Short Questions, Long Answers needed (2)

The NEP in the present form is nothing more than an elaborate excuse to pilfer. Special rights of Malays in effect mean, rights for special Malays- the genetic elite, the aristocratic elite, the ruining elite.( yes- no mistake in spelling there, ruining elite).

This is not a matter of burning the mosquito net on account of a few mosquitoes. The problem is, we don't have the mosquito net in the first place- it has been stolen from us. It has been denied to us. What we have then, is an illusion that we can have that mosquito net. We, the majority have been sold to the IDEA of its good to have a mosquito net which they are keeping now. They, the minority are using the mosquito net on our behalf and that is already redeeming.

The opium for the masses is this nebulous concept of Ketuanan Melayu- which in effect is nothing more that the rule of the special Malays over the majority Malays. It is just another name for a stratified Malay society- the small elite lording over the masses. They do this by employing a range of repressive means and more importantly, by controlling the ideas.

The natural order of things means Malay society naturally segmented into the ruling elite and the rest. Such a scheme of things are not changeable and it's futile to even entertain the though of changing this natural order of things. Since time immemorial, Malay society has had rulers and the ruled, with an important intermediary faction serving to entrench the natural order of things. The intermediary faction operates to preserve he system, performing all the functions that keep the majority from even trying to unseat the natural order of things. Of course, the ruling class, through its monopoly control of the mass media, the press, school, university and pulpit, consciously justifies its system of exploitation as the most "natural form of society". The repressive state machine, with its "armed bodies of men", is not sufficient to maintain the economic system.

The dominant ideas and morality of bourgeois society serve as a vital defence of the material interests of the ruling class. Without this powerful ideology, the capitalist system could not last for any length of time. Enter then, this hallowed concept of Ketuanan Melayu. It is but a new form of feudal morality propped up as a vital defence of the material interests of the ruining class.

What's the more common expression of this bourgeois morality that is used to subdue the masses? We have pronouncements such as:-

If you have any good ideas, business proposals... Talk to the big bumi tycoons like Naza Group,Syed Mokhtar,Kencana Group;people with money that can invest with you. But you must be willing to have only a small share because they are taking the bigger risk.
Its not only money of course: their involvement will give access to their network, provide greater credibility and also impart their business wisdom. I think the Chinese have been practicing this type of "venture capital" for decades. If you look at IJM for instance you can see linkages to IGB,ICP,Mudajaya and many many more unlisted companies. I am sure our own successful Bumi businessman will look for expansion through similar networking.
Thats A WIN:WIN after all.

We need to challenge this kind of thinking which serves only to perpetuate 'the natural order of things. It is natural that we can only have a small share because; naturally they are taking the bigger risks. It is natural because the give us access to their network, provide greater credibility and listen, people, have business wisdom. Well, maybe for some people, most possibly those working as business consultancy such as that provided by some in the PKFZ mess, the much touted business wisdom is what they have in between their legs. Naturally, it's a win-win option. And here's the clincher- the Chinese have doing this for decades and therefore what the special Malays are doing is justifiable.

What kind of society do we have then if this kind of natural order of things is allowed to perpetuate? We have in effect a wage-slave society. The majority of us, like that said by a commentator just want to earn better salary. By saying that and the above, we have unconsciously used our thinking to defend the system.

Official bourgeois ideology conducts a relentless war against ideas that seek to dismantle this notion about the immutability of the natural order of things. Ideas that challenge the material interest of the ruling and governing elite are viewed as a mortal danger to capitalism. The bourgeois scribes and professors pour out a continual stream of propaganda in an attempt to discredit such ideas.

The apologists of our weird capitalism constantly assert that their system is a natural and permanent form of society. Some of us on the other hand, will assert that nothing is permanent and all things perish in time. Such revolutionary thoughts constitute a profound threat to the weird capitalist system and therefore must be discredited at all cost. This explains the daily churning out of propaganda designed to discredit ideas which they find unnerving such as the one we are taking to question the correctness of the NEP.

What we are saying is: we do not have to accept this version of how to change society. Asking us to accept growing pains (its all right to let them have the bigger share, we are benefiting from their business wisdom, we are seeking for just extra wages) - all these are actually saying, we can only change things gradually. But there is also such a thing as sudden transformation from quantity to quality. For example, water does not become gradually hard on cooling, becoming first pulpy and ultimately attaining a rigidity of ice, but turns hard at once. If temperature be lowered to a certain degree, the water is suddenly changed into ice, i.e., the quantity - the number of degrees of temperature - is transformed into quality - a change in the nature of the thing. We have already seen this transformation from quantity to quality in the 12^th General elections. It took place in the profound change in Malay consciousness and if UMNO fails to understand this qualitative transformation, it is doomed.