The issues Malott raised

The irrelevance of Mr. Malott's essays can be attributed to two factors. Firstly, the end of the American century where the prognoses of America and by Americans in general are not heeded as they would once. That was the theme of my essay previously. So folks, it wasn't an attack on Malott, but an attack on the American century in general. On Malott? Not interested.

Secondly, the generalizations made by Malott from isolated observations allowed him to paint a skewed picture serving the interests of those who seek to bolster their own prejudices. His failure stems from over reading events as representing a more deep-seated story. Not quite right.

Hence the racial riots of 1969 were adduced as the benchmark by which to measure racial tensions. The isolated events of the cow head incident and the unfortunate over exuberance of the PM's official requesting a number of dos and don'ts over the former's visit to a church were offered as representing a more sinister backdrop. And finally, the alleged causal link to intrinsic racism of the government with economic performance. Malaysia's economy is said to slow down because the talents on which productivity depended left the country.

There was one comment that berated me for writing such a shoddy article about Mr Mallot. The commentator went on accusing me of inconsistency when I have written so many negative things about Najib. In particular my mention of Najib being a weak leader.

For the commentator's information, that impression hasn't changed. I can cite so many examples that reinforce such an impression. And it's also an impression shared by many UMNO people. The commentator further groups me in the same category as Ibrahim Ali. I will decline the honor.

I have also allowed the comment to pass through because it also contained and accusation that I have written that way because I blamed Najib for not selecting me for a second term. I am not afraid to allow such a comment because it's not true. I do not think that personal malcontent alone can sustain a consistent critique. Rest assured, I will still be writing with the same intensity.

Moreover, I don't think my political career has ended just because UMNO didn't choose me for a second term. It only ends if I allowed it to. We shall see.

It appears to me, from the comments, Malays are placed in a very awkward position. They are placed in the same position as those who speak about Jews being accused of being anti-Semitic. In that case, people actually speak against Jews. Here in Malaysia, Malays speak about THEIR own fears and hopes and aspirations and they are accused as being racist.

The main reason why Malott's thinking has caused an uproar is not so much  because it's directed at Najib per se, but because it places Malaysia, OUR COUNTRY in the category of a despicable country as South Africa was placed once, or in the same category as some imaginary despotic countries.

I have been asked to debate Mr malott's thoughts on a point by point basis. I shall be glad to. There was also a commentator who writes under the name blogmaster who writes as though he is Mr Malott. This Mr ' Malott' asks me to read his interview with Malaysian Chronicle which I did. Unfortunately a great deal of that interview presents Mr Malott as such a wonderful and caring person who keeps in touch with Datin Sri Azizah when her husband was incarcerated. He regaled readers on how the family exchanged birthday greetings and all that. Good for the Family Album but of no relevance to the issue at hand.

But Ok, we shall have to accept that Mr Malott is a decent man who bears no malice when he talks about Malaysia.

The recent deterioration is due to the troubling fact that the country's leadership is tolerating, and in some cases provoking, ethnic factionalism through words and actions. For instance, when the Catholic archbishop of Kuala Lumpur invited the prime minister for a Christmas Day open house last December, Hardev Kaur, an aide to Najib, said Christian crosses would have to be removed. There could be no carols or prayers, so as not to offend the prime minister, who is Muslim.

Let's apply some decent thinking. Can this faux pas be used to prove widespread religious intolerance? Do we see Muslims burning churches like in Indonesia or elsewhere where religious bigotry is an accepted fact? I think we shouldn't over read one official's honest attempt to make things pleasant for everyone as a barometer of religious insensitivity. Do we now see the government directing crosses be removed in churches or carols and hymns banned? If we do, then we can use that isolated incident as a description of what is happening overall in Malaysia. Hence Malott's use of Hardev Kaur's request is not a good fit for a measure of things. Hardev Kaur is what she is- an apple polisher out to make things pleasant for the boss or who thinks that's what the boss wants.

Similar examples of insensitivity abound. In September 2009, Minister of Home Affairs Hishammuddin Hussein met with protesters who had carried the decapitated head of a cow, a sacred animal in Hinduism, to a Hindu temple.

For Malott's information, the organizers of the incident were punished. What Hishamudin defended was the anger directed at the foolishness of locating a temple in a majority Muslim neighborhood. It wasn't a defense on the transgression nor can it be read as intolerance towards the Hindu religion.

Two months later, Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told Parliament that one reason Malaysia's armed forces are overwhelmingly Malay is that other ethnic groups have a "low spirit of patriotism."

We all know that despite Zahid's Ph.D., he isn't a particularly bright fellow. We all remembered his "give him some humanity' stout defense of Mat Taib once. But it is mischievous of Malott to equate low spirit of patriotism with inborn racial characteristics. How is low patriotism linked to racial differences? There are some more rational reasons why Chinese don't go into military service. These may include low pay, aversion to military life, difficulty in achieving higher positions which is expected in a career dominated by Malays.

On the government's part, the reason may be the same as why Malays are not joining the SAF in droves. Nothing to do with inborn racial differences but everything to do with achieving a certain degree of security comfort. Obviously the Singapore government with its constant paranoia of being attacked by people at large carries out a policy as regards military participation for its own strategic considerations. Malaysia must be accorded the same assessment. If Singapore can say we don't want a situation should war breaks out, we could have situations where loyalties of our Malay solders who have relatives in Malaysia are suspect. Nothing racial, pure pragmatism.

 

The leading Malay-language newspaper, Utusan Melayu, prints what opposition leader Lim Kit Siang calls a daily staple of falsehoods that stoke racial hatred. Utusan, which is owned by Najib's political party, has claimed that the opposition would make Malaysia a colony of China and abolish the Malay monarchy. It regularly attacks Chinese Malaysian politicians, and even suggested that one of them, parliamentarian Teresa Kok, should be killed.

 

Rightly or wrongly, Utusan Malaysia is regarded as the mouthpiece of the common Malay. It writes the way it writes to keep the Malay ground. That is why the cosmopolitan Najib is not equipped to shut it down despite its overt racial intonations. But the position of Utsuan Malaysia as a whole can be likened to Singapore insisting it must be armed to the teeth- so that it deters others from even having the idea of attacking the nation. The existence and presence of Utusan Malaysia is tolerated and even indirectly supported to serve as a check on non-Malay chauvinism through their own media.

The ideas and thinking represented by Utusan Malaysia are not universally shared by Malays here in this country, but its presence does in fact hold in check the insults hurled against the Malay community. The presence of Utusan Malaysia should be seen more as a balance of power tool. As to the messages carried by Utusan Malaysia, they are NOT given absolute free space. They continued to be condemned by many quarters and these served as internal brakes on Utusan Malaysia.

By the way, has Malott analyzed the general import of the more Chinese of the Chinese newspapers? Then he would understand why Utusan Malaysia has more circulation that NST.