Friday, November 30, 2007

Malays are angry too

Umar Mukhtar

Nov 28, 07 6:22pm
The Indians are unhappy and angry. So are the Malays and we know it is pretty much the same with the Chinese, Kadazans and Ibans. What they are unhappy about is pretty much the same: A government that does not listen, an electoral process that is so questionable that it is not a real hope for change and the eventual destruction of a nation through the abuse of power by people in government.

By this measure, never have Malaysians been so united in the single cause of changing the way the nation is governed, no matter how much BN tries to spin communal tensions into this. It does not matter if Hishammuddin Hussein brings a million government supporters to the streets Mugabe-style. Like all simple-minded, self-serving myopics, he has missed the point. This is a democracy. Whilst numbers decide a lot, the government in power is still the government of all the people.

Just in case Khairy Jamaluddin and gang has not been made aware, by now they should have gotten the message that people are angry enough to risk their freedom and limbs.

A police force, with members who bullies, kills with dynamites and is corrupt at the highest levels, may be feared but certainly not respected enough for it to be an effective protector. An election that is a farce can never be a hope or even a valve for frustrations. Nor can a judiciary that can be bought and sold or a prime minister who sleeps on the job.

Of course, we can expect the government to listen only to its cronies and continue to believe the lies told to the simple kampung folks. But the people will find ways to make the government listen. In the absence of a fair electoral process, street marches are only one of the many avenues that the downtrodden have resorted - all over the world, throughout the centuries - including my forefathers in their fight for independence.

People like me are thankful to Bersih and Hindraf, not necessarily because I support their causes. Their bravery are the barometers of the people's anger and desperation. The government should listen hard or risk the consequences of a chaotic society when people lose hope. My family and I should not have to bear the inconvenience caused by a government that pushes the people beyond the limit.

Every decent Malaysian, with enough sense in his head, finds the government's lies in its media revolting and insulting our intelligence. The rest of us are blinded by some misguided sense of nationalism, racism and patriotism - messed up into some cheap rojak, spiced up with fear, insecurities and a huge ego that hides an inferiority complex. Every now and then, an expensive and glossy Petronas commercial is commissioned to tug at our hearts as if they depict real life in Malaysia today. How I really wish.

I have no time to justify a renters' economy, rationalise my leaders' indiscretions in the name of my race or turn a deaf ear to their arrogance so unbecoming of my culture.

I am a Malay and proud of it until you guys made into a lunch ticket. I am angry.

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