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| Masjid Sultan Abu Bakar, Johor Bahru (Photo credit: Andy*Enero) |
Stop monkeying around! The Malaysian political landscape is a
ridiculous one. Anything can happen. To the powers that be, stop
monkeying around and stop insulting our (citizens) intelligence with
your political rhetoric (rhetoric aimed at bullshitting and then
motivating people to action) as against scientific rhetoric (rhetoric
aimed at promoting truth & understanding).
Race rhetoric in the news media (as reported by Malaysian Insider last month) provoked war of words between the mass-selling Utusan media and a few major Chinese papers, most notably Nanyang Siang Pau and Sin Chew Daily. The rhetoric does somewhat seem more political than real...like the protest two weeks ago by some Malays who stomped on a cow's head, which appeared to be politically motivated. The protesters objected to
the building of a Hindu temple near their homes. Twelve of them were charged with illegal assembly and six also had sedition charges slapped on them. But, despite the ugliness of the incident, some good has also come out of it. The protest galvanized many Malays to speak up and condemn the protesters for insulting Hindus. Some Malay friends made a trip to meet the Hindus in the neighbourhood, to assure them that the protest was not reflective of wider Malay sentiment.
The race debate has given rise to more Malaysians -Malays..... lawyers Malik Imtiaz Sarwar and Art Harun, writer Farish Noor, politicians Dzulkefly Ahmad and Khalid Samad, university lecturer Azmi Shahrom and former MP Zaid Ibrahim - trying to change the racial framework of "us versus them". Such Malays have spoken up for the minorities, and challenge stereotypes at a cost to themselves, as many have been labelled as traitors.
Malaysian Chinese however continue to be seen as the Chinese stereotypes - ( "The Chinese only want to make money, drink alcohol, and go to karaoke. They have no interest in the community. They are only out to protect their turf at the expense of everyone else."). Besides Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who is seen to challenge Chinese stereotypes, there aren't that many Chinese bridge-builders. Malaysian Chinese REALLY need to empathize with others and do away with the race card.
Race rhetoric in the news media (as reported by Malaysian Insider last month) provoked war of words between the mass-selling Utusan media and a few major Chinese papers, most notably Nanyang Siang Pau and Sin Chew Daily. The rhetoric does somewhat seem more political than real...like the protest two weeks ago by some Malays who stomped on a cow's head, which appeared to be politically motivated. The protesters objected to
the building of a Hindu temple near their homes. Twelve of them were charged with illegal assembly and six also had sedition charges slapped on them. But, despite the ugliness of the incident, some good has also come out of it. The protest galvanized many Malays to speak up and condemn the protesters for insulting Hindus. Some Malay friends made a trip to meet the Hindus in the neighbourhood, to assure them that the protest was not reflective of wider Malay sentiment.
The race debate has given rise to more Malaysians -Malays..... lawyers Malik Imtiaz Sarwar and Art Harun, writer Farish Noor, politicians Dzulkefly Ahmad and Khalid Samad, university lecturer Azmi Shahrom and former MP Zaid Ibrahim - trying to change the racial framework of "us versus them". Such Malays have spoken up for the minorities, and challenge stereotypes at a cost to themselves, as many have been labelled as traitors.
Malaysian Chinese however continue to be seen as the Chinese stereotypes - ( "The Chinese only want to make money, drink alcohol, and go to karaoke. They have no interest in the community. They are only out to protect their turf at the expense of everyone else."). Besides Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who is seen to challenge Chinese stereotypes, there aren't that many Chinese bridge-builders. Malaysian Chinese REALLY need to empathize with others and do away with the race card.
Lucifer-Butler
[http://lucifer-butler.org]
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