The Politics of Flooding: Demolishing the Big Lie

Nothing much was said about this. Indeed, we sense the presence of an eerie silence. The DAP, a party that is dominated and led by Chinese, was in the thick of things, helping out flood victims in Kelantan, Pahang and Perak.  Never from mainstream media. Not from PAS or the Kelantan state government. The MB of Kelantan, a pleasant and a good man I believe, was himself trapped in the floods. He could not help himself so it was not possible for him to help others. I am not telling about him with malice but stating the facts.

We can be God fearing, articulate, lucid and all that,  but if we can’t deliver good governance which is a by-product of a top quality government, we are finished. I hope, the PAS leadership in Kelantan and elsewhere will take note of this. If they don’t buck up, they will lose Kelantan in the next election because, UMNO while being a lousy party, will be Santa Claus bringing money into Kelantan.

My ustaz says- if a person is pious and God fearing- he scores high marks for himself before God. The benefits go to him alone. But if one is incompetent, then the incompetence is detrimental to the whole state and even nation. Najib may be a nice bloke- well-mannered and all that, but his incompetence is now plaguing the whole nation with upheaval.

What silence was I talking about? About the help, unsolicited and unforced that was brought by non-Malays, non-Muslim and non-Malay cultured.

DAP is not a party that likes to do a peacock dance. The Penang state government ruled by DAP contributed more than RM1.5 million. The DAP on its own collected about RM800,000 and has disbursed and will disburse it to flood victims through organisations in the state. MCA of course collected more but contributions came from 5 or 6 tycoons. The contributions for DAP came from common man from all walks of life, the number of contributors filled 3 pages of A4 paper. 5 people voting for MCA will never give it victory but the thousands who contributed to the DAP fund?

We did not make a mountain about delivering container loads of supplies. That excludes the numerous smaller Lorries, 4-wheel drives carrying supplies and food. A Buddhist welfare organisation allocated rm5 million for Kelantan to clean up the mess after floods.
Demolishing the Big Lie.

But you hardly hear about these things mentioned do you? Why? Because it breaks the hitherto myth about the reluctance of Chinese mainly, to come to the help of fellow Malay Malaysians. Can you imagine UMNO telling the people sincerely that so many Malaysian Chinese came to the aid of  Kelantan, Pahang and Perak when all this time, the Chinese and in particular that damn party that has gotten the trust and confidence of the majority of Chinese- the DAP, were painted as unpatriotic and ought to-be-stripped of citizenship community? That would mean, the myth so carefully designed and perpetrated was all this time a big lie.

The Kelantan people now know this is not true. These are not Dapigs, not an uncaring lot, not true at all, those negative description. That would mean that the foundation on which UMNO sits , that’s built on keeping the people divided can’t help UMNO any longer.

That myth was broken during the Kelantan floods recently. The Chinese came motivated by nothing more than their eagerness to help out fellow Malaysians suffering great misfortune.

DAP did not come to the aid of Kelantan people to seek political gratifications. It does not even have a branch there and has never contested in Kelantan. So it wasn’t looking for political dividends even though, I need to add that came as a natural outcome of its goodwill.

I was talking to Tan Kok Wai the MP for Cheras and the acting party chairman who cited me about a Chinese saying (he was speaking something in Mandarin)  or proverb about something- to the Chinese you work hard to plant the seeds, you don’t worry about the harvest. Something like that.

The DAP extended goodwill to fellow Malaysians who needed help. It did not differentiate those needing help along racial, religious and cultural lines.

The recent floods proved one thing. The true test of integration, togetherness, unity, fraternity is the occurrence of a crisis. More fortunate people came forward, to extend help, sympathy, stand in solidarity with people who suffered misfortune and undergone a great calamity.

How we reacted as citizens of this country point toward a host of political possibilities. The one in which we are particular interested is the rearrangement, restructuring of power sharing dynamics.

We saw people, Malaysian citizens coming together as a voluntary spontaneous response. DAP was in the forefront- mobilising funds, material and working hours. I was able to watch convoy after convoy of individuals and groups of various races, culture and religion passed not once but repeatedly on their way to Kelantan to help. Unexpectedly, the DAP is a role model to these well intentioned people. We have people of kindred spirits who can be potential supporters of DAP now. How so? Because DAP showed them its committed to the same selfless endeavours and most important, DAP is capable of giving that aspiration a political form.

What differentiated DAP’s work ethics, if I may so, was it did its work without much ballyhooed fanfare, no pompous exhibition of flags, did it quietly and that conduct has earned DAP respect from people who went to help and people who got help.

For as long as people want to remember DAP has always been seen as a Chinese party which in turn is seen as not wanting to help out especially in Malay areas. This time it was different. DAP showed it just wanted to help. In that process, the party earned the grudging respect of its hudud wanting ally. Flood victims received DAP people with open arms. Many expressed open admiration.

The enormity of help needed after the floods was quick to be exploited by pro UMNO elements or by people who we must admit are frustrated at the way PAS is governing Kelantan. So there were calls initiated by a businessman for umno and pas to form a unity govt. the calls were quickly acted upon by UMNO leaders who expressed the same desire. Admittedly there were also pas elements wishing for quick fix to support the idea.

They can’t be more wrong. The floods showed that unity can cut across races, religion and culture such that the unity that is desired is a unity among all Malaysia citizens. Why should it be confined only to a unity between UMNO and PAS?

What the floods in Kelantan and across the country showed, was that people can come naturally together because they are united in a desire for common good without distinction of race, religion and culture.

That’s translates politically into a commitment to establish a top quality government with high stands of governance. This is DAP territory. We are not claiming we have a monopoly on the idea of such a government, but we have shown to people we have been consistent in fighting for that.

Such a government and political arrangements can only attract the best among us who are also committed to the establishment of a top quality government with high standards of governance. Extending help to a homogenous group of people bonded by a common need will come naturally.