty.
In August 2008, 18 years after the original expiry date of the NEP, Najib Tun Razak, then PM of minister announced that he will replace the NEP with the New Economic Model (NEM). The Malay agenda was and still is very much in the heart of the NEM and in Najib’s words the affirmative policies ‘will be better targeted’, whatever that means.
In short, the New Economic Policy which started out with the best intentions became a polarising policy associated with discrimination on one hand and entitlement as to rights on the other.
Nazir Tun Razak, brother to former Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has been quoted as saying the principles in the NEP no longer work and have instead led to dysfunctional politics and growing divisions among Malaysia’s communities.
Biro Tata Negara (BTN)
In 1981, the Unit Penyelidikan Belia, which was a unit under the Youth Ministry, was renamed as the Biro Tata Negara (BTN) and transferred to the Prime Minister Department. BTN's stated objective is to nurture the spirit of patriotism and commitment to excellence among Malaysians, and train leaders and future leaders to support the nation's development efforts. BTN's programmes are controversial, and many accuse them of explicitly promoting the Ketuanan Melayu philosophy and the former governing coalition Barisan Nasional (BN).
In late 2009, it became the subject of great controversy, when many allegations of racism and political propaganda appeared in quick succession. Blogger Din Merican, in a blog posting dated 5th October 2010 called the BTN a taxpayer funded hate machine.
PM Mahathir Mohammad, former PM Muhyiddin Yassin and Ahmad Maslan were among the government leaders that were quick to defend the monstrous BTN.
During the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration, the BTN was brought into the Ministry of Youth and Sports portfolio and was eventually abolished under its minsiter, Syed Saddiq. But the damage had been done. Generations of Malay civil servants who were indoctrinated with the Ketuanan Melayu philosophy through the training module of the BTN are now firmly embedded and entrenched in the civil service. One of the result of the BTN brainwashing is the near homogeneous civil service that we have today, one that is also imbued with Islamic values, Islam being the religion of the Malays.
Restrictions On Malaysian Christians
In 2007, Syed Hamid Albar, then the home minister, prohibited the Roman Catholic Church's Herald newspaper from using the word "Allah". The Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, Murphy Pakiam, filed a lawsuit to overturn his decision. In 2009, the High Court found the Roman Catholic Church's use of the word constitutional, a ruling that sparked mob vandalism and arson directed at both Christian and Muslim properties. The dust on the Jill Ireland and the Allah’s saga, which started in 2008, despite Jill’s victory in the High Court in March 2021, has not settled yet because the federal government had chosen to file an appeal with the Court of Appeal. This case is expected to see closure only when it reaches the federal court.
There had also two been cases of high profile disappearance of Malaysians in what was considered by many a consequence of them practising their religion.
Zamri Che Mat who disappeared on the 24th Nov 2016 and Pastor Raymond Koh who disappeared on 13th Feb 2017 are still officially missing today and the government has not shown the requisite will power to locate these two gentleman.
In Apr 2011, as the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional commenced preparations for the PRU-13 in 2013, Idris Jala, then minister in the Prime Minister’s Department issued a 10-Points Resolution, offering it as a solution to the impasse over the use of the word Allah and the Malay bibles. It was quickly dismissed by the Council Of Churches Malaysia (CCM) Youth who said that the "quick-fix" proposal ignored the the overt and covert manner which the government had discriminated against the Christian citizenry for close to 40 years.
Until today, the Christians in Malaysia are nowhere near a position where their rights to freely profess their religion is fully respected. Social media is replete with postings and comments deriding Christianity. On the 26th August 2020, parliament house became the preferred forum for PAS MP Nik Muhammad Zawawi Nik Salleh (Nik M Z) to offend the Christians by saying that the Christain Bible is distorted.
The Malaysian government did nothing substantive to reprimand Nik M Z.
In May 2014, then IGP Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar refused to carry out an order of the Ipoh High Court, issued in the case of M Indira Ghandi. In the case, M Indira Ghandi had filed a suit against her ex-husband for the unilateral conversion of her daughter to Islam by her ex-husband Muhammad Ridhuan Abdullah and for the return of her daughter into her custody.
The reason given by the IGP was there was a conflicting order from the Syariah High Court.
In April 2016, the federal court ordered the IGP to arrest Muhammad Ridhuan Abdullah but until today, he is still at large and M Indira Ghandi still has not gain custody of her daughter.
Zakir Nair - Controversial Preacher
In April 2017, then Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Ahmad Zahid Hamidi confirmed that Zakir Naik, a controversial islamic preacher who hails from India was given a PR status in Malaysia since about 5 years before.
Zakir Naik is notorious for his harsh criticisms of non-Islamic religions and their followers, in his preaching and public talks. His teachings had caused fear and resentment among non-muslims in Malaysia. He also happened to be a fugitive from the laws of his home country where he is wanted for spreading extremism and money laundering. India has repeatedly requested the Malaysian government to extradite him to India but to no avail.
In Malaysia, he has been known to be accorded VVIP and/or star treatment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDa9t7qzKlo
Discrimination In Commerce And Industries
In Feb 2015, Ismail Sabri Ya’akob, then Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister had called on Malays, who form the majority in the country, to use their "power" to force the Chinese minority to cut prices.
In July 2015, there was a rioting at Low Yat Plaza in Kuala Lumpur. At least 5 people were injured in the riotings. The Malay Mail on the 14th July reported the incidents in these words, ‘Low Yat was about racism, deal with it’.
In the aftermath of the incident, Ismail Sabri Ya’akob suggested that a Malay-only digital mall should be set-up to provide a place for Malays to compete against the Chinese traders. Today, Ismail Sabri Ya’akob is the prime minister of Malaysia and the one-race digital mall sited at Mara Digital Mall is struggling to survive.
In August 2019 Pusat Kecemerlangan Melayu, Akademi Pengajian Melayu, Universiti Malaya in collaboration with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Universiti Putra Malaysia and the Sultan Idris Education University organised what came to be known as the Malay Dignity Congress 2019.
It was easily the most high profile and most brazen act of racism that Malaysia has ever seen. More than a few eye brows were raised among non-malay Malaysians with many asking if this Malay Dignity Congress is a regressive step in multi-racial, multi-religious Malaysia.
Organisers of the event responded by saying that the congress is a “response to challenges against Malays”. Prof Datuk Zainal Kling, who heads the event’s secretariat, reportedly said there are many questions which not only belittle Malays but also question the Malays’ bumiputera rights, the position of the royalty as well as question Islam and cultural issues such as the national language.
It was singularly disappointing that institutions of higher learning like Universiti Malaya, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Universiti Putra Malaysia and the Sultan Idris Education University were among the organisers of the congress.
Anybody looking in from outside would no doubt get the impression and racial discrimination had become institutionalised in Malaysia.
With this extremely poor record in nation building on the part of the federal government and its leaders, Sarawakians must ask this question: Why do our GPS state government continue to support and collaborate with a party that very obviously has nothing good and beneficial to offer multiracial, multicultural and multireligious Sarawak?
Sarawakians are invited to ponder on this question and on the part that we played in the answer to the question - through out votes.
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