Monday, 2 August 2010

The Malay Question.


There are no two ways about it. The Malay Question in Malaysian politics- his beliefs, his economics, his politics has the quality of permanency. This is an indisputable and unchallengeable fact. Political parties embrace it, define it and translate it into their own politics. The fact remains- while the Malay Question as a political backdrop has the quality of permanency, political parties operating against this background, do not. They may fade away and be gone, but this backdrop endures. It does not perish alongside the parties that do, despite any claiming so.
A few weeks ago, I read one interesting point raised by Haji Hadi Awang, President of PAS. ( Pa, Alif Sin). That's why it spelt as PAS- direct translation; Fa- is P, Alif is A and Sin is S.
This was what he said. Everyone in Malaysia accepts that Malays are central in any political permutations. For UMNO to come power- it must galvanize Malay allegiance. Since 1946, it has monopolized Malay allegiance on the principles of Religion, Malay Nationalism and Nation state. Its ABC was and I hope still is, agama, bangsa dan Negara. Simple for Malays to grasp and simple to get loyal to it.
For PAS it is the same. Its principle is religion of Islam for all. it seeks monopoly over the Malay's reason for existence- his religion and religiosity.
For non Malay parties, if they come to power they too must come to terms with a dominant Malay population. So whatever they do, Malay sensitivities will factor heavily. The DAP is the majority party in Perak, yet the MB is a Malay from a minority partner, if it captures power in that state. DAP accepts the primacy of the Malay factor in the reality of Malaysian politics. Whether they do willingly or not is another question.
This means that whoever comes into power, they must factor in the Malays. If PAS comes to power, it must address Malay issues. UMNO, of course. Non Malay parties? upheavals will take place if they don't factor in Malay sensitivities.
The centrality of the Malay question is a given as it were- it will remain the background, unchanging at that, to which ALL political parties relate and adjust to. It also means, that centrality of Malay factor is not the preserve of any one political party. 
UMNO must come to terms with this reality. If it loses power, the centrality of Malay or Bumiputera factor will still be there. That centrality will always be there even if UMNO loses power which in turn means that the permanency of Malay Question does not depend whether UMNO is around or not. Even if UMNO isn't around, those in power will have to contend with it.
All the political parties defined and determine how to place the Malay question- religion, ethnicity and nation state within their own political philosophies.
Those who replace UMNO will still have to contend and accommodate the reality, that Malays and Bumiputera will factor in their politics. The PR government in Selangor can't sustain power if they ignore the centrality of Malay issues. If they do, they will go under. Yet the way they handle the centrality of Malay politics does not necessarily have to match the way UMNO does it. Maybe they do by offering better governance, transparency, better leadership instead of appealing to primal fears. Maybe.
Similarly PAS which governs the states they do, factor in the centrality of Malay politics according to its ways. Basically they choose common allegiance to religion as the way to factor in Malay politics.
The object lesson then is, whosoever comes to power  will have to factor in the centrality of Malay issues in Malaysian politics.
So, UMNO, PAS, PKR and DAP or other non Malay political parties cannot run away from owning up to the reality, that Malay issues and the Malay factor will always remain crucial for their political survival. That is the common background which I regard as a political permanency existing independent of anyone political party's claim over its ownership. UMNO, PAS, PKR can fade away, the centrality of the Malay in our politics remain.
No one political party can claim exclusivity as far as claiming Malay allegiance is concern. UMNO for example, can no longer claim undisputed kingpin position of Malay allegiance. I have said it many times- in the 2008 elections, more Malays did not vote for UMNO that those who voted for. It's a level playing field in the sense, that everyone political party, recognizing the Malay factor, will take care of Malay sensitivities. They differ only in their approach and preferences. Each one no longer enjoys an automatic acceptance by the Malay population.
What Haji Hadi is saying and UMNO better realize this, that Malay support needed to be earned. Discard it, you will fade away. You qualify yourself to earn acceptance. You qualify yourself by giving good leadership, by earning trust and confidence you can run this country well. The Malays are no longer going to accept your leadership without you having to qualify the offer to lead with good leadership.
At the end of the day, the fortunes of anyone political party will depend on how they choose to define, manage and handle the centrality of the Malay question-his beliefs, his politics, his economics.

25 comments:

  1. What we are seeing today is a community trying to make a transition from the past into a future for which it has not been adequately prepared.

    The anxiety, bellyaching and cynicism are but a reflection of the internal turmoils and external tensions.

    In the past, it was just a simple slogan of centrality - agama-bangsa-negara.

    Today that centrality itself is called into question.

    How to seamlessly work agama into a more secular and rationalizing world? How to explain the actions of others of the same agama elsewhere, even locally?

    What is the root meaning of bangsa nowadays? How does it help solve the daily problems and provide strength for the young?

    Why is negara defined in certain ways only by certain people? What is negara when there is still so much injustice, double-standards, lying, stealing and killing, when the fundamentals of a good negara are being breached right in your face?

    Most importantly, who have been talking about these centrality components of the Malays? How have they been behaving to show they even know the true merits of agama, bangsa and negara, let alone try to assume leadership over the process of centralization?

    To answer these questions, we should first consider the following:

    One, the world is moving on; the majority we have in this country is not the majority that is made of the world, and we cannot cocoon ourselves from it just to try and defend the wishes of a select group which might just be harboring their own unspoken personal agendas.

    The majority of the world operates as though it is a singular entity with its own property - to progress and prosper without losing humanist characteristics.

    Has the majority in this country reflected any of that and consistently for the properties having been made fundamental objectives to them?

    Two, things have become more uncertain and Heisenberg societies have emerged. The reason why we are grasping for the notion of centrality now is because we are trying to resist change in our emerging heisenberg society with notions of the past degraded into the present.

    We want the good of the past to have relevance in the present but we see the principles of the past degraded one by one until now we are left with a shell of a party that only serves to give some people their platform to campaign for characteristics they can define but which are no longer relevant to the world - because their definitions are contrary to those of the world.

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  2. 2/2

    Three, there seems to be persistent distortional forces working in the mental processes of some; for all the worlds they have seen, their arguments seem to be based only on denials, doubts and dreams.

    One can only ask why - what's the real rationale behind the stand they are taking? Is it fear of loss of a world only they are comfortable with, and if that is so, isn't it selfish for appearing to be selfless?

    Which comes to the main message of my post. The centrality of the three elements is not the sole province or monopoly of those who talk the loudest or wield the most power today.

    If the objective is for the Malay "race" to survive, progress and prosper, then shouldn't all avenues be explored to see if there are other definitions of that centrality?

    Give one good reason why it must be defined like the way it has been sold to the masses and heartland. Why can't there be other definitions of what constitutes the basal fire of the Malay heart and mind?

    Depending on the survey sample, we may get different responses.

    Pick one from the rural heartland. He says yes i pray five times a day and do my best to follow the precepts. And i think of my race now and then but that's only because some leader in a spanking car comes occasionally to remind me of it otherwise i have no problems talking to my non-Malay friends who treat me no differently from how i would in turn treat my fifty-year-long fellow Malay neighbor. And for negara, i remember it with diminishing pride one day in a year because most of the things i read and hear are so crappy in all the remaining three hundred and sixty four days.

    Now pick another Malay from the educated urban life-force. The responses are now more varied. He's either a conservative or a liberal, or so it appears. If conservative, he holds one set of thinking. If liberal, another. That itself changes day to day depending on his mood or the topic or how the topic has been reported or what are the fact or fancies presented and by whom.

    Therefore - whatever the case - shouldn't the only process be to stay focused on the problem and accept whatever solution that will solve it sustainably long-term?

    What is the point of solving something in such a way as to solve it only superficially for it to come back and rear another bad, sad and mad set of results?

    Therefore the Malay question is how to change to face reality and not affect change using the illusion of holding on to power to take short-cuts.

    For if short-cuts and denials are the only legal stuff of success, everyone else in the world would have long adopted the method by now and be on the beach everyday basking in the sun and enjoying their tonics with nary a care in the world.

    No?

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  3. Hadi Awang!

    So what hapened to Malay centrality in Penang, Selangor and Perak? PAS PISS is going to lie down on the road displaying th eutmost disrespect to Raja Melayu? PAS PISS going to let Agama Islam being "played around" letting Ustaz Ngor Kor Ming uttering verses of Qur'an for political mileage? PAS PISSS is going to developed to biggest pig farm in Malaysia?

    PAS PISS OFF!!

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  4. Of course what you have written in an indisputable fact. No ifs, no buts.
    I am a non-Malay and like it or not, at this point in time I would want a multi racial party with a Malay captain.
    This is one country the melting pot theory will never materialize.
    Even with UMNO, a Malay party in absolute power for 50 plus years, the Malays still feel insecure and live in fear of being smothered by the minority.
    How will they feel if a non-Malay were to lead the government? They will go amok.

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  5. Salam,

    "...PAS. ( Pa, Alif Sin). That's why it spelt as PAS- direct translation; Fa- is P, Alif is A and Sin is S."

    A little correction, Dato'. Fa IS NOT Pa. In Arabic, you just have Fa. In Jawi, you have Fa ( with 1 dot) and Pa (with 3 dots). Same thing with W and V. W is 'Wau' (without the dot and V is ''Va' ( Wau with one dot).

    This goes to show that you have to learn more on Jawi and PAS.

    2. "Similarly PAS which governs the states they do, factor in the centrality of Malay politics according to its ways. Basically they choose common allegiance to religion as the way to factor in Malay politics."

    Allegiance to Islam, Dato', is WAJIB, not a CHOICE. If Islamic values and Malay values are on a collision course, the Islamic values will win. A good example is the Kalimah Allah issue. One non-Muslim blogger had commented that any dispute involving PAS would have a definite end to it. He quoted the Harussani-Hassan Ali spat. Once stripped off politics, it became a religious issue. Who committed the SIN of lying? Lying is a characteristic of a Munafiq, a hypocrite. A munafiq is an enemy of Islam. Thus a munafiq certainly do not qualify to lead an Islamic movement. We shall see what happens to Hasan Ali next year.

    - MAKORANG-

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  6. Dissapointed you said that UMNO power over Malay is Religion, Malay Nationalism and Nation state. I know you are an UMNO man but still, dissapointed.

    UMNO motto is bangsa, agama, negara in that order. But even that, they betrayed it.

    UMNO monopolized Malay vote via perversion of its goal WITH MONEY or rather economics. The main tool of UMNO is still money first and foremost. That is why its corrupted and abusive of the system.

    The true power of UMNO is money, abuse/lies, bangsa, agama and negara in that order. That is why its power is waning because the money and lies are running out. Not bangsa, agama and negara.

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  7. How much benefits is actually given to Malays;extra and above those given to non Bumis?And this so called "affirmative" action represent how many % of the govt's budget?

    Is this extra benefits the reason for the ills & non-competitiveness of the country?

    And against all odds non-Bumi companies & population in general have grown in great bounds over the 50 years?

    Someone,please highlight the real numbers before philosophizing ala walla.

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  8. Hi lovely Walla,
    You should study the Tanah Melayu history. How 500 years of colonisations have deprived Malays thinking,creativity,entrepreneurship, rights, freedom, politically, economically and socialogically. Btitish brought Chineses working in mines,plantations, at town giving business opportunities, and Indians at estates,at town as civil service while Malays are left out at kampungs rural. Then inequalities prevail since Malays denied access to "window of opportunities". Then when Malays have power and want to catch up, of course the must be obstacles and failures. So please do not exploit these Malays failures.

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  9. mak orang,

    in jawi there in no pa but fa, that i know. how then would you spell party in jawi? farty? the fa i think has two dots above- rendering it colloquially to be Pa. i may be wring. we cant be spelling is Fa Alif Sin. no?

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  10. Dato'

    I believe Zainah Anwar's article, "Waking up to new reality" is a true reflection of Malays today.

    "No, the issue is not about the Malays being able to survive only if they are united under one party. The reality is the Malay community has evolved into a more complex, sophisticated, diverse community with diverse interests.

    But our political parties have generally not evolved, and show no willingness or ability to adapt and deal with the new realities and the Malaysia of the 21st century."

    Now UMNO is faced with the pertinent question, evolve or perish at you own perils.

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  11. WZWH,

    I thought by now u should have broken a few mirrors within the house, after what the reflections had shown while u stood in front of it.

    Oh. oooh, more rightly, mirror is taboo in yr household! Yes?

    Talk history eh?

    OK – let’s put back the time a little further than the ‘500 years of colonisations have deprived Malays’.

    What have the Malays achieved then as a civilization? Malacca Sultanate? Ha, haaa… Just for yr thinking, the year of establishment of the Malacca Sultanate is still in dispute – that say much about that Sultanate's record keeping.

    Oh, ooooh.. the bloody colonists destroyed all those records. This ‘s a good one!

    So, all those ‘thinking,creativity,entrepreneurship, rights, freedom, politically, economically and socialogically’ of the Malays went downhill when the colonists came in! Wouldn’t u said that tell so much about the ATTITUDES of those Malays for giving up so easily?

    Oh..ooooh, could it be that they saw better things that the colonists brought. Thus they have discarded all those ‘thinking,creativity,entrepreneurship, rights, freedom, politically, economically and socialogically’ of the Malays? Yes?

    Oh ooooh.. (I'm starting to like this expression) u talk about the "window of opportunities"? Hey since, with the help of NEP, how many obstacles and failures had had been there since the beginning of NEP?

    Given that time frame, a Malay S’porean could have reach the Mir space-station, fully on his OWN expenses? No?

    I’m not putting down the Malay S’porean here, bcoz he/she will have the brain to excel on something else that he/she is good at & pay the tour just like all other self-made space-tourists before. There is NO SHAME about that! The shame only arrives when one is riding on other’s money just to syok-sendiri. Yes?

    Pariah – btw there is NO Tanah Melayu before the colonists were in this part of the world. Tanah Melayu is a recent invention of the British colonist, who came after the Portuguese, Dutch & the Siamese.

    So u really NEED to polish up yr history about the “Golden Chersonese”.

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  12. WZWH,

    If you do not want anyone to exploit your failures then please correct your own failures, if you know what it is in the first place. You cannot claim 500 years of deprivation when you already have 53 years of dominance in every aspect of life in Malaysia.

    True to what Dato says, Malay dominance cannot disappear overnight. Malays will still have to play a very big part in the development of the nation. So the warnings of TDM and other rightist are at best red herrings in keeping UMNO is power.

    The only question is do you have the resolve to rise above this malaise and move forward or do you want to wallow in self-pity and think the non-Malays are depriving you of your rights ? The battle will ultimately be between Dato here on the one side striving to enlighten his brethren and Ibrahim Ali on the other side seeking a status quo on a free passage to a good life.

    DAP cannot on their own unilaterally decide what is good for Malaysia without the help of the Malays. The fact that it is helm by the Chinese is secondary. Let’s be frank, if you are a Malay moving in a world of privileges, there is no need to fight for your rights. Except of course if you are Ibrahim Ali, seeking to prolong the free passage.


    X

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  13. Kindly comment on Bakri Musa's take on Malay maruah. So these people lead the nation? Need I go further.

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  14. Dato Sak

    You are stating the obvious... known to all, Malays and non Malays and by our own founding fathers since 1957. Even the British colonialists knew that.

    So, what is new?

    The problem is UMNO exploited it to the detriment of MALAYSIAN society and to the Malay community itself by being a pretender that without UMNO, Malay "permanency" (as you well put it) will disappear.

    Or that Melayu akan hilang di dunia nonsense will become a reality, a nonsense propagated by the inferiority-complex right wing ultra Malays and who have used their political influence to spread their racial insecurity fears to other Malays in the community.

    The issue is not that Malaysians or Malays or non Malays are ignorant to this established fact. The issue is that it has been exploited in the negative politics of UMNO.

    The cumulative result of UMNO's manipulation of the Malay mind is the racial polarisation that we have today after more than 50 years of Merdeka.

    Perhaps, Dato Sak, you are barking at the wrong tree on this issue. My humble opinion.

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  15. Tau takpe. That's the reality we all must accept.
    No party can rule without the vote and support of the Malays.
    Neither can any party survive without taking into account the Malay rights, interests, beliefs. politics and economy.
    That is why Keadilan and PAS are also courting the Malays.
    But it's sad that this will lead to a split among the Malays.
    And this can lead t PAS being the ruling party, not the DAP or UMNO.
    Tony Pua, undoubtedly has forgoten this. His dare to cut 7% discount for Bumuiputra house buyers did not sit well with the Malays including Najib who already warned him.
    And looks like CSL of MCA, the party which won on Malay votes, is supporting Phua by adding that rich Bumis should not get the discount.
    When are the non-Malay leaders gonna realised that its the Malays who call the shots in politics?

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  16. So, guys; lets us list our choice of candidates for the next election, eh?
    The next PM should be somebody with all this ? Or more?

    (OptionS: somebody should come out with a book entitled " Personaliti2 untuk transformasi Malaysia" ?)

    Race : Malay ? mixed?
    Religion : Islam?
    Gender: Men ?Women?
    Status : Married with kids and only one wife (one hubby)?
    Education: Oxford or Harvard
    (Malaysian universities, can ?)
    Age: below 40?
    Previous training : Military or Sports (Agile and healthy)
    Others: Clean bill of health (physical/mental/political/financial)


    The aspiring PM or UMNO president please stand up? No gender biased.

    - Aloha, Jengka, Pahang!

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  17. @WZWH,
    Fair enough, British colonization sidelined Malays and impeded their progress towards modern living - economy, education, etc. But I would also point out that the British only formally intervened after the Pangkor Treaty in 1874, exerting their full influnce, if you will, for 83 years until Merdeka. Let us leave out the Straits Settlements as this was something more of an agreement between the respective royalties and individuals, not exactly colonization. So after 53 years of Merdeka, are you saying the socio-economic policies are still insufficient to bring the people out of the 'past'? There are of course reasons why the Other Malaysians, as the verbose walla dubbed them, is doing better economically, but let us leave that for another day.

    You mentioned 500 years of colonization, I would assume you included the Portuguese and Dutch takeover of Melaka, but I can assure you that the good folks at the deminegara community maintain that it is only localized in Melaka. The entire Peninsula was not colonized, i.e. Kelantan, Perlis, Kedah which were then still under Siamese influence.

    Coming back to the subject matter. IMHO, religion has nothing to do with it. Islam is a universal religion and is a finite one in the sense that the Koran is the last word. It is open to interpretation by the practitioners. The Malays embraced and adopted it, the religion is not of this region.

    If anything, the question is the soul of Malay culture. If you take away the external stuff, religion and others, now what do you have?

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  18. You all know me as an introspective person. I don't like to argue with people and for the record i understand the despair of the quiet's and the anon's better than they do themselves. But i just want to say two things and then cabut, so bear with me.

    Although i agree that the bumi discount should be retained, i think the Pua suggestion was for the discount to be rechanneled to a fund for poor Malays if the houses are above a certain price, probably only those the rich can afford. That part has apparently been missed out - the part suggested for the normalized sum to go to a fund for poor Malays.

    That someone like Toyo whose house looks like bigger than the US embassy in jalan ampang to come and say it cannot be done because of some legality seems to be the very knee-jerk thing i have been trying to point out.

    Isn't it fair and in keeping with the spirit of the policy that the rich Malays should contribute to the poor Malays for home ownership now that the former have made it - in the same way that the non-Malays have been made to contribute the same to the rich Malays all these years through indirect payment of that discount in the prices they have to cough out?

    The second thing which reinforces my equal despair is this: the MACC DG has come out with first-rate guts to ask that the Cabinet ministers declare their assets to the rakyat. He wouldn't have asked that unless somewhere there is cause for suspicion things are not right. It is a suggestion on the lips of the rakyat for umpteen years. The suggestion should also include the cm's across the water.

    Now, the immediate reaction was a reason given by some minister that it is no-go because the declarations are given only to the PM.

    So the question now is will the PM release the declarations to the rakyat?

    If people have been clean, they should have no fear nor cause to say no to the request. After all it is about the principle of integrity to public office that holds influence over use of public funds and/or distribution of privileges.

    Now the minister saying no but saying the declarations have already gone to the PM and that's enough is going to put the PM in a spot.

    If he doesn't release the information, the rakyat will conclude integrity has been jeopardized. If he releases the information, those who can't answer for their assets new or old will be under greater public scrutiny than they have been used to.

    But the basic principle is what should be the quality of a public servant? If the PM does nothing, it will be like asking the rakyat to look the other way while holding a doubt about the integrity of his cabinet.

    Were this a standalone thing, we can debate it. But the rakyat also remember one other thing which adds to the entire angst about the governance of this country - a state was lost by confidence about an Office that was determined by just one-2-one interview of assemblymen by one personage.

    There are so many open-ended things in suspended animation in this land. All about power and corruption. Like this how to be high income or to avoid bankruptcy or to help the poor Malays come up or to do the right things for the non-Malays?

    Please tell me. I know despair more than most of you.

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  19. walla

    I understand your reasoning. But Tony Pua has opened a floodgate of emotions among Malays.
    Another one of our privileges being eroded.
    CSL also butt in or tumpang sekaki, a more apt word.
    He implied that the poor of other races too get the same benefits.
    He has already been successful in the scholarship issue.
    Now he's like a Dutch wanting more land.
    As to millionaire Malays, without the 7 per cent off they cant buy a house befitting their status as compared to their Chinese and Indian peers.
    This is an example of not understanding the Malay rights.

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  20. The future of the Malays is not dependent on PAS or UMNO - it can only be determined by people themselves. The core of their malaise that they have an inferiority complex - which shouldn't hold water but, it exists and is persistently hampering their progress. They are persistently looking for an identity and is knocking on the wrong doors.

    Firstly, I believe that naturally the Malay race is one that is very accomadating and willing to accept the new as well as integrating the old with new ideas. The problem is that their political masters subjugated them to ideal that contradicts their very existence.

    Anybody can be Malay!

    Look around you! We have got Malays that look middle eastern, chinese, indian and etc. They have integrated a bundle of languages in to their own. Their culture is a mixture of many others gelled together and made their own.

    This is proof of their versatality. Now, why reject this fact and choose a dud like ketuanan melayu? We Malays should embrace the reality that we are opportunists and use it to our advantage. Forget the royals and politicians who sold the people out for power and monetary wealth! If the Malays want to succeed in this modern environment it has to be an individual effort in changing their mindset of dependence on their leaders and made their own minds on how they want to live and their world view. There is no question but a schism brought about by circumstance. It is time to wake up and embrace who really are and practice what we Malays have been doing all along. Accepting all that is good and rejecting all that is bad - which in fact is very islamic.

    Politians and leaders come and go but poeple and culture persists and grow. Now it is just cutting out the cancer and moving forward.

    This my humble opinion and I apologise in advance.

    Azman

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  21. Dear sakmongkol,

    The Malay factor can be explained in one single sentence. Malays forms the largest etnic group in Malaysia.

    Hence any party that wishes to be taken seriously must take into consideration of wishes of malay community.

    However angry any Malay whom I had ever met with Govt, all of them believe it is suicidal to depend on DAP to take care of Malay interest.

    The reason why UMNO dominates national politics even after last election is simple. It consistently manages to earn Malay votes as compared to other parties.

    UMNO has 78 seats as compared to PAS . It shows UMNO still has the lion shares of Malay votes.

    Other parties of course do get Malay votes, notably PAS. But that support now is in decline due to PAs submission to DAP.

    PAS although it consistently denies law of human nature of tendency to give priority to one's own race) also courts malay votes seriously.

    As for one Anonymous who claimed that UMNO "exploited...", I am not so sure about that.

    I feel UMNO is saying the truth. Many Malay overlooks the fact that DAP is dominant in PR the way UMNO helms BN. Should BN collapses, Malays will lose control of politics.

    It is not "poisoning Malay minds". rather it says the truth. Many Malays who claim to be Muslims ignore Kuranic verses that says Allah Swt can bequeth powers and take it away faster than split second.

    Zainah anwar in star column dated august 1 suggested that UMNO purposely trying to scare Malays that their political power is on balance.

    Her view is simplistic. Being the largest does not make you controlling politics. Just look what happen in Arab peninsular.

    Her perception of Malay mind is "biased" towards how DAP sees the issue. The threat the Malays feel is real. They do not need UMNO to scare them.

    They have seen how Anwar systematically is destroying Malay political base just to be PM. They have been seeing Malay stall demolished on pretext of disturbing traffic but Chinese hawkers given preferential treatment.

    They have been seeing how Malay leaders like Anwar instigating non Malay over relocation of a temple but nothing been said about a surau being relocated in Kg jawa.

    They have seen how Malays being accused of being racist simply for defending Malay rights but DAP continously challenging Malays right such as scholarship allocation.

    Malays are in dilemma now. Their bargaining power; that is political supremacy is coming to its end. It is a tragedy that many Malay leaders are willing to sacrifice Malay interest just to secure non Malay votes.

    and it is a tragedy also for people like Sakmongkol to continously criticizes UMNO without showing any intitiave to recognise the generosity of UMNO that is rare even by world standard( treatment of minority is an example).

    Criticism is good. But when it is done continously without appreciating the numerous good things that UMNO did AT ALL is manifastation of vengeful attitude.

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  22. Dato',

    No wonder EVERY "Malaysian (Including the non UMNO Malays!)" is so sick & tired of this UMNOputra, PERKASA, etc, etc, etc "Malay Question & the Ketuanan Issue" charade!

    After 53 years of "Independence" ...

    Pi Mai, Pi Mai...Tang Tu!

    "A coward is much more exposed to quarrels than a man of spirit" - Thomas Jefferson

    "Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you" - Thomas Jefferson

    "Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude -
    Thomas Jefferson

    You be the judge.

    Cheers.

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  23. Dear Dato,
    You forget that there are 100,000 Malays still in South Africa (sent there by British) and they get by without any handout or special rights.
    Shame on you Melayu.
    Stay on your two feet!

    AA

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  24. Tony Pua is so powerful that he can make Najib give more scholarship to non-Malays. The solution is not to shut Tony Pua up but to change whichever leader that gives in to Tony Pua. No ?
    So now the non-Malay poor are not as deserving as the poor Malays for assistance. If there is any incidence of a coloured view, you be the judge. Poverty knows no colour.

    It has come to a point where many mistake privilege for rights. That my dear Dato is the crux of the issue. Would anyone of you issue a blank cheque and post it out ?

    X

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  25. Quiet Despair (2 August 2010 21:33)... You said, "This is an example of not understanding the Malay rights."

    Malay RIGHTS ???? What Malay RIGHTS???

    Who said there is such a thing as Malay RIGHTS? In the Federal Constitution????

    It is only those racist UMNO leaders who are repeating this blatant lie to the Malay masses so that they can enrich themselves by hijacking the NEP for themselves.

    Read again: It is about Malay special POSITION. Having Special Position does NOT endow RIGHTS!!! It only endows Privileges.

    And Privileges are NOT PRIVILEGES if you understand simple English.

    Do you know that Singapore Constitution has a clause that respect the SPECIAL POSITION of the Singapore Malays... that does not mean that they have to be given Special Rights.

    It is to this Singapore Constitutional clause that Singapore Malays are being HELPED...by not giving them CRUTCHES as UMNO does in Malaysia...Sing Malays are helped to stand on their own two feet.

    And the Singapore Govt is helping them through this clause so that Sing Malays can be self reliant, self confident and be given a foot up to be more competitive with the other races. Sing Malays have self pride of who they are.

    While in Malaysia, the Malays are forever having to justify their wealth and position in life to other Malaysians.

    That is the difference when people like you repeat the BLATANT LIE that Malays have special RIGHTS.

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