When The Pretzel Crumbles from Within?

"Where's mine?"


Politics is truly about giving, not giving, taking and not taking. Out of all four, giving and taking strike the color of the ruling party best. Why is that so?

Because taking and giving are substantial. Because if something is not being taken or not being given like tax exclusion etc., literally; no change has been made. So it goes; a desperate party will take and give more frequently to appeal to the mass. This is an evil fallacy.

The fact that difference in political views revolves around different ways of seeing things only further complicates this matter.

Let’s list out what the government took, recently:


1----- Leaders of HINDRAF.

Let’s be realistic. These are the main claims of HINDRAF:

1- Commonwealth ethnic Indian peace loving subjects in Malaysia persecuted by government, backed by Islamic extremist violent armed terrorist who launched a pre dawn violent armed attack and destroyed the Kg Jawa Mariaman Hindu temple at 4.00 am this morning (15.11.2007).

2- Appeal for U.K to move emergency U.N resolution condemning ethnic cleansing in Malaysia.

3- Appeal to refer Malaysia to the world court and international criminal court for crimes against its own ethnic minority Indians.

This is an intolerable, high treason. Worst to worst, Malaysia would come next after Syria or Iran, especially during this time when America is showing great interest in ‘safeguarding’ the Strait of Malacca.

And they are calling it a peaceful rally. Hell, I’d buy the rumors that HINDRAFs are gathering weapons to start a revolt, because they think they are being ethnically cleansed. What would you do with such realization?

So, the imprisonment of HINDRAF leaders is more or less a ‘giving’ to the peace loving people, but the maltreatment they receive behind bars is vice versa. All in all, this is a taking because it all escalated from the government turning its back on ethnic Indians, as a whole.

2----- Oil subsidy.

This is neck-breaking to the poor and middle-classites. Price of commodities sky-rocketed and crime rate increased. This taking is most vital of all for through it, the people are being intimidated for not being heard by the government, with some driven into famine.

3----- Jurisdictional rights.

Sure slandering is wrong and unethical, but when a claim has been made in the court of law alleging ‘men of great power’ to have been involved in ‘a murder’, a just investigation should be carried out.
The rule of law, if you will; the popular shout these days from both the government and the opposition. Where is the rule of law in;

1- Having those under investigation still running government departments (AG and CP).

2- Not being able to mention ‘some names’ in the court of law or in a police report.

3- Being induced and intimidated after making a Statutory Declaration.
And best of all, there is no justification whatsoever for all these actions and inactions.

And what the government gave:


1----- 45% increase of scholarship to the non-Bumiputeras through JPA.

With all due respect, I would describe the action of increasing the figure from 5% to 45% as a desperate, unintelligent, superfluous, selfish and far-fetched political attempt to gain more votes, and I’m not blaming the government as a whole. There are figures who are clearly dissatisfied by this decision.

Look at the rehabs, the streets, the villages etc.. Which race forms the majority of addicts, mat rempits, minah rempits and the poor? If the government is to cater for the rich and poor then I’d say; stop depriving the Malays who are really in need, by putting them through ‘premature meritocracy’. Never mind the rich Malays.

Why do we see ourselves as being racist when we talk about Malay agendas? The Indians and Chinese talk about their agendas all the time.

Remember that the greatest identity is the national identity; the identity which Malays gave willingly to the non-Malays as an indication of acceptance, for the Malays and the non-Malays worked hand in hand to bring Malaysia to its present state.

It’s a fair quid pro quo, and it is about time that all of us submit to the greater consensus; the national consensus. If fighting for racial benefits would discourage the ‘Malaysians’ Malaysia’ ideal, so be it: let us all be regarded as one, but until a Malaysian ‘Leitkultur’ is being established and practiced, in which all Malaysians would have to agree to certain values and points, the ideal is out of reach.

2----- 372 SJKT join the ‘fully-funded band’.

In the spirit of Islam Hadhari or Hadharah Islamiah or whatever it is, I see this as an unjust treatment. How about the ‘Sekolah Agama Rakyat’ or the SAR issue? Is it already out of mind? Truly, ‘Melayu mudah lupa’.

I am proud of the fact that I studied at a SAR.

As I recall, the government gave the SARs a binomial choice: to drop the Al-Azhar syllabi or to be financially independent.

Why did the government initially, not fund SJKTs and SJKCs? Because they wouldn’t accept / would partially accept; the syllabi set by the Ministry of Education and to this day, they remain so.

In a way, the SARs, SJKTs and SJKCs share something in common. But you see, the treatment is different.

That’s 2 taken from the Malays, 2 given to the non-Malays and 3 taken from Malaysians. This imbalance, somehow, reminds me of the ‘Koklkhozy’ collective farming program.

‘oderint dum metuant’.