Malays are not thinking properly and rationally nowadays. The collective mental normalcy associated with the Malays is hijacked by a few irrational individuals who become spokesmen for the Malays as a whole. Mainstream media, always serving the interests of the ruling clique of Najib and gang, elevate these individuals as the voice of conscience of the Malays.
Hence if people from ISMA voiced alarmist concerns about the perceived threats on Islam, Malays and the Malay kings- that is the voice of the mute majority. UMMO has spoken through ISMA without having to say it on its own. That has enabled ISMA to say the threat to UMNO is synonymous to the threat to Malays. If the president of Perkasa says something- that are also taken as the representative fears of the Malays.
And Najib, the back-boneless leader of this country says nothing because it serves his interest which is to stay in power at all cost. Otherwise how else can a party which won 47% of the popular votes stay in power? It already lost the will entrusted by the people. It will now do anything to contain and cut further losses among the Malay electorate. It can do only do this by appearing pugnacious, confrontational and even martial–spirited at times. Najib has already set the tone for the upcoming UMNO general assembly by calling that Chinese must respect the Malays.
To the Chinese, if they do not already know, respect means subservient and pliant to the wishes of the Malay elite who will go on to deceive, rape and plunder the wealth of this country. Please don’t do that.
The once nature’s gentleman ought not to be seen in a negative light as a result of the industry of these irascible individuals. The thinking and articulations of people in Perkasa, Isma and other right wing Malay supremacy groups do not represent the emotional state of the Malays.
The majority of the Malays see the many problems weighing upon the Malays as being the result of the policies and politics of UMNO. They have nothing to do with the actions of the other races in Malaysia. As such, I call upon the majority of the thinking Malays to explain and educate the other Malays that this is all about politics. These are all about UMNO desperate measures to stay in power so that they plunder the country’s wealth and resources and enjoy the trappings of power.
We must resist the deception to lead us into meddling and become busybodies about matters that do no concern us. We must resist the lazy man’s solution of using might to foist what be believe onto others. If I have very strong feelings against drinking- it is not my business to have this belief translated into a ban on others who like to drink in Oktoberfest, make themselves look silly, rolling on the floor or ground and doing all sort of things. That is their business.
If I don’t like Elton John for whatever reasons- maybe I hate his specs or his platform shoes or his gaudy outfit- it is not my business to have my personal dislike translated into a ban on Elton John’s, Rihanna or whoever else’s concert. Because there are many more people who like these entertainers and are willing to pay to see them. I don’t like it- I don’t drink, don’t go to Oktoberfest and do not go to see the concerts. I will do that despite salivating at Rihanna’s body or Beyoncé’s goyang.
My business is never to let others impose and foist and tell us how to behave and to become conformist. Let us focus instead on cultivating ourselves, cultivating members of our family, cultivating and building character of our race.
We do not pick quarrels and concern ourselves with matters not affecting us directly and conducting ourselves in a natural state of contention and confrontation is not a climate contributing to the cultivation of the self in us. Let us Malays reject people like Perkasa or Isma.
UMNO which has as its main and only interest in self-preservation and staying on in power, facilitate Malays thinking in dysfunctional manner. When they ought to focus on problems affecting them directly, they busy themselves with problems that don’t affect them or if affecting them, do so indirectly. They ought to focus on issues such as unfair income distribution, inequality in opportunities in education, housing, upward mobility, restricted access to wealth producing resources. They ought to be concern over increasing numbers from their family, from their community becoming drug abusers, drug addicts and so on. They ought to be concerned with the diminution of family values and breakdown of moral values among family members and within their own race. These are the things that affect them directly.
They ought to be concerned that Islam is being hijacked by extremists who are bent on imposing and foisting their own insecurities and who are motivated by the overreaching need to assert dominance on a not so pliant society.
Instead, the issue of others affect them violently in the mind. They seem to be concerned with what is not their business. Chinese schools for example. How do Chinese schools affect Malays? Malays don’t naturally go to Chinese schools. Why should Malays be concerned with what’s happening in and to Chinese schools?
I have long advocated that Chinese schools seem to prosper only because national schools declined in quality. During the time when I went to school, where English medium schools had better teachers, produced better results, provided education in the language medium that is a pillar of communication in the world- performed better than vernacular schools of any kind, Chinese schools did not prosper. Chinese parents would want their children to go to Chinese schools up to standard 6 and then go on into English medium schools.
Having given the Chinese their vernacular schools, and allowing them to prosper consciously and by default, it is now not an option for Malay policy makers to snuff out the Chinese vernacular schools forcibly. But if the decline in quality of public schools is reversed and can produce superior results, do not discriminate against the English language, I believe Chinese will return to public schools.
The Bibles? Malays who are Muslims don’t read bibles. Some don’t even read the Quran. So why should the bible written in Malay language bother Malays who don’t read them? The bibles are meant for the natives of Sarawak and Sabah who are not Muslims and which propagation of the said religion is permitted.
Because the name of Allah is written in the Bible that’s why. Because that would likely to confuse the Malays. But if the Malays who are Muslims don’t read such bibles why should they be confused? If the principles of the Islamic faith are already etched indelibly into the persona of the Malays, the bible written in whatever language ought not to affect them.
If propagation of religions other than Islam is not permitted by law, it means we already have a law against it. If some missionaries do that, they will run afoul of that particular law and if found to be in violation of the law, will get punished for that. But the bible is not the problem to Malays. Why should the Malays get depression and go manic over the Bible issue? Stay away and don’t read them. Read the Quran.
