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Non-Malays shouldn't worry about Utusan's ranting

I refer to the Malaysiakini report Zaid torches Utusan for stoking racial flames.

Ex-minister Zaid Ibrahim and Malays like him who are now indulging in a new blood sport ie, Utusan-bashing, seem to forget to ask one very important socio-political question and that is whether whatever Utusan is doing now an action of first instance or simply a reaction to what is happening to the Malay nation in general?

Where do the Malays stand today in so far as their politics, their economy, their social well- being, their religion, their customs etc are concerned?

Of course, Zaid and those Malays who are already in their comfort zones, despite the fact they flourished in essentially their own Malay markets, want the Malays to dump everything such as their own Bahasa Melayu and move on with the modern world, fight an equal fight, demand a level playing field blah blah blah.

Like Zaid, I am no great supporter of Utusan Malaysia either because many a time they were too scared to publish my letters because the editors told me that my letters were a bit extreme.

And yet Zaid is accusing Utusan of being extreme in their approach to news and comments and editorials.

Thus Utusan's so-called 'jihad' today must be seen in the light of what's happening in Malaysia's political landscape particularly after the last general election. Former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was quite oblivious to the ramifications of his blind liberal policies.

We all know that nobody would feel threatened if all the three of us are driving BMWs on the condition that A bought with his own money while I am merely driving a government or company car whereas in actual fact, I could only afford a second-hand Perdana.

Similarly, those three people flying First Class to London will have different ticket-purchasing history. Personally, I am getting more and more sad now when I see three people in a court of law for a trial. Chances are the Malay is the accused, the Chinese is the prosecuting officer and the Indian is the defence counsel (plus the magistrate or the judge).

Zaid should undertake a little chore ie, do a survey of the spending power of the Malays at posh shopping malls like Mid Valley and the Pavilion. Or he should perhaps go to Johor Baru and see for himself where the Malays stand in their own country.

In terms of politics Zaid should realise that as of now, it is the Malays who are becoming 'homeless' whereas the Chinese and Indians can walk into so many political parties and never feel uncomfortable. In fact, they could prosper very well starting from Lim Chong Eu or Lee Lam Thye who were once ‘extreme Chinese ‘in the DAP but now a Tan Sri and a Tun and enjoying the good life.

On the other hand, an Uman Malay cannot just walk into PAS or PKR or vice versa because the so-called struggles of these Malay parties are extremely different.

Let me ask Zaid this. Does he not feel angry or threatened when they have been calls for Chinese and Indian deputy prime ministers and there are now calls for Chin Peng to be allowed to return with all kinds of intellectual justifications to go with it?

One more thing, surely I am not the only one who can see that the Chinese and the Indians now have so much choice in joining political parties and radical NGOs with the Chinese having all their powerful clans associations and many other NGOs. Malay NGOs are generally pathetic and most of them are actually 'gendang kosong'.

Not only that, despite their poor showing in the general elections, Gerakan, the MCA and the MIC were still richly rewarded in ministerial posts causing many Umno members to think that the politics of Umno today seems to be forever trying to please the non-Malay voters who had perhaps absconded to the opposition forever.

I can go on until the cows come home, but let's confine ourselves to the media sector. For instance, while the ultra-extreme Utusan does employ non-Malay journalists, is this being reciprocated by the Chinese-owned dailies and monthlies despite the fact that their publications are also bought by the Malays?

Still, the non-Malays should never feel threatened by Utusan's ranting because the Malays will never follow the footsteps of the growing far-right sentiments in Europe and Australia. Somehow or rather, the goodwill and the accommodating nature of the Malays can be quite mind-boggling.

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