The Chinese of today in the country cannot be equated to the Chinese before independence. The present generation of Chinese were born and brought up in the country. They deserve to be treated like any other Malaysian born in this country. These are the people who have no other home other than this country (Tanah tumpahnya darah mereka).
When you say that the Chinese are ungrateful just because some of them would not vote for UMNO/Barisan Nasional (BN) in an election, then you should say the same to the 50 percent Malays who do not vote for UMNO/BN. Are the Malays then equally ungrateful to UMNO/BN? Looking into the Malaysian voter demographics, approximately 60 percent of the voters are Malays and others termed under Bumis. Almost 30 percent are Chinese and the rest Indians and other minority ethnic groups.
Even if the 30 percent of the Chinese voters do not vote for UMNO/BN it still equals the percentage of Malays who do not vote for UMNO/BN – since almost half of the Malays do not vote for UMNO/BN. By this account, should this mean that half of the Malay voters in the country are not grateful to BN/UMNO or the country?
The problem with some off-centred media analyses – for political motive, I should say - is that they are quick to brand Chinese voters who do not vote for UMNO/BN as ungrateful or some even describing them as racists or “anti-national”. Unfortunately, these analysts have failed or purposely decide to close an eye to let know what real happening on the ground is. They should be insightful enough to ask their “masters” as to why are the voters not supporting the serving government. There must be some understandable reasons to this symptom – political and non-political in nature.
Is UMNO the only Malay party
In many past elections the Chinese have given their support to PAS and PKR. The non-Malays perceive these two parties – also comprising of majority Malays – as more moderate than UMNO. UMNO should know this reality rather than trying to drum into people’s head that PAS is extreme and that PKR is a “tattered” party. UMNO should not blindly subscribe to “we are the only good ones and the others are bad” slogan.
These two parties – PAS and PKR - are truly Malay dominated party. They have thus far not raised matters that could hurt the feelings of the non-Malays unlike some UMNO politicians and pro-UMNO NGOS that have gone to the extent of demeaning the other ethnic groups. And for this reason, PAS and PKR are rightly perceived by many non-Malays as an alternative to UMNO/BN. UMNO should be aware that it is not the only party that represents the Malays in this country. UMNO, for that matter, only represents about 30 to 40 percent of the Malays who vote for them despite claiming to have a huge Malay membership.
But for political expediency and in a way to “scare the Malays” that Malays would lose power, they repeatedly use the media to revile the non-Malays as ungrateful if they do not vote for UMNO or BN. Some leaders have even kept on reminding the non-Malays of the 13th May incident of 1969 though this now has become history and would never happen again in the country.
Have UMNO/BN also realized that the Indians have been subtly marginalized for many years since independence despite the majority of them were supporting UMNO/BN? UMNO/BN is, indubitably, aware of this but some of the incumbent leaders prefer that this matter be hushed and not reported by the main stream media.The poor or marginalised Indians are suffering in the country and it has not really become an important agenda for the UMNO/BN government. The Indians - despite having some rich people among them - lack its own community support.
Expecting UMNO/BN to help them oftentimes would just end at the rhetoric level. They promise them “the moon and the stars” - expressed with fervour through political speeches and the government controlled media - before an election just to win votes. Beyond that, the poor Indians would not even get the chaff of the grain. A big chunk of the Indian population has remained poor for the past many decades.
Punching bag
The Chinese - being a resilient race - know that they are not very much favoured by some political and non-political groups in this country. It is mere jealousy, as they are generally perceived wealthier than the other ethnic groups. The majority of the Chinese in the country are rich, no doubt, and have the natural make-up to survive.
With some political parties dominated by the Chinese making inroads in Malaysian politics they have now become the punching bag for some UMNO-controlled media. There is always this erroneous and unfounded fear by at least one political group in the country that the Chinese will take over the country politically and economically. The media will drum this issue into the heads of the dominant race in the country with the hope that they are united against the Chinese and at the same time sow hatred feelings for the latter.
The sad part of it is that these politicians have failed – or intentionally ignored - to see how sincere many Chinese leaders are in helping to develop the country and build a better Malaysia for all the races. Instead of bashing the Chinese the other ethnic groups should be grateful to them. For instance, the feat accomplished by Lim Guan Eng, the Chief Minister of Penang, is unprecedented in Malaysian politics. He is a proven leader for all the races in the country. This man can even be a leader at the national level to see Malaysia achieve success and glory.
Not many Malay politicians – in UMNO, especially - would want to acknowledge this reality for some political reasons only best known to them. Why the prejudice based on one’s ethnicity? If a Chinese can deliver and make the other ethnic groups equally happy and progress, what’s wrong with him being a Chinese?
What help has the Umno-BN given
The Chinese as a race realise that they expect – or can expect - the least help from the government of the day but are ready to stand on their own feet to survive. For this ethnic group it’s a matter of survival against the “unfavourable political waves” in the country. They have survived for decades by being resilient and hard working.
For the past over 80 years they have helped build the nation. Walk into any town in the country and we can see it’s lively, robust and flourishing – all due to the Chinese people and their business enterprise. It cannot be denied that our towns and cities are generally built by the Chinese in this country. Just imagine without the Chinese in this country. Would we be as what we are today – economically sound and easy?
The rich Chinese provided the “cushioning effect” for the country during the 1998 economic crisis. They did not pack and leave the country when the country was adversely affected by the economic crash then. They even pay the highest business tax to help run the country. Indirectly, the Chinese are helping the other races and at the same time help develop the country.
Most Chinese are the no-nonsense type and they have made it in life through pure hard work. Nonetheless, there are also the poor among them. They need help. Is the UMNO/BN doing anything tangible to help the poor Chinese or, for that matter the poor Indians?
Apparently, it has been the Chinese community itself that has to pool in their resources to help their own kind. The Chinese perhaps can do this as they have the resources.
The Indians, unfortunately, cannot do so to help their own community as they have limited resources. The government on the other hand has all the resources to help the Malays with the help of other races.
Healthy politics
When government policies favour a single group the others will be disillusioned. When help does not come to the poor from the elected leaders or the government, the people will have a second thought to re-elect the same leaders or political party. Thus, the voters would vote against the incumbent UMNO/BN.
It is expected that voters would not vote for a government that could not help them or their community. The Chinese, in particular, are not asking for free lunch. They are taxpayers and they deserve to be served by the best representatives or party.
It is not that the Chinese are not grateful to the country they were born in but as a practical race they – as well as the other disgruntled ethnic groups - think that a government should do better to help them as well as the other ethnic groups in the country. Thus they cast their votes based on this premise.
In a democracy, let the people choose which party should represent them to lead. Let them choose BN or Pakatan Rakyat. The best party deserves the people’s votes. In the present scenario, it is not that the Chinese love UMNO/BN less but they love Pakatan Rakyat more.
This does not mean that they are ungrateful to their own country. It is mere healthy politics to seek the best for all Malaysians. It’s a pragmatic political move by any disgruntled ethnic group in any society, for that matter. - Malaysia Chronicle
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