外表重于本质？
近期来，政府雄心斗志高昂，施行了许多新政策，想要美景槟城，修复槟城的旅游业、把国家的经济从透资平衡到基本水平。这样的政策当真是利益万民，帮国家造福，从内在的不断提增汽油的价格到注重旅游吸引外来资金流动，无所不为国家为先题的鸿猷大计。
但结果却显而易见，处处人民怨声频起，首都吉隆坡在汽油的飙升而引起人民怨愤，导致暴动。而拥有崇高尊敬人民自由的马来西亚政府便禁止报章报导此事，封闭一切有关暴动的所有新闻。
但聪明的政府却忘记了堵住人民的口可堵不住人民的心，纵使在报章上当真断缺了所有有关此事的报导，但如今的网际网络却是如此的发达，不到几个星期便有关于此事的新闻流传于网上各处。原本报章上的报导只多数供与马来西亚人赏阅，但政府的聪明指使下，报章停止了报导，而转为广大的网络世界流传，反而让这件事情从马来西亚流传到世界外国，供整个世界的人了解了马来西亚的民主制度是如此的高明。
再者，政府一直专心于发展着重大的计划，美化旅游业，调整经济的负资产，却忽略了最重要的人民安全问题，搞得攫夺案件频频衍生、蔓延各地。导致所有人心惶惶，生命受到严重的威胁。
所谓“修身、齐家、治国、平天下”，如今政府急于向外国推广马来西亚的旅游，调整经济。但却掉乱这些基本的秩序，修身齐家后，治国和平天下是最重要的一环，而政府却漠视了他们的存在，要跳过这两个环节而取外利。
吸引外国的投资，争取更多的外汇难道比人民的安全还要重要？修茸槟城的景色，平衡经济的发展，我们人民已经给予了许多的合作，但政府却给了我们什么回报？心惊胆战的环境？生命危机的礼物？
俨然的，这些回报都不是我们人民所期望的。在人民的眼中，不，应该说在所有人的眼中，生命还是最重要的。如果失去了人民的信任，人民的生命，国家怎么能够发展起来？
这等于一个人过于重视自己的外表而拼命地涂脂抹粉，但却频频暴露了自己邪恶丑陋的心态有什么分别？一个外表在好的西瓜，但里头的果实被臭虫给腐蚀殆尽，那么它的外表再怎么绚丽夺目却也是没有用的。
当然，我写这篇“奏折”却也是希望政府当局能够及时发觉问题的核心，给予我们人民一个安适的环境为国家效劳。
11 comments:
Malaysia under Umno was, is and will forever be a basket case. What we see now as development and progress are merely internal consumption.
Unless the government commits to real change and wiping out of the current rot in Umno, Malaysia is slowly but surely spiraling downward towards being a pariah country.
Lee Kuan Yew said recently the relationship between Malaysia and Singapore has not always been smooth sailing, and so investing in the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) may not always be smooth sailing for Singaporean companies.
This is simply a statement of fact that nevertheless appears to have gotten local Umno leaders into a tizzy.
Every local Umno politician hopes to be in a position to be approving investment flows into the country because to stand as gatekeeper is a very lucrative position, and when public squabbles erupt between Umno politicians about who is the better "protector of malay privileges and rights", it usually means someone just wants a bigger cut of the investment action for himself.
Go figure that one.
Of course, the relationship between Malaysia and Singapore is special because of the race relations issue.
Singapore has been the favourite whipping boy of the Umno-controlled malay vernacular press for the last 50 years, and if anything are seen as even bigger devils than the local Chinese and Indian citizens of Malaysia in the eyes of Malaysia's malay Muslims.
The fact is Singapore's development model has meant that Singapore's malays are far better educated, far better equipped, far better paid, far more self-confident, and self-reliant to deal with globalisation than malay Muslims in Malaysia.
This makes Ketuanan Melayu, the malay Agenda, and the NEP look like failed racist apartheid policies that have impoverished everyone except Umno cronies. Of course, Umno must demonise Singapore to maintain the illusion that Umno politicians are nationalists and not parasites, and more so if Singapore happens to be better educated, meritocratic, richer, and safer than Malaysia.
Malay Muslims in Malaysia have been brainwashed by Umno for the last 50 years into thinking that the Chinese and Indians both Malaysians and Singaporeans have gotten rich at their expense, and this perception probably won't change anytime soon because Umno does not have another elections winning formula if it dumps the present demonisation formulas.
Every time Singapore's first world achievements are compared with the sluggish technological, competitiveness, economic, educational, professional, scientific, and social standard in apartheid Malaysia, there is the predictable keris waving, baying for blood, and frothing at the mouth in every Umno up and down the country in Malaysia
Although Chinese and Indian Malaysians have simply accepted the gross racial discrimination in business, education, and job as a fact of life in Malaysia, the non-apartheid non-NEP meritocratic Singaporean mindset may not have the stomach for this particular type of nonsense in the IDR.
I think Lee Kuan Yew is way too smart to think the demonisation process of the Chinese and Indians in the Umno-controlled malay vernacular press is going to stop anytime soon. How else is Umno going to win elections except by continuing to perpetrate the lie that the orang asing minorities in Malaysia are a threat to the malays?
Nevertheless Lee Kuan Yew may be hoping Chinese and Indian Singaporean investors will not be discriminated against in the IDR in comparison with investors from countries like China, Europe, Hong Kong, India, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and United States.
In the meantime, I am sure it will simply be business as usual for the rest of us in racial and religious apartheid Malaysia.
Dear Mahathir, 22 years you left us nothing but:
- A generation of poor non-malays who is gangsters or selling DVDs
- AP issues
- A useless currency in the ringgit
- IC Project in Sabah
- Keris waving political party members
- MAS in deficit
- Proton in financial trouble
- Racial divide
- Tongkat generation
- World's most expensive tolls anywhere in the city
And now, after being out of politics, you suddenly talk a lot of malays this and that when you had 22 years in power and you did absolutely, jack shit.
Please old man, you want to make a change, it is too late now. All you can do is look at that man in the mirror and cry before you meet your almighty maker.
Singapore's prime minister mentioned during the 2006 National Rally that Singapore needed a population of 10 million to stay competitive and thriving into the future. Now it has 4 million. So, it needs a population injection of 2.5X.
And to sustain a larger population, it needs a larger land mass. I remember reading during the sell sand fiasco that the Johor sand was supposed to sell to Singapore, could have increased the island land mass to accommodate 2.5X its population, i.e. 10 million.
Malaysia has 25 million people. Roughly 24% are Chinese, i.e. 6 million people.
So ~ if we put 1, 2 and 3 together, isn't the road to solving Malaysia racial and religious problem as simple as selling the required sand to Singapore and then allowing all 6 million Chinese to emigrate?
If Malaysia and Singapore allow dual citizenships, or if Singapore loosens its PR processes, or if the commutes between Malaysia and Singapore is made simpler - the cows will naturally move themselves.
In any case, I just wanted to highlight the convergence the figures 4 + 6 = 10 million, from the seemingly independent issues.
At the end of the day, I doubt Singapore, given its track record, would want all 6 million of the Chinese Malaysians. They'd take all the high net worth people, the professional and the skilled, but would not go out of their way to court the rest.
They have got to make room for other sources of very, very talented people - China and India.
Malaysia only hits the world's headlines when something goes wrong.
Nothing unusual there. Malaysia is regarded as a rogue state and whenever Malaysia is mentioned, it is always alongside countries which are corrupt and backward.
More recently, also a hotbed or a haven for radical Islam.
The issue of vernacular primary schools has little to do with national integration. The medium of instruction doesn't matter. The biggest issue of vernacular primary schools is simply that the quality clearly points to the failure of Umno-led BN government, the legitimacy of the very philosophies and policies particularly its hegemonistic malay agenda.
If the vernacular primary schools are allowed to expand, clearly the percentage of malays in these Chinese primary schools would expand striking at the heart of the malay agenda. It would increase integration but not the malay agenda.
There is no proof that different medium of instruction decrease national unity. What would decrease national integration would be if they thought different philosophy - and for example - religion based schools. Even military schools have been shown to breed disintegration of its students from the larger population.
The idea of teaching Mandarin and Tamil to attract non-malays to national schools is a non-starter. Firstly, again the medium of instruction is a low low issue compared to the quality of education, secondly, there is already a severe shortage of Mandarin and Tamil teachers that national schools would never be able to do even a half-past-six job of it.
Thirdly, so long as Islamization of national schools is not stopped in its tracks, non-malays would always avoid it, simply because learning is just harder in a marginalized uncomfortable environment.
Vernacular schools are allowed to continue as it is simply because removing it would be perceived and rightly so, as eroding the citizen rights of non-malays, i.e. the very right of education - the only upward mobility tool the non-malays has. Non-malays second class citizenship will become third class with things like further Islamization of this country.
The issue of vernacular schools is not about national integration, it is about hegemonistic malay agenda. The fact it is an issue points to heart of our national problem.
The issue of vernacular primary schools has little to do with national integration. The medium of instruction doesn't matter. The biggest issue of vernacular primary schools is simply that the quality clearly points to the failure of Umno-led BN government, the legitimacy of the very philosophies and policies particularly its hegemonistic malay agenda.
If the vernacular primary schools are allowed to expand, clearly the percentage of malays in these Chinese primary schools would expand striking at the heart of the malay agenda. It would increase integration but not the malay agenda.
There is no proof that different medium of instruction decrease national unity. What would decrease national integration would be if they thought different philosophy - and for example - religion based schools. Even military schools have been shown to breed disintegration of its students from the larger population.
The idea of teaching Mandarin and Tamil to attract non-malays to national schools is a non-starter. Firstly, again the medium of instruction is a low low issue compared to the quality of education, secondly, there is already a severe shortage of Mandarin and Tamil teachers that national schools would never be able to do even a half-past-six job of it.
Thirdly, so long as Islamization of national schools is not stopped in its tracks, non-malays would always avoid it, simply because learning is just harder in a marginalized uncomfortable environment.
Vernacular schools are allowed to continue as it is simply because removing it would be perceived and rightly so, as eroding the citizen rights of non-malays, i.e. the very right of education - the only upward mobility tool the non-malays has. Non-malays second class citizenship will become third class with things like further Islamization of this country.
The issue of vernacular schools is not about national integration, it is about hegemonistic malay agenda. The fact it is an issue points to heart of our national problem.
Government controlled newspapers are good for wrapping nasi lemak. Read Malaysia Today for real news……….Bravo Raja Petra!
I just wish to sort out whether English medium schools will guarantee the success of Malaysia.
According to the write, the 'killing off of English medium schools' laid the foundation for the current deteriorating racial relations. I find this point of view very naive, superficial and unconvincing. Do people discriminate and hate against other races simply because they don't speak the same language?
Ethnic French, German and Italians speak their own languages in Switzerland with three official languages but has anyone heard of racial riots in Switzerland? I suppose the current deteriorating racial relations here is due to the institutionalised racism and racial inequality rather than the language people speak.
Does a good English proficiency guarantee employment upon graduation? Is the English proficiency of our graduates being over-emphasised with regards to the unemployment problem?
Malaysia and Philippines general populations have a better English proficiency than Korea and Taiwan, but the former two can in no way compete (whether in competitiveness, GDP or technology) with the two newly industrialised countries although we actually started better off than them after our independence.
Korea and Taiwan never had English medium schools and yet their high school students always top the list for the world's mathematics and physics Olympiad.
The success of Hong Kong and Singapore as regional financial and trade hubs rests entirely on their competitive business environment, good governance and highly efficient administration. English is just an added advantage, not the sole sufficient condition for their success.
The so-called globalised world is always misunderstood in that everything has to be in English in order to succeed. Again, I find that naive, simple-minded and superficial. Globalisation demands for a broader worldview, critical thought and understanding of more cultures and languages rather than a monotonic all-English mantra.
Shortsighted policies such as not having vernacular schools will eventually kill off Malaysia rich diversity of culture that is supposed to be a strong advantage amid the rise of China and India as the world cultural and economic superpowers.
If one ever notices, upon gaining power after independence, elites of Third World Countries (including Malaysia) trained by the colonial education system usually tend to look to their former colonial masters, rather than global models as their reference in running a country.
Summing up my point of view, thinking that English medium schools will solve all our problems and help us succeed is simply too naive and simple-minded.
Yes, which Islamic country in the world today is strong in technology science, R&D, literature, etc?
The answer is a big NONE!
Drop Islam and malays would be a better race!
Nope. You got the equation wrong.
BN won was because there is no equal playing field. In a free democratic country, all parties are given adequate airtime on national television, newspaper, Late Show with David Letterman, etc.
Here, coverage is only for BN. Each time you switch on the TV, you will see our Bapa Slogan sleepy face. You don't have a chance to catch a glimpse of any of our oppositions figure. Tell me when was the last time you watch Anwar on national TV?
All the draconian laws in Malaysia prohibit free speech, and our local mainstream media will have to abide by it. Try to switch on to any of our TV news at 8 o'clock later and the answer is very clear there.
In conclusion, our oppositions are not weak. It is the unfair level of playing field. Period.
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