Malaysian Issues

New Malaysia - Help Eradicate Crimes


While it was comforting to hear our police getting more hi tech and more experienced each day in combating the bad guys, it is not comforting to know and feel that crimes seem to be on the rise.

I kept getting emails from friends to remind me for example about Indonesian gangsters going around robbing and raping women as young as 8 years old and not so young at 90 years old. Girls, please beware if you were to work and leave office late. There had been cases where security guards had become predators too.

Nowadays the non gated housing areas had fast becoming 'gated'. These newly transformed gated properties are normally manned by Napales or perhaps Bangladeshi. Is it not ironic that we have reach a stage when we have to resort to bringing in Napales and Bangladeshi to look after us. Sure speaks volumes about our faith in our own Police Force and domestic security.

Is Malaysia getting less SMARTER in warding off criminals ? We are getting more capable of producing our own criminals. We are also not able to stop foreign criminals from coming in ?

Information is power. Are the intelligence of various government agencies being shared ?

It was obvious that the crime lab personnel were not able to tackle these questions. Perhaps somebody else could, but they were there during the session.

The basic responsibility of any government is to PROVIDE PEACE AND SECURITY OF ITS CITIZENS. Peace and security are not only to be FELT, but also to be SEEN. Right now it does seem and felt that way.

Let's do our part. Contribute our ideas on how to eradicate crimes in our neighborhood. Say our piece and do our part.

My 2 cent worth of suggestions :

1) Stop using foreigners as 'security guards'. Malaysians must learn to look after Malaysians. There are sufficient Malaysians without job. What about the retired police and military personnel ? Why not employ them ?

2) Government agencies whose roles have direct and indirect link to looking after domestic security must collaborate and share high level intelligence and information to stem the traffic and movement of local and foreign criminals. Beware, the criminals may be 'paying' their way in.

3) Rehabilitate local non hard core criminals. Provide them with useful skills. Absorb them in the labor market. The Malaysian community must also learn to forgive and offer them a second chance. Personally, I am willing to contribute to some of their training. Their soft skills.

4) Malaysians need to be more watchful and report any suspicious characters or activities. These are useful Police number to keep in your hand phone: 0322626555 and 0322627555. Trust your instinct. Do not hesitate to report.

New Malaysia - Say NO to Corruption !

The country is fast moving towards the wrong direction. If nothing was done there will be nothing left for the next generation. There will only be LOTS OF DEBTS for them to contend with.

Malaysia certainly does not look good right now. Corruption is a public disease number ONE. We need the GOOD Malaysians to ACT NOW to eradicate the BAD AND UGLY corrupt Malaysians. The government has shown courage to open up and listen to the rakyat. So we were invited to pass our comments and give our suggestions. I also did exactly that. A small portion of it was printed in the Star the next day.

Corruption must be STOP or Malaysia will soon fall from grace. It will not be long when we shall see our sons and daughters seek jobs overseas. Some as foreign labors in construction industry and factories, and some as domestic maids.

While it is not fair and not true to brand every Malaysians as corrupts, no one can deny that Malaysia has created an increasing number of millionaires and multi- millionaires among its corrupted politicians, civil servants, military personnel, police force, judiciary and business sectors.

There are also those among them who are not millionaires, but wealthy enough to live far beyond their formal means. It is frightening to imagine how many there are among us when you put together the big and small corrupt individuals.

Since corruption is our biggest problem, we need our biggest problem solver. We also need the mother of all strategy to tackle this issue. We not only need political will, but more than that we need POLITICAL WHIP. We need politicians to tackle politicians. We need technocrats to tackle technocrats. We need the stakeholders of every fields and sectors to tidy up their areas, and make them squeaky clean.

Corruption is a by product of LEADERSHIP problem. Leadership in every sectors and levels. Where needed we have to replace some of leaders with suitable ones. Our PM certainly has his work cut out for himself. Every Malaysians will be looking at him to lead the way. He can do it, but will he do it ? We shall see.

The Malaysian public need to be ANGRY enough. In some way I think the Malaysian are too tolerant. Too accommodating. We need to learn how to be angry. In a constructive manner. Of course Malaysian can show their anger when they cast their votes during election. Like they did during the last election.

The government must send the right signals to the people. To initiate this GTP Open Day is an excellent signal. It must not stop there. The government must continue sending more right signals. To signal to the people it is alright to say the right thing. It is safe to be whistle blowers. The signals that simply say that corrupt individuals are bad. Catch the culprits and throw them in jail. Celebrate and reward those with clean records, and the whistle blowers as heroes.

The GTP Open Day was only a ONE day affair. It only captured a small segment of Malaysians. The government should organize more with less formality and more openness. Right down to the ground level. Possibly at neighborhood or community levels.

The problem is big enough to warrant us to add another KPI for performance measurement in private and public sectors. KPI for clean slate (not implicated) in corrupt practice. KPI for those performers who champion the cause against corruption. We need to plant the right values and practices against corruption.

Can integrity be learned ? I also suggested that we should make it compulsory for every students in our universities to study and pass the subject on integrity. Groom them to be champion against the cause of corruption way before they enter the job market.

I hope the government is serious about what were being said, and will WALK THE TALK.

Those were my 2 cents worth.

Would you say NO to corruption ? Would appreciate your comments...



What does corruption means ?

Definition :

The use of privileges by office holders and those in statutory and functional equivalent positions for personal benefit. The term includes active and passive bribery of public officials, breach of trust and nepotism. However corruption can be and is defined more broadly for development cooperation as "the behavior of persons entrusted with public or private responsibilities who neglect their duties to achieve unjustified benefits".

This means that the term covers not only the public sphere but also the private and semi public spheres, ethical standards in civil society, the practices of exploiting positions of trust held by private individuals in business.

Levels of corruption :

There are four different levels of corruption.

At government level

This is done, for example, in the context of land reform by allocating land to high office holders and political cronies, in fraudulent privatization of state enterprises, granting import and export license, manipulating tender for major contracts, etc.

At the level of the interface between citizen and state (petty corruption)

This relates to officials demanding 'smaller sum' from the citizens to "overlook" real or imagined irregularities, to pay for "public goods and services" for example access to schools, health care in hospitals, etc. It also includes small payment in exchange to escape summons or heavier penalties. The term "petty corruption" relates solely to sum involved, however, its significance for the poor population in particular is very great, and the devastating influence of this corruption on the relationship between state citizen should not be underestimated.

At the level of political life ("political corruption")

Attaining political influence through illegal means contributes greatly to corruption, as a way of rewarding political allies, client structure and relatives. It is alarming to witness that people choose to enter political life mainly with the intention of gaining power to secure wealth.

At the level of private and semi public sphere ("business corruption")

No one knows how much corruption there is in the business world, and to what extent it is increasing.

Bribery and kickback have become common in free enterprise countries, including Malaysia. Democracy creates opportunity for corruption as competing political parties seek campaign contributions. Development projects may be valuable for graft opportunities than the direct benefits. Private corporations have great incentive to go along with bribe solicitations since contracts offer tens, hundreds and even billions of ringgit for military supplies, air crafts, civil works and communication.

Elements in corrupt practice

Several elements are always present in corrupt practices. The interested parties involved, the corrupt intent and action, the proceed and the repercussion.

- The interested parties with vested interests that form a pact to commit the corrupt act.

- The corrupt intent and action to gain the dishonest income using position of power and trust, active and passive bribery, breach of trust and nepotism.

- The proceed of corruption can be in the forms of money, benefit, kind and nepotism.

- The repercussion of corrupt practices leading to abuse of public funds, retardation of economic developments, poverty, disregard of public safety, collapse of institutions, erosion of country's economic well being, etc.


What do you say ?

Malaysian Issues

Are Malaysian not anymore service friendly ?

There is a saying, ‘Hands that serve are holier than lips that pray’. The natural passion to serve and to please others is a good thing to have because it will lead us to become good hosts as well as our ability to perform excellent customer services. It forms our social make up and contributes to our service culture. It can also be a critical attribute that will continue attract tourism and foreign investment to the country because of this distinct talent in us. So there are social, business and economic implications to it.

Once upon a time Malaysian were very hospitable, but I simply can’t help noticed that our younger people are fast losing the natural flair to serve and to please. The natural eagerness to serve and to please people is becoming passion of the past. Our service people at hotels, banks, shopping centers, restaurants, theme parks, trains, planes, buses, taxis, petrol service stations, public counters, ticket counters, customs, immigrations, airports, etc. are not anymore doing Malaysia proud. I have sounded brutal here. Of course there are some extremely good individuals in all of those service centers, but due to cost cutting measure and other operational pressures, organizations are getting to be lean and mean. So are their people.

What we have nowadays are service people who are more interested in safeguarding service cost, profit, system, process, procedure and thus end up in ‘processing’ or at times even reprimanding customers. They are getting to be too much more operational, and a lot less customer centric. They are not there to serve and to please customers anymore. They hardly exhibit that radiant smile and almost always avoid eye contact since that will mean more customer requests that will lead to more things to do. Thus customers are often given the impression that they are there to bother rather than the reason for doing business.

Younger people nowadays are more ‘educated’ and equipped with better paper qualifications. They are technically more efficient with systems, processes, procedures and technology. All these hardly add up to good customer service. In fact they tend to behave like 'operation robots' and seem oblivious to customer welfare and needs. Thus services often become reactive. Not proactive.

Customers are people and need to be served by people who understand them and always respectful of their needs and expectations. What’s needed are those type of service people whom I describe to be like service ‘light bulbs’ that always light up and ever willing to shine on customers.

During the earlier days of low tech, our service people were able to compensate the quality with lots of high human touch, but with the current high tech, the service quality is let down by insensitive service conduct.

Malaysian do not anymore go out of their way to help people who needed help. If your car developed some mechanical problem in busy traffic, and expected people to readily push start your car, or gave you a lift to a nearest workshop, you probably have to cry and beg for it. It is getting less and less likely that you get an eager offering from local motorists or passers by. The scenario could perhaps be a little friendlier if you needed similar help in kampong area.

Malaysian used to ‘feel good’ for being able to help. It was almost like a daily passion. We did it without the expectation of material reward. The satisfaction comes with the given opportunity to help. We did it voluntarily. It gave us the sense of value. We enjoyed the sense of usefulness. The ‘feelings’ used to be the push factors to motivate us to help and to please. Those ‘feelings’ form part of the service attitude that as Malaysian we once were proud of. Sadly, that attitude has faded away.

They cannot teach ‘service attitude’ at schools and universities. Like any other attitudes, it is inborn and ingrained since young. It is shaped by those family values that are embedded in cultural and religious beliefs. It was ‘an honor to serve’. That honor belonged to the days when Malaysians were once upon a time proud to don national jerseys and play for the country. No one think about being paid for it. No one asked ‘What is it for me?’ Everyone was simply proud to be selected to wear Malaysian jersey. In any games, and in all types of representation. Given the chance, they might even willing to pay for it. The scenario is completely the opposite today.

The service scenario is also visibly changing. We are witnessing the influx of Bangladeshi, Nepalese, Indonesian and other Asian immigrants in our service sectors. Malaysian who live in gated properties are importing people from Nepal to protect them from local and foreign thieves. Most of our petrol service stations are manned mainly by Bangladeshi. You walk into local restaurants and you will be served by a variety of imported workers. We have long employed Indonesian and Filipinos to be our domestic helpers. Are Malaysian workers getting worse that our own service businesses do not want them, or our people have simply lost interest working in service sectors? Perhaps a little bit of both. Are imported workers any good at delivering service? What will be the long term effect of our service industry should we allow the current scenario to prevail? I am afraid you are not going to get any comforting answers.

This change of attitude toward service among Malaysian is by no means solitary. Attitudes toward personal integrity, laws and orders are also sadly on the decline. News on various levels and forms of corruption and dishonest practice are on the rise these days. So are cases on child and domestic abuses. At the same time, Malaysian motorists are fast gaining reputation to be among the world most notorious. Our drivers jumped queue, parked their cars anywhere closest to the point of destination, and in the process blocked others, clogged the roads and junctions. Majority of our motorcyclists do not stop at the red light anymore. Our taxi drivers will not likely win any courtesy awards anytime soon. Remember the KL mini bus drivers? Look like they are still around driving other type of passenger buses. Well, the lists can go on and on. It is no wonder that our accident rates are among the world highest.

Is the change in service attitude any correlation with the current decline in integrity and disrespect toward law and order among Malaysian? Perhaps there is an indirect correlation. I believe those declines put together, relate directly to many prevailing issues in our current lives. We are being flooded with technological and material achievements. Thus making us more self sufficient and in turn less sociable. We have a fair share of drug abuse cases. Perhaps there are flaws in our education system considering the number of drop outs and dysfunctional people around us. Surely we have to take a hard look at our parenting skills. All these factors need to gel and better managed to stem the decline of our value system that had resulted in those decaying attitudes.

What are the solutions? How do we get back on track with our service attitude and aptitude? I think we need to start managing differently at all fronts. We need to rediscover our service culture.

We need to start managing our kids differently at home. We need to nurture in them the values of treating people with respect, and if they were to continue serving and pleasing people around them, something good will come back to them. We need to talk to them about it. We need to make them understand the importance of it, and how it will affect their lives. We need to help them balance their focus so that sufficient attentions are given to people values. Otherwise we will easily lose them as they isolate themselves in their digital world. We need to collaborate with them service projects that are meaningful at home and the community. We need to focus and intensify our appreciation when they perform and excel in those values.

The same agenda need to be promoted at schools.

At the workplace we need to manage our human capital differently. Too much assessment and attention have been given to profits, costs, technological, system and process achievements. We need also to reinvent ourselves and give more focus in the way how we treat and value our people. It is time we rediscover their human dimension, which includes their propensity to like people, and to serve and to please. We need to reward them accordingly. We need workplace 'leaders' that inspire them to do the right things, and do them right. We need to continuously send the right signals that business survive on customers and they are there to attract and retain customers. To entertain customers and not to do battle with them. Only after we work very hard at achieving these results that we can hope on getting something back. It is not going to be anytime soon, but the sooner we invest time to manage them, the sooner we are likely to get something back. I hope it will come in the form of a very pleasing service culture that we can once more be proud of.

What do you think?

Malaysian Issues

Malay Muslim - The Disillusioned and the Murtad

Islam stands pure as the only religion with the blessing of ALLAH S.W.T that was brought to us by our Prophet MUHAMAD (PBUH) through the miracle of AL QURAN and the HADIS. Here lies the fountain of wisdom for all sciences and arts, and source of inspiration for every aspect of our lives.

Islam is a religion, and all Muslim are followers of Islam. ISLAM IS BEAUTIFUL RELIGION. IT IS THE CONDUCT OF MUSLIM THAT TEND TO TARNISH THE IMAGE OF ISLAM.

There is no limit in the wisdom of Islam and the Quran. The limitation lies in our capacity to tap them and our unwillingness to apply the values and wisdom in all aspect of our daily lives…... beyond just the Islamic TEXTS (for example reading of YASIN, AL QURAN, etc. and RITUALS (for example pray 5 times a day, etc) .

We were borne with very little abilities but endowed with the capacity to develop many of our abilities, including our ability to learn. Learning becomes effective when one begins to ask QUESTIONS. Other important learning enablers are HOME and the ENVIRONMENT where one is exposed to LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES. Learning opportunities differ from home to home and from one environment to another. Thus the quality of the ANSWERS to the questions will also differ. Let’s use this scenario to analyze the issue of the disillusioned and the MURTAD.

We were borne as Muslim with the status of "Islam" being our religion. That status was formalized at the age of 12 when we received our identity cards. No formal "conversion" takes place. We are Muslim simply because our parents were also borne with the same identity. We embraced Islam as soon we learn to read the Quran, recited the DUA KALIMAH SHAHADAH and as we learned and started to pray. The quality of Islam among us differs according to the varying learning factors and exposures mentioned earlier. We were taught to read the Quran and pray five times a day. We learned the RUKUN ISLAM and RUKUN IMAN. We went through basically the texts and rituals of Islam.

I believe most Malays lack the awareness and understanding in the value and practice of Islam beyond the texts and rituals. Islamic teachings encompass guidelines that relates to FAMILY, COMMUNITY, ADMINISTRATION, SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, POLITICS, GOVERNMENT, LAW and ORDER, HEALTH, etc. We tend to apply very little ‘Islamic’ in those areas. Which explain why we hear the insinuation that "There are places with many Muslim like Malaysia and Indonesia, but not much Islam", or "Places with not many Muslim like Japan, Germany, Denmark, but so much Islam".

At this point I am tempted to illustrate two interesting examples, one being our Muslim leaders who are dedicated to the text and ritual of Islam, but their responsibility to eradicate the ever increasing corrupt practices in our country become apparently difficult when they are seen to be implicated as well, like money politics, etc.

Another example relates to our religious front. Our mosques are very popular venues especially for Friday prayers and for learning the texts and other rituals. It is not a sanctuary where individuals seek consultation or guidance on Islam. Where do we go to seek guidance when we get disillusioned? If you read those case 'stories' from the MURTAD website, you would want to ‘puke’ at the questions and problems they were facing. The QUESTIONS they have and how they find the ANSWERS. But can those individuals find the answers and the support they needed at our mosque?? I very much doubt it.

Mosque is the most accessible and convenient place for any Muslim to visit. It requires no formality and opens to all, but for years that we had been in and out of the Mosque, we never had any moment when an Imam greet and welcome us. No matter how regular we were, we were just another statistic who comes in and out to perform our prayers. Not that it matters, but the point I am making is the 'impersonal attitude’ of our religious culture. In fact we may even be expected to be ‘reprimanded’ at times when Friday KHUTBAH directed 'scolding' and 'sarcasm' at those in attendance, which were actually meant for the absent 'truants'.

Mosques CAN become natural venues to establish helpdesks for our disillusioned. We have sufficient quantities that we only need to add qualities. There won’t be any need for the government to come up with another bonanza budget to put this helpdesk notion to work. The religious authority need only to provide the major mosques in all states with a network of experts both in coaching skills and the knowledge of Islamic fundamentals to champion each local helpdesk. The next layer will be another network which consist of support groups given the task of any follow up works that may be deemed necessary. The support groups may ideally be volunteers coming from local intellectuals. We are never in short supply of retired local professionals who patronize the mosques within their community. They will make ideal and willing candidates for such voluntary deeds. We need to educate the officials of the mosques regarding the current issues and problems faced by the local Muslim, especially the disillusioned. They need to be trained to be customer friendly in order to assume the role of first contact person to arrange further help that may be required.

We need to draw up the mission, effective strategy, clear objectives and communication in place to drive and guide the members of local helpdesks. When we have young and fragile brothers and sisters needing help, they can call or go to any dedicated local mosque and request for help. The official will arrange the coaching session in an effort to resolve their disillusionment about life....... and ultimately about Islam?

Our religious department officials need to reinvent themselves in the way they project their role and image of Islam to the public.

• They should not be seen as only interested at catching people doing wrong. Instead of projecting their punitive image, a more caring and educating programs would be more welcomed. They should not be too hung up about issue of cosmetics (for example head scarf, dressing, etc.) but engage more in educating the values. It will require more time and patient, but the effect will be lasting and secure.

• Not to be obsessed on the use of deterrents such as the issuance of summon since it was a method adopted from the colonial, and caning is a way of the pagan era. We need to move with time. Education takes time but effective since it will make the person to be self driven.

• Need to formulate strategy to make Islam attractive both to Muslim and the Malaysian public. That Islam is not just about HARAM. It is not about marrying four wives or allows the beating of ‘errant’ wives.

• Muslim scholars need to do less with one way CERAMAH on television or other media. More customized and personalized programs need to be initiated to suit the prevailing problems faced by the disillusioned Muslim. They should stop thinking that one solution fits all. They need to be relevant. They need to walk their talk.

• They should not just react to problem when problem arise. They need to establish the intelligence network on MURTAD cases and tackle the situation early.

Muslim need to work together in spirit and value of Islam, and develop the culture of practice that is educative, sharing, caring and always relevant with time.

Wasalam.

What say you ?

Response to Matthias Chang open letter

I received this open letter through my email network, and I simply can't help but chip in my 2 cents response to its $ Trillion questions.

Read this open letter which is followed by my response:

Malaysia 2012 – Open Letter To All Muslim / Malay
Leaders In The Country
By Matthias Chang,
19th January 2012, Future Fastforward

In the last two years, under the hysteria of a pending General Election, several
prominent Muslim / Malay leaders from across the political divide have been
calling,

“Muslims must unite to survive or lose power.” The sub-text is “Malay must
unite or lose power.”

In the latest sub-plot, Zaini Hassan of Utusan Malaysia takes the view that a
Third Force comprising of PAS and UMNO religious elements will become the
power brokers in the country. He said, “Malay fence-sitters will be this wave’s
target to ensure that power is achieved.”

This frenzied call for unity was and continue to be a sinister ploy to create fear
first among the Muslim / Malay community and as a collateral outcome, a
paralysis within the non-Muslim community to discover the TRUTH about
Islam – to prevent them from grasping the fundamental truth that Islam is not,
has never and will never be opposed to their religious beliefs.

Both communities have been kept deliberately in a state of stupor and
ignorance so that they can be easily manipulated to serve the hidden
agendas of those who crave for power and wealth. Religion is but a tool.
I am a Catholic of Chinese descent. But, I am a Malaysian first and no one did
my family and I any favours when I became a citizen (by operation of law). My
ancestors were here in the then Malaya much earlier than many who claimed to
be Bumiputeras (sons of the soil). Just like the Native Indians in America and the
Aborigines in Australia, only the Orang Asli of Malaya can rightly and
constitutionally claim to be natives. They are the originals.

My citizenship is not as a result of any favours granted and or any social contract
agreed by UMNO, MCA and MIC or for that matter any organisation that fought
and negotiated with the Imperialist United Kingdom.

The citizenship that I enjoy with all my fellow Malaysians is the undisputed
recognition that all our forefathers, regardless of race and creed, have
toiled with blood, sweat and tears for the country and that all future
generations will do likewise as one nation.

The United Kingdom granted Malaya “Independence” not that we have become
civilised and able to govern ourselves, but because she feared that this “Jewel of
the Imperial Crown” would be lost forever as a result of the armed resistance of
all races to her oppressive colonial rule which drained whatever little that was
left in the vaults of the Bank of England after the Second World War.
The pound was no longer the world’s reserve currency. The dollar and the new
Imperial America ruled supreme. Like many countries in Africa and Asia, Malaya
was divided as to the path to be taken to achieve freedom from oppression and
colonial slavery. This division resulted in a civil war encouraged by external
powers locked in a life and death struggle for ideological supremacy, a struggle
now more commonly referred to as the Cold War. But it was a “hot war” for many
countries. There were victors on both sides of the ideological divide, and to them
went the spoils of war and the “undisputed right” to write the history of their
struggle as they deemed fit.

This is the political reality.

As a Malaysian, I do not fear any community for I do not distinguish one from
another as we are all Malaysians.

I do not feel insecure about my future or my children’s future, or my
grandchildren’s future. The destiny of the country is in our hands.
Before I pose my $Trillion question to all Muslim / Malay leaders of Malaysia, I
want to put on record certain undisputed political and economic realities so as
to enable one and all reading this article to come to their senses and not deny
reality no matter how unpleasant it is to some, and to expose the lies perpetrated
by the powers-that-be for the past few decades.

1. The Military is predominantly of one community – the Malay /
Muslim;
2. The Police Force is predominantly of one community – the Malay /
Muslim;
3. The Civil Service is predominantly of one community – the Malay /
Muslim;
4. The Government-linked Companies are predominantly of one
community – the Malay / Muslim;
5. The Agriculture Sector – specifically palm oil, rubber etc. is
predominantly controlled by one community – the Malay / Muslim;
6. The Banking Sector is controlled predominantly by one
community – the Malay / Muslim;
7. The Oil & Gas Sector is controlled predominantly via Petronas by
one community – the Malay / Muslim;
8. The Transportation Sector (airways, railways, shipping etc.) is
predominantly controlled by one community – the Malay / Muslim;
9. The Public Educational Sector is predominantly controlled by one
community – the Malay / Muslim; and
10. The Public Healthcare System is predominantly controlled by one
community – the Malay / Muslim.

Contrary to what you might be thinking, I applaud unreservedly all these
achievements by the Malay / Muslim community which were achieved under
the New Economic Policy (NEP) that was introduced by the Second Prime
Minister, the father of the present Prime Minister.

But for these spectacular achievements, there would not be a Malaysia as we
know it and we would have ended up as a banana republic living at the behest of
the so-called generosity of the European powers.

Of course there were mistakes along the way. Building and managing a country
is always a work-in-progress. There are no standard textbooks to tell us how to
develop a multi-racial, religious and cultural country such as Malaysia.
We all made sacrifices – every community had to adjust to the new realities and
adapt accordingly for the good of the country.

If truth be told, in my travels I have been frequently asked, “You are a Christian
and a minority in Malaysia. Aren’t you afraid of the Muslim majority, the
jihadists, the extremists, and their narrow outlook?”

This question begs another question, “Why are people so ignorant and so
bias to ask such a stupid question?”

But, this is the sad reality – the mindset of the brainwashed.
They thought that I ought to be fearful, fearful for my family and the insecure
future which a minority faces in most countries. They could not understand
why I was not fearful for myself, my family or our future. They could not
understand that there were no reasons to be fearful.

But, there were reasons to be angry and frustrated – that as a nation, we could
achieve much more, to be more disciplined, more united, more ambitious and
more daring to compete at the highest levels and succeed.
However, we stumbled just when we are about to take off to the next level of
excellence in nation building.

Why?

The $ Trillion Question
When Muslim / Malay leaders issue a call for Muslim / Malay unity, what are they
uniting for, to the exclusion of the other communities?
Are they uniting to face a common enemy?
Who are these enemies, internal or external?
What are their deep-rooted fears (if any) when they are in control of all the
organs of power and the economy?
Have there been any calls by the leaders of the Christian community to unite?
Have there been any calls by the leaders of the Hindu community to unite?
Have there been any calls by the leaders of the Buddhist community to unite?
Have there been calls by the above leaders to defend their faiths against Islam?
Have there been calls by the leaders of the non-Muslim / Malay community to
seize political power by unconstitutional means?
Have there been calls by the leaders of the non-Muslim / Malay community to
replace Islam as the official religion of the country?
Have there been calls by the leaders of the non-Muslim / Malay community to do
away with our unique system of Constitutional Monarchy whereby the Sultans
elect the Agong (the King) for a term of five years as the Head of State?
Have there been calls by the leaders of the non-Muslim / Malay community to
amend the Constitution to abolish all the above entrenched provisions?

SO WHEN THE LIKES OF THE TOXIC HASAN ALI OF PAS, IBRAHIM ALI OF
PERKASA, AND HIS COUNTER-PARTS IN UMNO (TOO MANY TO MENTION
HERE) CALL FOR MUSLIM / MALAY UNITY, PLEASE TELL ME AND MY
FAMILY WHAT ARE YOU UNITING FOR?

Tell me, are you uniting against people like me and those in my family?
Tell me in my face, AM I YOUR ENEMY?
I am a Catholic, am I your enemy?

And if my family and I are your enemies that you have to unite to put down,
please tell me why the Muslims in Palestine, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan,
Lebanon and elsewhere consider me their friend and brother and love me
and my family as such?

Tell me in my face and to my children, if I am your enemy, are you willing to
point a gun to my face, as the barbaric Israeli war criminals’ commandos
have done to me once in 2010 and again in 2011, when I went to Palestine
to defend my Muslim and Christian brothers and sisters and fight for their
freedom?

And if my family and I are not your enemies, then tell me, ARE YOU
WILLING TO UNITE AND GO TO PALESTINE TO FACE THE BARBARIC
ISRAELIS SO THAT TOGETHER WE MAY FREE THE PALESTINIANS –
MUSLIMS AND CHRISTIANS?

It has been reported in the mass media that the toxic Hasan Ali wants to join
forces with the elements in UMNO to establish a Third Force to defend the
Islamic faith.

I therefore call upon the Muslim / Malay leaders of the Barisan Nasional and the
Pakatan Rakyat, to tell me and my family (and all non-Muslims who support my
stand) whether you subscribe to the insidious politics of Hasan Ali, Ibrahim Ali
and religious fanatics within UMNO?

Once again, if truth be told, the non-Muslim community have more respect for
Tok Guru of PAS (notwithstanding that they may not necessarily agree with him
on all matters relating to politics) than any leader of the Barisan Nasional for his
simplicity and humility. Of course, he is not a saint.

And finally, after years of disinformation about Islam by certain quarters, the non-
Muslim community had overcome their fear of Islam, largely through the efforts of
Tok Guru and his exemplary lifestyle as a Muslim.

Again if truth be told, the deciding factor that convinced the non-Muslim
community that they need not fear Islam is the consistency and
steadfastness by which Tok Guru practices his faith and upholds the tenets
of Islam.

It is a sad day for Islam and Muslims that a non-entity such as Hasan Ali who has
not contributed one iota of effort to promote inter-faith understanding (but, on the
contrary has done more to alienate non-Muslims from Islam) is trying to
demonise this humble teacher with his allies within and without PAS and in
conjunction with fanatical elements in UMNO.

It is indeed ironic that our Prime Minister has just concluded a conference on
moderation, but has done little to ensure that the fear which the non-Muslim
community once had of Islam would not be instilled again by such fanatics.
If Barisan Nasional wants to remain as the ruling party, it better disassociate with
the likes of Hasan Ali and his allies in PAS and UMNO. PAS displayed
exceptional political courage in dismissing this ignorant fanatic from its ranks.
Does UMNO dare to do the same with its fanatic elements?
Finally, with regard to “Muslim / Malay Unity”, this is the kind of political oxymoron that deserves utter contempt.

UMNO, please look into the mirror and ask,

Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad was our leader. Yet, within weeks of his
retirement, we, who once kissed his hand with respect, and called him a
great Malay / Muslim leader set about to denounce and demonise him. Why
were we so disrespectful? Why did we not unite with him as our former
leader to continue developing our country?

Why, as Muslims and Malays, we consider the Chinese in Malaysia as
potential enemies (an economic 5th column), when they contribute over
80% of the national income tax, and play a vital role in our economic
development, BUT KOW TOW TO LEE KUAN YEW AND THE KIASU
CHINESE OF SINGAPORE?

Why, as Muslims / Malays, we unite against the Chinese in Malaysia, but
fight with each other to compete for favours, monies and “investments”
from the Chinese PAP of Singapore, a country that have close links with
Israel, the mortal enemy of Muslims?

In conclusion, and before any further calls are made for Muslim and Malay unity
to your “herds” of followers, re-examine your conduct and see how bloody stupid
and self-defeating this kind of bigotry has done to your cause.
And our Muslim / Malay leaders tell the whole world that Malaysia is a model
country for “moderation”, whatever that means!

Please do yourself a favour. Tell your so-called leaders for unity to stop this
charade!

The following are my reply:

My fellow Malaysian Mathias Chang did well in expressing the sharp and stark analysis
of the contemporary Malaysian politics. I have long suffered in silence the stupor and distaste toward the current political scenario, and share the concern as to where it will lead to. The scenario is certainly not pretty. Politics are never intended to look good except for its masters.

Considering his background, my fellow Malaysian is articulate and convincing in his
arguments and suggestions, but he had somehow missed several crucial points. Before
I dwell on those points, let me first offer 5 relevant political backgrounds:

1) Malaysian politics for the past 54 years is UMNO politics. UMNO dominates, set
the precedence and determine the political landscape. They set all the examples
on how the game should be played and won. Others adopt, adapt, adjust and
react to the 54 years of UMNO political environment. They behaved the way
they behaved in the process of seeking power, when they are in power and as
they sustain to stay in power… In politics, the ends justify the means.

2) ‘Bumiputra’ is political word invented by UMNO to expand the base of their
electorate. The survival and relevency of UMNO depends on the ‘Bumiputra’.

3) ‘Malay’ has become a confusing political status in UMNO politics. It is an original reference before the term ‘Bumiputra’ was used and still is the most explosive and indispensable component of UMNO politics.

4) Muslim must not be confused with Islam. The behavior of Muslims may not
necessarily reflect the teaching of Islam. There are Muslim leaders who seek
power in the name of Islam. The truth lies in their political agenda, their way of
life and their dealing with others. I am not too sure about Malay/Muslim, but I
dare say that no one should be afraid of Islam.

5) Malay/Muslim Unity is a long standing political agenda in UMNO politics. Quite
recently we were introduced to another slogan on Malaysian Unity in 1Malaysia.
The Singaporean, Indonesian and Thais may perhaps ask their $Trillion
questions.

Since the subject of unity becomes the core of my fellow Malaysian arguments and
suggestions, here are my 2 cents perspectives:

a) After 54 years of UMNO political dominance, Malay/Muslim Unity is still an
active, attractive and winning political slogan.

b) For 54 years UMNO strives in the scenarios described above. It is ironic that
the very reason they should be held accountable seem to be the reason for
their survival and relevancy. It is largely due to the loyalty of the Malays and
the non existence of any strong alternative political party. Thus the UMNO
political leaders kept harping on the Malay survival and unity to secure their
votes and continue holding power.

c) Hassan Ali, Ibrahim Ali and other ‘toxic’ elements that my fellow Malaysian
repeatedly referred to are politicians who grew and groomed by the political
environment described earlier. He and others reacted to the similar way the
political game was played to win. He and others advocated similar slogans -
Malay rights, Malay unity, etc. etc. Nothing new? No surprises? One can
criticize them for not being creative in their political agenda. I agree, but that
is exactly the profile of Malaysian politicians. If they did not scream those
sentiments, then nobody will vote for them. Period. I do not see any new
breed of Malaysian politicians who have the guts and attitude to be different.
We hear the same song being sung during the entire 54 years.

d) By the way, my fellow Malaysian surely knows that the term ‘unity’ has
positive connotation. Families use it. Sports use it. Schools use it. So does
commerce. It is applicable to any competitive situations. ‘Unity’ does not
necessarily mean ‘hostility’ towards one another. Family unity can simply
mean to gather collective strength to face life together. Football teams do the
same battle cry. Manchester United is excellent at doing that. Likewise
Malaysian political leaders and their party members can call for Malay,
Chinese, Indian unity to gather collective strength in order to face their
political foes in a battle to win election. That is how they play the game. To
equate Malay unity as hostility against other communities is a very serious
error.

Honestly, I see the greatest Malay/Muslim enemy is the Malay/Muslim
themselves. They have to be blamed for their own shortcomings. Not others.
So it is quite becoming for the Malays leaders to call for unity to gather
collective strength to interface and improve their weakness. How their
politicians want to do that is another issue altogether. UMNO has not been
very successful in doing it for 54 years. I am not sure who can. Anybody
think Hassan Ali can? As long Malaysia is surrounded with issues relating to
racial polarization and having leaders from all communities promoting similar
mindset, unity will always remain a political illusion…..and a popular agenda.

So my dear fellow Malaysian please be rest assured that Hassan Ali and the
gang may be toxic, but you and your family are definitely not his enemies.
The episode is simply a misinterpretation on your part. By the way, I do not
even know who Hassan Ali is, which is not important. You will witness many
more Hassan Ali profile as long as the current Malaysian politics prevail.

I rest my case.