Politicians often speak from both sides of their mouths. The PM recently said that it was the religious duty of Muslims to be united.
No doubt this is true and there is nothing wrong with Muslims in Malaysia sitting down and discussing important issues that affect that community.
Similarly, there is nothing wrong if those who believe in non-racialism to sit down to find ways to unite all Malaysians regardless of race.
The problem is timing. If it is a religious duty, why now and not before?
umno 63 anniversary dinner 110509 03Previously, when Umno controlled a huge majority in parliament, they did not offer to share power with PAS.
They even sneered at PKR’s sole representative in the 2004 parliament, thinking that party was a bleep and headed for political oblivion.
Now, much weakened, Umno is throwing the olive branch at PAS, hoping to snare some sort of positive response.
Similarly, the MCA is also extending a friendly hand to the DAP, which it insists is a Chinese party. But what has been sustaining the DAP throughout the years is its non-sectarian framework.
It has allowed Lim Kit Siang to hold his head up when talking about issues of national importance.
The PKFZ scandal, which the BN has consigned to the MCA, is one such national issue that is daily sinking the MCA.
In short, why is national unity only possible if Malays, Chinese and Indians came together in their ethnic silos and then be governed by the “social contract” determined by Umno? It just does not make any sense.
By the way, the so-called “social-contract” is not about special privileges but rather built on the ultimate purpose of securing real national unity, where each citizen has an equal chance at life.
Alliance leaders like Tan Sri Athi Nahappan understood this very well.
It was he who said that non-Malays should not grudge the Malays the opportunity to improve their material well-being.
Walking a tight rope
For the sake of everyone, those Malaysians who began with a lower economic base must be assisted.
This is what is meant by having a “1Malaysia” mindset.
At no time since independence, at least to my knowledge, has a sitting Malaysian PM, called for the unity of one particular ethnic or religious group.
Being PM in a multi-ethnic country is like walking a tight-rope. As Dr Mahathir once said, it is a balancing act keeping everyone as happy as possible where no one community is more happy than the other.
So, how does the PM now expect non-Malays and non-Muslims to feel included if at the core of “1Malaysia” is Malay unity first and foremost.
One would like to give the PM the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps, he meant that we should all be united and that was why the olive branch is still extended to PAS.
najib pc on nizar jamaluddin perak court case results 110509 02Whilst it may be Najib’s (right) religious duty to keep an open mind when it comes to Muslim unity, he should also remember that it is his civic duty, his duty to the country, to unite all Malaysians.
But can a BN PM really achieve this? The BN was a creature of expediency. From the start, it was an expansion of the race-based Alliance.
Gerakan and other small non-sectarian political parties that joined it were unusual bedfellows.
One can say that the BN is a political hybrid, comprising a mishmash of political ideologies held together by the power of patronage.
Without federal or state power, the gel that holds things together comes apart. It is also a framework that makes it necessary for one dominating party, in this case the Umno.
For most of the past three decades, this arrangement has worked well. All political rivalries were internally-solved. With each passing election, Umno’s position grew stronger.
But this framework also had its weaknesses.
One was the creation of intra-party conflicts as politicians battled for positions within each of the component parties.
A single political body
And after a long time in power, these political positions became akin to fiefdoms, passed down to those most “loyal” to the party.
In most cases, individuals who got promoted were more loyal to the leader than to the party’s principles.
Abdullah Badawi is a classic example.
What has all this got to do with the PM’s call for Muslim unity? It reflects what will happen to PAS if it got into bed with Umno.
For now the picture is rosy. There will be ministerial positions and even some long term gains, like certain states which will be allotted to PAS.
The good thing is that we have now the benefit of hindsight. Nearly four decades of BN rule reveals that the model is ultimately unsustainable and whilst component parties may be strong and popular when they enter into BN (if not they would not be welcome), they soon lose their lustre (see MCA, MIC) and their reason for being (PPP, Gerakan).
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has it right when he suggested after the 2008 election results that the BN consider merging and becoming a single political party.
Chua Soi Lek has been given the unenviable task of creating more space for component parties to work together in Pakatan-held states.
For longer term measures, the BN has to seriously begin functioning more equitably.
Perhaps that was what Dr Lim Chong Eu had in mind when he discussed the BN proposal with Tun Razak.
Both men hoped that through the BN, that elusive Malaysian national unity would be achieved.
So, whilst it is not my place to cast a negative light on Muslim unity, it might be good if the PM extended his vision to include the rest of us.
Malaysians must begin to realize that there is nothing wrong in being of a particular ethnic group, religious belief, economic class, educational background and gender.
All of these labels help define us. It is only by acknowledging the complexity of Malaysia that we can eventually become more united.
MI
25/06/09
No doubt this is true and there is nothing wrong with Muslims in Malaysia sitting down and discussing important issues that affect that community.
Similarly, there is nothing wrong if those who believe in non-racialism to sit down to find ways to unite all Malaysians regardless of race.
The problem is timing. If it is a religious duty, why now and not before?
umno 63 anniversary dinner 110509 03Previously, when Umno controlled a huge majority in parliament, they did not offer to share power with PAS.
They even sneered at PKR’s sole representative in the 2004 parliament, thinking that party was a bleep and headed for political oblivion.
Now, much weakened, Umno is throwing the olive branch at PAS, hoping to snare some sort of positive response.
Similarly, the MCA is also extending a friendly hand to the DAP, which it insists is a Chinese party. But what has been sustaining the DAP throughout the years is its non-sectarian framework.
It has allowed Lim Kit Siang to hold his head up when talking about issues of national importance.
The PKFZ scandal, which the BN has consigned to the MCA, is one such national issue that is daily sinking the MCA.
In short, why is national unity only possible if Malays, Chinese and Indians came together in their ethnic silos and then be governed by the “social contract” determined by Umno? It just does not make any sense.
By the way, the so-called “social-contract” is not about special privileges but rather built on the ultimate purpose of securing real national unity, where each citizen has an equal chance at life.
Alliance leaders like Tan Sri Athi Nahappan understood this very well.
It was he who said that non-Malays should not grudge the Malays the opportunity to improve their material well-being.
Walking a tight rope
For the sake of everyone, those Malaysians who began with a lower economic base must be assisted.
This is what is meant by having a “1Malaysia” mindset.
At no time since independence, at least to my knowledge, has a sitting Malaysian PM, called for the unity of one particular ethnic or religious group.
Being PM in a multi-ethnic country is like walking a tight-rope. As Dr Mahathir once said, it is a balancing act keeping everyone as happy as possible where no one community is more happy than the other.
So, how does the PM now expect non-Malays and non-Muslims to feel included if at the core of “1Malaysia” is Malay unity first and foremost.
One would like to give the PM the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps, he meant that we should all be united and that was why the olive branch is still extended to PAS.
najib pc on nizar jamaluddin perak court case results 110509 02Whilst it may be Najib’s (right) religious duty to keep an open mind when it comes to Muslim unity, he should also remember that it is his civic duty, his duty to the country, to unite all Malaysians.
But can a BN PM really achieve this? The BN was a creature of expediency. From the start, it was an expansion of the race-based Alliance.
Gerakan and other small non-sectarian political parties that joined it were unusual bedfellows.
One can say that the BN is a political hybrid, comprising a mishmash of political ideologies held together by the power of patronage.
Without federal or state power, the gel that holds things together comes apart. It is also a framework that makes it necessary for one dominating party, in this case the Umno.
For most of the past three decades, this arrangement has worked well. All political rivalries were internally-solved. With each passing election, Umno’s position grew stronger.
But this framework also had its weaknesses.
One was the creation of intra-party conflicts as politicians battled for positions within each of the component parties.
A single political body
And after a long time in power, these political positions became akin to fiefdoms, passed down to those most “loyal” to the party.
In most cases, individuals who got promoted were more loyal to the leader than to the party’s principles.
Abdullah Badawi is a classic example.
What has all this got to do with the PM’s call for Muslim unity? It reflects what will happen to PAS if it got into bed with Umno.
For now the picture is rosy. There will be ministerial positions and even some long term gains, like certain states which will be allotted to PAS.
The good thing is that we have now the benefit of hindsight. Nearly four decades of BN rule reveals that the model is ultimately unsustainable and whilst component parties may be strong and popular when they enter into BN (if not they would not be welcome), they soon lose their lustre (see MCA, MIC) and their reason for being (PPP, Gerakan).
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has it right when he suggested after the 2008 election results that the BN consider merging and becoming a single political party.
Chua Soi Lek has been given the unenviable task of creating more space for component parties to work together in Pakatan-held states.
For longer term measures, the BN has to seriously begin functioning more equitably.
Perhaps that was what Dr Lim Chong Eu had in mind when he discussed the BN proposal with Tun Razak.
Both men hoped that through the BN, that elusive Malaysian national unity would be achieved.
So, whilst it is not my place to cast a negative light on Muslim unity, it might be good if the PM extended his vision to include the rest of us.
Malaysians must begin to realize that there is nothing wrong in being of a particular ethnic group, religious belief, economic class, educational background and gender.
All of these labels help define us. It is only by acknowledging the complexity of Malaysia that we can eventually become more united.
MI
25/06/09
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