We were wrong! Umno Baru has not forsaken the minority groups. Umno Baru does actually protect the endangered minority; the Umno Baruputra elite and the royalty.

 

The endangered minority are very small in number but the percentage of wealth they hold is great. Ordinary civil or syariah laws do not apply to them. So, this minority spreads distrust throughout the entire population. The sedition laws help to protect their species.

Ordinary Umno Baru members do not belong to the endangered minority, although many aspire to be like them.

Here are 10 tell-tale signs of the endangered minority:-

1. Religious police

The Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) allegedly arrested and tried to extort money from three women and a man for khalwat (close proximity). The man was helping the women shift the bulky furniture during a house move .

On the other hand, rich and powerful men are not ashamed to parade their mistresses in public. Recently, we read about the murder of an Estonian model , who was linked to one of the endangered minority. It is alleged that they weren’t just lovers, they were also regular drug users.

2. Boozing and the nightclub culture

Children of the endangered minority frequent the exclusive nightclubs in Kuala Lumpur. The security staff of many nightclubs are alleged to receive regular tip-offs about police raids. A signal, like the switching on-and-off of the lights in rapid succession, is a warning that the police are coming. Then, the back door, or fire-exit is unlocked, so Muslim patrons can make a quick exit.

 

In 2009, Kartika Dewi Sukarno, was persecuted for drinking beer . She wasn’t drunk, disturbing the peace, or driving under the influence of drink. The syariah courts wrecked her life. She would have been whipped, but for international condemnation.

3. Government contracts and tenders

Non-Malays assume that ordinary Malays have few problems tendering for government contracts. They are wrong!

Some ordinary Malays allege that people at the top, such as the pengarah or deputy minister, or minister, will send their middlemen to negotiate a price to ‘secure’ the bid. Discussions are usually held over ‘makan’.

One businessman said, “We were to discuss work requirements.  I ordered fried rice, the two men each ordered lobster. I spent so much money on ‘pre-tender negotiations’ that I was broke even before the contract was awarded. I declined the ‘arrangement’, and my name failed to make the final shortlist.”

A non-transparent and closed tendering process is another part of the package to help the endangered minority. We only hear about the contract, when the mainstream papers show the photo of the beaming CEO of the company signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU).

The endangered minority companies think big, with the construction of highways, transport links, air-traffic control systems and hospitals, worth billions of ringgits.

Ordinary Malays succeed when bidding to build a one-storey school, or a ‘ventilated improved pit’ (VIP) latrine.

4. Death and divorce

Only the endangered minority can authorise a ban on certain words, the disruption of a wedding, or the snatching of bodies before cremation. In one extraordinary case, an elderly woman was divorced, months after her husband had died.

5. Education

Places in good schools are always limited. International schools are out of reach of the ordinary Malaysians. As the endangered minority have little confidence in local schools, they send their children abroad for education.

Many poor children, who deserve scholarships, fight over limited places, as many have gone to the children of the endangered minority. There should be means testing for the receipt of aid, but in Malaysia, the family name carries more weight.

6. Taxi permits

Select individuals on the endangered minority list, own the taxi permits. It is as easy as printing money.

Ordinary Malaysians who want to be taxi-drivers are charged high rentals for the taxis. The working day is long and the returns are not attractive. They also have to endure sitting in vehicles which many people call “latrines on wheels”.

7. Flying

You and I frequent the local bazaar or shopping complex, but the endangered minority shop in London, New York, Paris, Los Angeles or the French Riviera. Some travel to check on their property investments.

To see how the privileged minority travel, go to Terminal Four at London’s Heathrow airport and watch what happens at the check-in counter for the national air carrier.

No one is cross when van-loads of cardboard boxes containing the shopping of one passenger are loaded into the hold, but most passengers object to the allegations that no excess baggage charges are levied.

Some people book an economy ticket, and try to invoke a ‘datuk’s’ name to get an upgrade. Despite the rules, staff are suckers and like to be associated with a ‘datuk’ or ‘datin’.

8. Security

In a closed community, we look-out for one another, and neighbours come to some arrangement when one is on holiday. Ordinary Malaysians with more money, live in gated communities which look like war-zones with barriers and security checkpoints.

The endangered minority have a 24-hour security detail and armed guards. The more pretentious have private armies.

9. Use of public facilities

The endangered minority appear to fund their children’s weddings with ‘donations’ from companies. Public venues and facilities like tents, chairs, tables, and traffic policemen help cut costs.

Ordinary Malaysians can only dream of gaining the use of public facilities.

10. Free travel

The endangered minority excel at arranging free and subsidised travel for themselves and their families. They call them ‘study trips’. These range from ‘studying’ agriculture techniques in East Asia, or ‘studying’ the stark beauty of Antarctica . A few arrange trips to Disneyland, to coincide with their children’s vacation. Others plan study trips, to indulge in their favourite hobby, golf.

The rest of us make do with the dead coral of the east coast of West Malaysia, or go to the French village near Janda Baik and pretend we are in France. Those craving more excitement venture to the islands of Sabah for an adrenalin rush - better than ‘The Call of Duty 4'.

MARIAM MOKHTAR is a defender of the truth, the admiral-general of the Green Bean Army and president of the Perak Liberation Organisation (PLO).