Racial And Religious Divisions

Judging from some of the comments made by individuals about other races, it is so evident that the harmony and unity between races in Malaysia is nothing but a farce.

Obviously, the lack of communication is to be blamed. Only the Malays were able to say inflamatory things without fear of being arrested - the same could not be applied to the Indians and Chinese.

And so, a lot of us hid our hate and resentment inside, quietly gloating when the Malays fumbled and voicing our dissatisfaction within our own factions.

Unfortunately, this is exactly what the UMNO government wants.

It's part of the divide and conquer policy.

The Malays have been brainwashed into thinking they are stupid. That they cannot survive without their crutches, that is their special rights. And most of them fear that they will suffer if these rights are taken away.


But not all of them are stupid. In getting to know more people online, I have come to greatly respect some of my Malay brothers and sisters, who could probably take me on anyday when it comes to ability and intellect.

The problem with us Chinese and Indians is that we think the Malays are to be tolerated as inferior, not engaged as equals. This is where we screw up.

I could go on and on with a list of names: Haris Ibrahim, Raja Petra Kamarudin, Farish Noor, M. Bakri Musa, and now Noor Aza Othman. These Malays are aware that their kind are being manipulated and are finally speaking up.

I particularly like this piece by Noor Aza:

Umno stirring up racial-religious division

Noor Aza Othman Dec 7, 07 5:18pm
It seems like true democracy in Malaysia is continuously being tramped upon by the “penyangak” or crooks from the capitalist government, especially leaders from the main ruling party Umno. They use the minority Indians as scapegoats to justify such injustices.

As reported by Malaysiakini, Hindraf supporters are currently being charged by the Malaysian attorney-general for attempted murder and causing damage to public property during the Indian community’s peaceful protest on Nov 25 to highlight the plight of poor Indian communities and to demand equal rights denied under the New Economic Policy (NEP).

Out of the 99 convicted protestors mostly from poor communities, 31 of them are slapped with an additional absurd and unjust charge of attempted murder, and upon conviction the accused is liable to a maximum of 20 years jail. And yesterday, they have been denied bail unjustly.

The prime minister has also warned that the government will revert to using the Internal Security Act to prevent public protests. ISA provides for “preventive detention” without trial for an indefinite period. The Peoples’ Freedom Walk organised by the Bar Council on Dec 9 in conjunction with International Human Rights Day was forced to be called off.

Malaysian politics is dominated by divisively racist ideology. The ruling parties, especially Umno, has adopted the British imperialist’s legacy and exploited such manipulative divide-and-rule strategies in order to entrenched the capitalist class’ hegemonic power.

Umno’s ideology is based on the racist ‘Ketuanan Melayu’ to brainwash the Malay-Muslim majority ethnic group in Malaysia. The Malay race is automatically defined as Muslims in the Constitution whereas the ancient Malay civilisation originally consists of diverse religious faiths. For example, Balinese Malays were Hindus, Filipino Malays were mostly Catholic and so on.

Due to their currently waning power and influence amidst the non-Malay communities especially from the increasingly conscious younger generation, it seems that Umno leaders are possibly stirring up more racial-religious division and hatred. It is to continue brainwashing the Malay-Muslim masses to go on uncritically supporting such leaders. This is why a Malay ex-chief minister has made a racist and barbaric remark for the Malays to take out their parangs to defend the supreme ideology.

I believe if that we only break the barriers of our racial divide and without getting emotional or angry, debate these matters calmly, much could be achieved.

Do it with love.

Do it in the best interests of your Malay friend. They are also citizens of this country.

And they have such wonderful characteristics if you only get to know them. I have not met any race more hospitable. None as creative with decorations. The list goes on.

But right now, they're at the bad end of this sour deal and they don't know it. While we Chinese and Indians are able to compete on a global level, some of the Malays, due to their crutches are only limited to our shores.

Imagine how rotten that must feel.

ALL OF US, need to make a difference and a change. Not for ourselves at this present moment, but for our future.