Government's policies of protecting one
specific community has helped groom people with the twisted thinking
that they are a superior race
Need
there be more proof that the 1Malaysia concept, built by the Najib Tun
Razak government, is yet another failed policy? The recent outburst of a
pro-Barisan National speaker at a university forum that went viral is
the perfect example of this failure.
The first thing one reads when opening a PDF format of the 1Malaysia
booklet, found on the 1Malaysia.com website, is the following policy
declaration by the prime minister himself:
“1Malaysia is a concept to foster unity among Malaysians of all races
based on several important values that should be the practice of every
Malaysian.”
First of all, the launching of the concept by the BN made it clear
that the previous governments had failed in cementing the unity among
the diverse ethnic groups in Malaysia.
It was, in silence and under the cover of “unity”, an admission that
Malaysia had serious racial issues that needed to be ironed out. This
kind of admission was not seen under the administration of Dr Mahathir
Mohamad or Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
In the past, Malaysia was seen as a united country, with all the
ethnic groups behind the BN while only some disgruntled members of the
communities supported a divided opposition.
The opposition was always the culprit in attempting to divide the
nation, the races and stirring conflicts. Its members were always deemed
as “traitors” of the nation. This, of course, was BN ‘s way of
demonising the opposition.
Reversal of fortune
BN is still using the same policy in a bid to undermine the rise of
Pakatan Rakyat. Yet, the population in general seems to be unfazed by
these old, outdated and failed BN strategies.
In those days, it was easy for BN to portray the opposition as a
divided force and to win with two-thirds majority in Parliament.
Now the roles have reversed, and this reversal of fortune is damaging
to the BN. Sharifah Zohra Jabeen Syed Shah Miskin’s outburst, which was
caught on video and went viral, is only the tip of the iceberg of
racial division in Malaysia.
In the past, the Indian community was a voter bank for the BN. Only a
few brave political figures joined the opposition, championing the
Indian cause without much success for decades. It is not true to state
that the Indians have been 100% supporters of the BN since Independence.
It is also not true to state that the Indians were always behind the
MIC or that the MIC had the interest of the Indian community at heart.
However, what is certain is that a large section of the Indians were
behind the BN until 2008 when MIC got a bashing. Today, BN is in panic
mode and has been formulating policies to arrest its decline.
But these policies have failed, letting down the BN while the
communal division has become more serious than before. It is obvious
that the 1Malaysia concept has not helped in healing the divisions in
the country. On the contrary, government policies have caused a
mini-revolt among supporters of the BN regime.
Is BN listening?
The reason Sharifah Zohra lashed out at undergraduate KS Bawani is
that she felt she was from a stronger, more powerful community.
The government’s past policies of protecting one specific community
has helped groom people with the twisted thinking that they are superior
while others are inferior. Yet, despite all these policies, the
community is seen as weak, economically challenged and in need of
support.
Still, the community today is economically superior in many ways, and
politically stronger. This has sent some of hard core elements into a
racial frenzy. It is not the first time that you hear pro-BN speakers
urging non-Muslims to leave the country.
It is not the first time that we have been told to shut up, and
listen, listen, listen… since that defining year of 2008. There has been
a plethora of statements – racially biased and targeted at the
minorities – from teachers, professors, political figures and now
speakers at pro-BN events.
The failure of 1Malaysia to cement the diverse people into one nation
is not because of racist attacks on the minorities, but because of the
complete failure by the BN to take action against such racism. None of
the people, who are behind the racist slurs, were condemned or faced
disciplinary actions.
These people are always allowed to walk freely at the expense of
unity. With the authorities incapable of taking steps to stop the racial
bashing, the failure of the 1Malaysia concept becomes obvious. Could
this be one of the reasons why the BN may face a backlash in the coming
general election?
Since 2008, there have been too many strategic failures by the BN. But is BN listening?
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