Tales of the Two Halves; One Lives the Other Dies.
En route to Mersing, I travelled through
Air Hitam. Then on to Keluang , passing through Kahang, Felda Nittar and
finally making it to Mersing. I passed through towns and centers of commerce.
Passing through
these areas, I see firsthand the failure of UMNO policies. I was amazed to see
the development of Air Hitam which a short while ago was famous perhaps as a
town selling vases and potteries. Or just as an intersection town for people
going to Kluang, Johor Bharu or Batu Pahat.
Kluang is a
bustling commercial town. You have many factories producing clay based
industries, flooring tiles and the maker of pampers- Kimberley Clark. You see a
few palm oil mills that process oil for planters around the area. I did not have
time regrettably, to patronize the famous Tong Fong Coffee Shop in Kluang.
You pass
through Kahang and the sight along the main road is deceiving. The town and commercial
centers are located off the main trunk road. Finally you arrive in Mersing a
smallish town with character. The commercial vibrancy is as usual, provided for
by Malaysian Chinese.
Traveling through
the towns, stopping by briefly, I suddenly realized that I have just passed
through testaments on the failure of the UMNO/BN government. They exposed the
fallacies boasted by the now familiar billboards proclaiming UMNO’s 55 years of
promises fulfilled. The policies have only fulfilled the promise to make Malays
beggars in their own country.
What do the
towns of Air Hitam, Keluang and Mersing and even Kahang show me? They show
indicators of the boldness of the human spirit. Yet, these indicators of human
advancement and enterprise also tell me that after 55 years of UMNO rule, you
have a section of the Malaysian section, probably 95% of them, who do not
depend on UMNO for their living. They are driven by the awareness and appreciation that the responsibility in determining
their future lies within themselves instead of allowing others to define and determine their future. They
accept and adapted to the free market system. Despite that, they can and have prospered
and will soon enjoy more democracy if democracy is defined in the context of
freedom to exercise choices. They can choose NOT to elect BN. that is a
wonderful sense of true freedom.
On the flip
side, you have a section of our Malaysian population where 95% is made dependent
on UMNO’s largesse and benefaction. One section
of the population is independent, depending on its own efforts and enterprise
to advance in life; the other is dependent and enslaved by its political
masters. The other is full of optimism and confident in its forward march, the
other waits to be commanded and enslaved by pessimism and bigotry.
How is
possible, for people living in the same country, enjoying the same climate,
living off the same soil, display such stark differences.
The difference
to me is sufficiently explained by the fact that one portion of the population adopts
and adapts to the free market; the other adopts a central command economy- commanded
by UMNO. The one portion enjoys a per capita income of RM 1500, the other,
RM1000. Even then, 40% of the latter lived under an income of RM1500 a month. The
majority who scrambled to get the RM500 from our Santa Claus PM are Malays who
are generally made poor because of the damning policies carried out by UMNO.
The Malays
are a victim to UMNO’s objectionable policy of equality of outcome. The non-Malays
thriving in Mersing, Kluang and Air Hitam are beneficiaries of the equality of
opportunity- that no one should be prevented by arbitrary obstacles from using
his capacity to advance his own objectives. They succeeded where government
interference is least and the lesser the interference, the more thriving they
become.
Malays on
the other hand demand equality of outcome. Everyone must finish at the same
time in the race. But the Malays forget, demand for equality of outcome, gives
a license for bigger and bigger government and of government imposed
restrictions on their liberty. And UMNO does not ensure everyone finishes at
the same time. It allows a selected few to finish ahead. Those who finished ahead
find their champion and spokesperson in people like Ibrahim Ali; and people
like Mahathir who laments that after 55 years, Malays are beggars in their own
country. His children are not beggars though. They are rich beyond our imagination
because, Mahathir did indeed command people to enrich his children.
27 comments:
How true, Datok! I came from Johore myself. In Kluang, as in the other towns you mentioned, it is the Chinese who are driving the economy and vibrancy of the towns. Especially in Kluang. Kluang was a sleepy hollow but is now a vibrant town which shopping centers and a mall. The Malays, unfortunately, are mostly to be found in the kampungs. And this after 55 years of Umno brilliance! So sad for my fellows Malaysians that they are not as well off as they shall be. And that too, in the state where Umno was born! Datok, try the Kluang Rail Coffee, though unfortunately, the coffee they serve there has somewhat lost its oomph. At least that was so the last time I was there. Check out my post on the place.
Dato,Umnoputras especially Mahathir laments that Malays are beggars in their own country.And they blamed all this on the Chinese and Amigos if there are any in this country.
Now let us look at the Chinese based parties of MCA and Gerakan.Not only the Chinese,but the Malays that the Umnoputras lament are beggars in their own country knows that the leaders of these Chinese based parties are not widely known as lap dogs of Umno for nothing.
Lap dogs of Umno,the taiko in politics can only mean one thing.To cozy and cuddled up the backsides of their political masters.Even Abrahim Ali has openly screamed that the MCA leadership is made up of useless good for nothing batang sucking idiots.
So the Malays must surely know that the useless good for nothing MCA and Gerakan who are more powerless that a street mongrel has nothing to do about the Malays whom the Umnoputras lament as beggars in their own country.
So who are to be blamed for putting the Malays in a beggarlike situation in their own country.The Umnoputras driving flashy cars who lived in mansions are to be blamed for stealing the money meant for the Malays.
Dear Datuk,
Actually the policy to help the poor is not a bad idea. The policy to provide opportunities to the Malays so that they get a chance to improve is a good one. However instead of teaching the Malays how to catch fish, they were given fish. However in the process of distributing the fish, the ikan bilis were distributed to the poor while the big ones were kept by UMNO for themselves.
That is where the programme failed, not on the intent but in the implementation. Add corruption to this mix and you have what you have today.
Look at Bernas, no one in the right mind would want Bernas to be in the hands of a private company of an individual. It should have been a professionally managed company with the profits returned back to the farmers who would be made share holders of this company.
Dear Dato Sak
UMNO's policies have resulted in the huge numbers of Malaysian talent who are working overseas (or even become citizens of foreign countries). You don't need to look far - just look across the Causeway where many of the country's "best and brightest" are actually Malaysia-born.
There's another big pool of Malaysia-born talent in Australia.
Australia's Minister of Finance is the Sabah-born Penny Wong.
UMNO-BN's policy is de facto "cutting off your nose to spite your face".
Meanwhile, Malaysia's own Cabinet is full of people of doubtful competence.
Phua Kai Lit
Dear Sakmongkol
“(The non-Malays) succeeded where government interference is least. Malays on the other hand demand equality of outcome.”
I enjoyed reading about your sojourn to the South and East. I haven’t been to those parts of the country for a long time now that we have this NS Highway. But it is often instructive to take such a detour.
When I am in those less travelled parts of the country I am also amazed at the enterprise of the locals, mainly the Chinese. They thrive in God-forsaken places – in fact anywhere so long as there is an economic opportunity. And they can succeed without government “help”. They only want the government off their back. I like to think this attitude is borne out of history. In China, the corrupt, blood-sucking local mandarins enforced the writ of the distant Emperor. Corruption thrived. So the Chinese learned to rely on themselves and became adapt at corrupting those officials to stay alive. This dark art is practiced with some skill in this country.
Now the modern Malays have a different history. Their history is completely entwined with UMNO’s history. For all of these 55 years UMNO has acted as their “protector”. The Malays, for better or worse, are a product of UMNO’s policies. And UMNO has conveniently forgotten to cut the umbilical cord, so this adult Malay is still attached to the UMNO body, but is getting insufficient sustenance from a dying and disease-ridden UMNO.
A recent foreign study has shown that the affirmative action provisions contained in the Constitution are bad. Other international studies have come to the same conclusion. The basic idea is quite simple: when you cloister a people behind legal walls that guarantee them a minimum sustenance, they get only that, and no more. Over time they lose touch with reality, and lose that vital competitive spirit. This is what has become of the Malays. Affirmative action has now become “rights”, not a temporary measure designed to get them off their feet to compete. It has become the outcome itself, not a means to an end. The Chinese don’t have such “protection”, and as you yourself have seen, it has not harmed them, but juiced up their entrepreneurial spirit. It is time for fresh and bold thinking. But first, cut that umbilical cord.
Dato' two years ago I made a trip to Johor and was having nasi dagang at a roadside stall when in came a man, with blood-shot eyes and soaked wet with sweat,and requested to share the table with me. Of course I agreed and soon we struck up small talk. When the meals came he offered to pay for both of us, but no I declined and paid instead saying I was there first and therefore the host and he the guest (I didn't notice the Hi-lux parked nearby). Then a remarkable story of blood, sweat, tears and then success (and still sweating) was related to me.
I will just refer to him as Din. At 30, sometime in 1995, Din left his village in Sulawesi with money his widowed mother had received from the sale of three goats. He arrived in Johor and it took him six months to be able afford writing home. He worked in building sites learning how to mix concrete, bend steel bars and just about anything in the construction yard, and always under constant exposure to the sun. He had harrowing tales of meeting all kinds of local bullies including those in uniforms. He got his P.R. and soon by dint of hard work, absolutely focussed on giving his mother and younger siblings a better life, he was able to venture out as a sub-contractor. He related how lucky he was to earn the trust of a few Chinese suppliers of building materials and operators of excavators, and within ten years he was able to buy his family a small house. Fifteen years on, he now owns two houses, a Hi-lux and a Harley-Davidson which he used to ride up to my hotel later. We met again the next day this time with his wife.
This is the success story of just one Bugis commoner and the first time I understood what one of our politicians meant when he said some time ago, "There's a place under the Malaysian sun for everyone." This well-meaning big-mouth purposely didn't mention the bloody heat, toasted golden brown complexion and blood-shot eyes that come with enjoying a moment in the Malaysian sun, no thanks to our politicians' infinite capacity to be glib on every available opportunity. But the worms are surely coming out just now.
Wait till readers read another account of an immigrant's saga of misplaced courtship, treachery, escape on horseback, recidivism, escape by sea to final exile in Nusantara, and readers can choose to cheer or jeer. Another time.
Our good country has taken a lot of bashing, but alas we, the commoners, the sun-bathers, don't seem to matter to those who mattered.
To Din my friend, I salute you for proving what Bugis people can achieve in such a short time. And I also salute to another Bugis who has achieved much much more than Din. Now readers know why I admire the Bugis's.
Din, no more mutton when we meet again in December.
Three goats.
The small businesses are the backbone of the economy....they had been neglected for decades in favour of big businesses.
They provide jobs, income and social security to millions of people, let alone services to areas big businesses are not interested.
I was born and raised in Kluang. It was (I am not sure if it is still as it was 25 years ago) such a lovely town where people of all races mixed so well togeher.
To what you have mentioned, it all comes down to altitude. I lived in a Chinese village and there was this old Malay couple who sold finger licking good nasi lemak in the pasar. The business was so great that if you came after 9:30am, it will be sold out. From our conversation, I know that they couldn't prepared more as they were old and their unemployed son was reluctant to help them. Sometimes, the son was just sitting by the stall and doing nothing and most of the time, I could not saw him at all.
This might not be best job with a fancy title in the world but if the son was able to put his mind and effort to it, he could have earned a few thousand ringgit back then. The old couple were charging 50 cent to a ringgit a pack with only ikan bilis, peanuts and some sliced cucumber.
The nasi lemak stalk is not there anymore. The son could have made a good and decent living on it. Hope he got something better.
Dato' and bloggers
This reminds me of one billboard which i witnessed while driving along the highway - "Satu lagi projek BN"
which brings total failure!
Salam.
Observer
Dato,
Kuli was reported by Bernama to have said that BN will win the 13 GE.
What say you to this because you and many other pundits are predicting a Pakatan win?
What is Kuli trying to 'say'?
While the Malays scream Ketuanan Melayu, hak itimewa orang Melayu and the rant and rage about bangsa, ugama dan negara, the Chinese are busy making a decent living without any handouts from BN or slogans.
This Mamak should be held responsible for the mass murder of Memali peasants.
Malays have always been the victims of the Govt.
It was intensified when Mahathir became the PM...poisoning the Muslim minds...encouraging all to be corrupted...saying "Money is power" and quickest ways are to take as much as they can...so call ..."legally"....winni8ng tenders with huge over charged with no fear.
Mahathir knew Malaysia is a filthy rich country...that billions stolen every month for decades...the ordinary Malaysians will not fee the pain suddenly.
You can write pages of Mahathir and his Umno b party....corrupted to the core.
We know Malays are very faithful Muslims...but the Umno B members are nothing but a bunch of hypocrites...greedy for money...stealing from ALL Malaysians.
Today...vast Majority Malays or Muslims...including thousands from Umno b party...are feeling shameful and guilty.
It is a period where every vote counts...as Umno B cannot depend on Malay votes alone....and this is the sign of their downfall..where huge big corruptions acts...and murdered victims...all remain unsolved.
People Power has arrived with 3 million young voters...will vote for change.
I met 8 young U students..Muslims..Buddhist...Christians..Hindus...all can vote at 14th GE only ....and promise to vote for change....if BN governs again.
That is good..seeing young Malaysians have their own free minds.
Voting for change started at 121th GE.
I am optimistic and pretty sure...13th GE will change the Govt.
Dato and all you commentors,
I am a Chinese descent born in Malaysia, doing my own little business in a small town in Johor. I earn enough to put a roof over my head and put my kids through school and also have some (not a lot) of life's luxuries. We live in harmony with people around us, regardless whether they are Chinese or Malay or Indian.
My humble request is to stop writing about people like me and how Chinese are doing better than Malays, etc. etc. The more you people write, the more we get into trouble locally with the powers that be thinking we need to share with them.
I and people of like me just want to be left alone to go about our lives. We have never bothered anybody and we certainly do not want some people to knock on our door one day commenting about how good our business is and you can guess how the conversation would then go. We really do not care whether which ethnic group is better than the other. We just want to be left alone to carry on with our lives.
So PLEASE LEAVE US ALONE! PLEASE DELETE THIS WHOLE ARTICLE!
And by the way, I am a Malaysian and my family has always feel we are Malaysians.
The Malays at the top screaming Ketuanan Melayu shout even louder every time they have something big to steal, and fools down the line never seem to learn, always thankful for the few dollars and a few free meals. When leaders are too playful and fun loving, and are not serious about what it takes to be leaders, decline sets in fast. Add greed, and disaster is not far away, no matter how many times the kris is held up to threaten others.
Show time is over for UMNO and gang.
Anon 15 November 2012 17:17,
People like you should live caves so nobody will bother you.
Anon 17.17
Artikel ini menunjukkan betapa masyarakat melayu masih jauh kebelakang berbanding kaum cina.
Anda tidak perlu risau kami akan membenci kaum cina kerana kami orang melayu yakin anda berjaya kerana usaha keras anda.
Yang kami benci kerana kerajaan malaysia pimpinan umNO yang x mampu untuk memimpin malaysia dengan lebih adil dan saksama.
Ramai orang melayu yang dipinggirkan sedangkan pemimpin umNO mengaut @ merompak secara terang2an.
Jangan salahkan artikel ini. Anda seharusnya menyalahkan pemimpin2 bN yang memimpin malaysia. Saya sarankan untuk anda memilih untuk malaysia yang lebih adil dan lebih baik. Pastinya bukan bN pada PRU13.
Budak kilang
Dear Dato Sak,
Man will progress according to the laws of nature which is called the survival of the fittest. And how did nature do this - by natural selection- The weak and sick will be weeded out. UMNO can play god but sooner or later their game will implode because natural resources will be exhausted due to uncontrolled greed. When these resources run dry UMNO will be faced with a hungry mob of zombies that could not stand on their own feet because they have been given crutches by UMNO from cradle to grave for the last 50 years. Why so? Because UMNO wants the majority of malays to be dependent on UMNO thus making them weak and loyal to perpetuate UMNO's hold onto power.
I have another tale something alike that of sumpitan emas. same premise, of how an immigrant made good in this country.
I live in a kampong and my neighbor is this guy from Kalimantan and his wife is a Thai. My neighbor works as a subcontractor too and he told me that his income averaged at RM9k a month. His wife runs a restaurant. Their kids have all done well with good jobs. I asked him whether UMNO had ever helped him in any way and he said no. This just goes to show, if the local Malays forget the idea of easy money and help from UMNO, they too can emulate this guy. However, it takes hard work and frugal spending. Nowadays, the Malays seem bent on owning an expensive car or the latest gadget in town. If the Malays are cut off the lifeline, maybe their survival instincts will emerge and they too can be as well off as the Chinese. Those who have banked on UMNO all these years will be taught a lesson if Pakatan wins GE13.
As long as some Malaysians keep thinking about their own business and not the country and people....thinking selfishly...thinking race first...Malaysians second...there will be no unity and one whose children suffer most will be Anon 15th NOV 2012 21.21.
He said..."PLEASE DELETE THE WHOLE ARTICLE!"...based on his Simple Simon reasons...and let me remind him..vast majority Malaysians want people like SAK and Nurul to speak out bravely.
No one is jealous if he is a millionaire doing his own little business....but country and people come first and we need to vote the corrupted lot out...vote a change in Govt.
Will he be voting for change?
Looks like he will not vote at all!!!
What a selfish bloke he is.
There are 2 stories related above by sumpitan & akmal arifin On close reading it's good these people are a great success but they are are stories of immigrants who came not long ago from Indonesia Immigrants will naturally work hard to make a better future for themselves and their families It's a story repeated all over the world
Anon-16Nov00:34
Budak kilang, berbanyak-banyak terima kasih atas suatu luahan yang tak berunsur perasaan marah atau benci.
Kita bersama-sama merobohkan yang songsang dan bengkok,dan membina semula sebuah negara yang kuat, bersih dan berhemah tinggi.
'We just want to be left alone to carry on with our lives'.
Nobody wants a share of your hard work. Just pay your fair share of the taxes to the country.
Dato and all commentators, including 15 November 2012 17:17.
Just love this article and the follow-ups.
MORE Please!
Sumpitan emas,
I really have something important to discuss with you. Kindly contact me at hashimi@mail.ru
BTW, i enjoy your comment above
Tun Anak syaitan kerala, lidah bisa dan guling u gak mungkin omong yang kudus dan semua yang keluar dari mulut u tak pernah benar lagi.
Malaysia gak pernah ada anak syaitan sehingga anak syaitan dari seberang kerala kemari ke Malaysia dan sapu gadis melayu sejati, derhaka dan sapu kuasa Raja, sapu lagi kekayaan melayu sejati.
Dan yang bodoh, malas dan otak udang ikut dia dan bina parti Untuk melayu Not original dan sapu lagi semua AP dan Kontrak.
Hello anak syaitan yang buruk sudah pun terjadi Dan LAGU Apa dah jadi Apa dah jadi Malaysia sekarang di pimpin Syaitan dan Iblis. Corridors of Power skrg Di Malaysia semua anak2 dan crony Syaitan Kerala.
Wahai Allah Maha Kuasa pasti karunia dan berkati rakyat Malaysia yang berbilang budaya ini dari ancaman2 kuasa pemerintah syaitan dan iblis Terutamanya anak syaitan tua keropok dari Kerala yang di suntik stem cell dan collagen kerana nak nampak mudah bagai syaitan di cermin.
Datok, the driving force for towns like Kluang, Kahang ,Mersing etc are unfortunately the Chinese ( it should be the Malaysian Rakyat which means the Malays, Indians ,Chinese etc) The question is why? The answer is simple during the reign ( note the word "reign") of Mahathir the Chinese was badly represented by MCA and in someways Gerakan ( have you noted the wealth of the politicians in both of these parties) the Chinese had to survive, had to earn a living to feed and educate their children.In a reign where scholarship was given out based on race instead of Merit.This brought out the entrepreneurship and commerce in the Chinese. An old saying "necessity is the mother of all inventions" comes to mind. This necessity brought out of independence to survive, it benefited not only the chinese but all the races in the area as jobs were created. Malays are no beggars in their own country...they have been given all the opportunities...however like the devil , what he offers its always laced with undesirable future. When one do not have to strive to get what one wants then one is always at the mercy of the offeror....
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