The Malays came out from near and far on Malaysia Day to send a message that they are there to ‘save their dignity’ as a race. They came holding all sorts of placards with distorted facts of history demanding that the Chinese Malaysians or the new term now being coined which is ‘DAP Chinese’ must be taught a lesson for having questioned the unquestionable, which is the supreme right of the Malays.

Some came with placards warning Democratic Action Party (DAP) supremo Lim Kit Siang not to start another May 13th when in fact, Lim was not even in Kuala Lumpur on May 13, 1969, he was in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah and did not return to the federal capital for the next two days.

What does this show? It shows how lost the Malays have become after 46 years of having been given the boost and aid by the government which they dominate for their improvement and upliftment since the last racial clash on May 13, 1969 which was the bloodiest.

The young Malays of today seem to think that the last bloody clash was caused by Lim Kit Siang, when the poor man had nothing to do with it in the first place but as usual, when the United Malays National Organisation (Umno) is not doing well, it as usual blames the ethnic Chinese who support the DAP.

Economic reality

The reality of today is that one may wear a red shirt, pick up a placard and shout racially charged offensives on the ethnic Chinese on a given day, but wake up the next morning and lookout for the friendly Chinese Ah Long to borrow money from for necessities and sustenance for the week.

All one needs to do is to check the list of borrowers who borrow small sums from the Chinese Ah Longs and one will see what the ethnic break up is. The Malays form the majority.

Do the Chinese Ah Longs shun and chase them away when they come asking for money to borrow? No, they give because they know that it is the lifeline on which many families survive on from week to week till it is payday for these Malay borrowers. Can we now ask ourselves who saves whose dignity?

The automobile after-sales industry

The Chinese dominate the automobile servicing, tyre maintenance and auto accessories industry. The simple reason for this dominance is that they see opportunity whereas the Malays and Indians see it as a dirty and degrading job which will lower one's status in society.

One has yet to see a wholly owned and run tyre maintenance outlet by the Malays or the Indians in this past 40 over years despite all the financial aid given to the Malays if they so wish to get into the industry. With a large unemployed youth population, wouldn't it augur well for these Malay youths to venture into fields like tyre maintenance which will give them handsome returns if they are willing to put in the hard work?

The Malays still run to the Chinese to get their cars repaired and serviced, auto tyres and rims changed and accessories added. So if one comes to think of it, who really needs who in this situation? and what dignity to be saved are we talking about?

Real estate

If the Chinese don't build houses, how are the Malays going to buy them? The houses that we see along the rustic country roads are not built for mass sales to the public, it is the one-off makcik and pakcik houses which is made out of the concept of gotong royong in the kampungs. As these kampungs disappear slowly making way for plantations, golf courses and finally housing estates, who is behind these schemes?

There will definitely be at least one Chinese at every decision-making level of large, medium and small scale housing development companies in the country. Be it in Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan or Trengganu, the Malay hinterlands of the peninsula, the Chinese are the builders and the Malays are the consumers. Yes, there may be Malay shareholders here and there and the company may sound Malay in name but who runs the show and ensures the final result?

One has yet to see a Malay person’s name on real estate banners which are hung at every other new project or second hand property for sale. It is a totally Chinese-dominated industry. The Malays may be the lawyers, architects and the bankers who support these projects but at the end of the day, who builds and who profits finally?

The Malays had 46 years since the last racial clash to rectify and balance this ratio but has happened after almost five decades? Everything was at their disposal, political power and the money from the federal coffers but why haven’t the Malays made it big as builders? There are some, but not as what it ought to be when the entire government is in their hands.

So it’s more of the mindset and the attitudes which have yet to change in the past 46 years. If it continues like this, there will be more Malays who may come to the streets in another 46 years baying for Chinese blood accusing them of monopolising everything. So what dignity is there left to save? When there is no dignity in the first place?

The mindset

The rural Malays are still very much behind Umno and all its efforts to keep up its fledgling political fortunes. With a mass base support from the rural hinterlands of the peninsula and coupled with the cash that will be thrown around, it will not be surprising if Umno continues to hold sway in the next general election.

For these Malays as long as the doles are handed out and all efforts for self-improvement get the government stamp of approval like scholarships and business loans and grants, they just don’t give a damn what the leaders in the centre do or how much they have been accused of misappropriating. For these folks this is Malay dignity. That should never be questioned and it should always be maintained no matter how much it costs the party and its leaders.

When they hear of other Malay-led political parties talking about good governance, democracy, battling corruption, abuse of power and bettering the economy, it is alien to them because these parties don’t offer the most important ingredient, which is none other than the all important vitamin M (Money) which they can never seem to tire of.

The mindset is difficult to change because that is what they have been fed with as a staple mind diet ever since independence. This is the formula in which Umno can within a snap of a finger continuously create ‘red shirt’ rallies to oppose or cause or threaten to cause chaos on the thinking societies that know the truth.

The truth

We have to accept the fact that Malaysia’s geographical situation in itself tells us something, it is right in the centre of the shipping lanes that connect China in the East to India in the West. Therefore nature in itself is telling us that this is a place which was destined to be a melting pot and its diversity is what that will be its prosperity.

The Malays may far outnumber the ethnic Chinese here but what we have to realise and accept is that ethnic Chinese in countries that surround us control the economies in these respective countries, be it Singapore and Indonesia to the South and the West and Myanmar and Thailand in the North, these are the people that control the economy.

Therefore it would be far much better for us to learn to co-exist which in itself would bring far much more self earned dignity than to demand respect through threat of violence!

Just after the red shirt rally, Malacca and Guangzhou signed a memorandum of understanding to encourage tourism and trade between the two cities, why do this, if the Chinese are despised? Are the DAP Chinese any different from the Chinese in China? Aren’t the Chinese in China members of the Communist Party of China that rules the China of today?

How come we Malays here seem to hate the DAP Chinese so much but seem to love to trade with Communist China? Don’t both consume pork? If the Chinese are so much hated, why do we now see so many Malay families driving Chinese-made vehicles? Why do we seem to see Chinese-made vehicles whose prices are cheaper doing so well here? So aren’t we being hypocrites?

The people have matured, we want good governance, we are not interested in how the leader and his cabinet looks like, we want the job of governing done well. We want a government that we can trust not a government that robs. We want a government that unites and really means it when it wants us to unite. We want a government that respect its people’s diversity.

We want a government that allows its people to think and is not afraid to allow its people to become intelligent and capable.

Conclusion

The Malays have matured, they have been exposed and have evolved ever since the last racial blood bath 46 years ago. They know the real truth and know who started the last racial bloody clash. They know that they are being led by the incompetent amongst them. They know that the smart and capable amongst them are feared and not given the chance to progress and lead.

They, too, want change and want to be able to come out of the prefixed, state sanctioned mindset. Therefore it is not about dignity, it is the reality. It will be better if we come to terms with it.