So, you are an expert in this “belakang kira” business.

no, you gotta it wrong!

the sikh says to the indian muslim, “hey, kichi you go first kichi. saya belakang kira.”

That is the difference between “growing-up” and a “grown-up”. In a country like India, despite many of their shortcomings, a tamil-muslim is the president and a sikh is the prime-minister, both from minority groups. Perhaps, they all think of themselves as Indians.

In Malaysia, it is always convenient to keep the masses stupid and ignorant as long as it serves a purpose.

that’s another tuan. this one has big boobs

Ahaks ….I do not claim that the report as my own. All knew it’s from Bernama. Furthermore ..out there ..don’t think Malaysia law will extent that far..furthermore that very piece was posted all over by bloggers here in Malaysia. . Who are you kidding? ..Ahaks… one more time.

It is not exactly accurate to say that “choice or fate brought us all together”. The British did it by their “divide and rule” colonial policy, which is based on the simple premise that ‘the sun never sets on the British Empire”; so the Indians were sent to the rubber plantations, the Chinese became back breaking labour for the tin mines, and the Malays remained rural tenant farmers with the Malay aristocracy and elite as a separate class above the rest of us. It was not by choice certainly, but more by British design.

I am also not sure about fate, maybe economics (meaning better opportunities for both the Indians and the Chinese compared to what could be had in their respective homelands). It was more out of necessity.

It took the conviction, courage and the efforts of Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Abdul Razak, Tun Tan Chang Lock and his son, Tun Tan Siew Sin and Tun Sambanthan and their colleagues to convince the British that we could work together to build a united Malaya/Malaysia (after 1963), which can accommodate the interests of all the races.

Our nation was, therefore, built on the basis of a series of compromises between conflicting interests resulting in the “Merdeka Bargain” which was incorporated in the Constitution. It was Tun Tan Cheng Lock who argued that the Malays needed to be assisted because of their economic disadvantage compared to the Chinese and the Indians.

After 1957, we are together by choice based on certain expectations as embodied in that bargain. We became Malaysians by law, but our racial and cultural identities remained intact. Even our politics is still communal, and it is not likely to change in the foreseeable future. It is wishful thinking to say that diversity will disappear. It is more realistic for us to manage it as a strategic advantage.

The May 13, 1969 tragedy transformed our political and economic landscape. National Unity was uppermost in the minds of Tun Abdul Razak and his colleagues in the National Operations Council (NOC). The NEP was formulated, which legitimized state interventionism to eliminate the identification of race with economic function, and create conditions for the Malays to earn 30% share in our expanding economic cake via the creation of a Bumiputra Industrial and Commercial Group (Refer to Mid-Term Review of the 2MP and subsequent MPs).

SEDCs (State Development Corporations) and institutions like PERNAS, MARA and Bank Bumiputra were used for this purpose. A number of British companies like London Tin (later called Malaysia Mining Corporation), Sime Darby and Guthries, among others, were acquired by Pernas through its vehicle, Tradewinds. When he took over in 1981, Tun Dr. Mahathir introduced the Heavy Industries Programme with the creation of HICOM, the Look East Policy, and Malaysia Incorporated. Statist industrial policies were put in place and implemented with vigor.

After the recession of 1985-86, the Mahathir Government, however, rolled back the role of state/government in favour of the private sector through accelerated privatisation. This policy was successful up to a point. The economy recovered quickly. There was also a flipside. Critics argued that the privatization policy led to private monopolies which favoured UMNO cronies and friends.

While all this was going, Anwar Ibrahim, the Islamist, joined the Government. Inspired by the success of the Iranian Revolution, Anwar with the approval of the Tun and his Cabinet, introduced Islamic values in public administration. I think, this was the start of the “Arabization” of the Malays and the Islamic state idea, all intended to upstage PAS which had gained considerable political influence ( it peaked in the late 1990s).

Developments in the 1990s are quite familiar to all of you. We had the most severe crisis in 1997-98 which also led to the removal of Anwar from the BN and UMNO and his sojourn in Sungei Buloh. But the process of inculcating Islamic values continues under the present Administration. Let us hope with Islam Hadhari, it will be less virulent and disruptive.

The Malays became quite obsessed with being Islamic Malays, than being Malaysian. They became more isolated from the rest of Malaysian polity. The level of intolerance has since risen drastically: now, look at the UPM affair,the Inter-Faith Conference in Johore Bharu and calls for no more kongsi raya. The rest of our citizens are reacting to it, and by so doing so, further upping the stakes.

Every time there is a slowdown of the economy, issues which remain buried in the euphoria of the good times tend to resurface, as it now. This leads me to believe that the Merdeka Bargain remains unresolved.
Today, as reflected in the views expressed in this and other blogs, we have a crisis of sorts, and the flames of utlra-Malay nationalism, racial intolerance and religious exclusion are resurfacing.

So, Super-Amit, what you say makes sense to me, and allow me to quote you:

“…surely many of the Malays would be angry with the beratings and condescending attitudes of non-Malays who insist on the demolition of Malay rights…. and of course the current vilification of all things Islamic by non Malays ,and a minority of the so called Modern Malays will make things worse…. and of course the non-Malays insist that they are right in saying the NEP is “robbing” them…never mind that empirical evidence is not conclusive”.

Temperatures are high as the “other side” too is enraged. We need to call a time out to pause and reflect.

Thanks.

Pak Dolah is talking rubbish when he derided websites and bloggers. The recent UPM fracas, the topless-woman squat while in police custody, the Terenze Gomez saga, the MAS affair being played out now, the UK sports facility and several more would not have been revealed through mainstream news because these are being controlled. These became public knowledge thanks to the Inernet news sites and blogs. If Pak Lah means what he talks, just remove the Printing Press Act.

Of course, there is also rubbish being published on the internet at tmes, but we have sufficient maturity to handle that. And also the internet had not impacted everyone as yet.

After all, even Dr. Mahatir had to seek to the alternative internet news to air his views. Believe me, it will be wishful thinking and Pak Lah and the like will pay dearly if they continue to hold that belief as many of us believe that the next election or the one after that will be influenced predominantly by the internet. Mark my word. The psycological propaganda that this country revels at is past its age for two reasons. The fairly educated populace as opposed to the then illiterate and that it has no monopoly on news and information anymore.