YOURSAY ‘Umno-style apartheid is unlikely to come to an end in Malaysia, as long as Umno continues to stay in power through fraudulent elections.’

'Loyar buruk' Surendran raises Ku Nan's ire

Shanandoah: The problem is, Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor doesn't understand stupidity.

When world leaders, past and present, numbering nearly 100 attended the tribute to Nelson Mandela, Malaysia sends an idiot from the smallest parliamentary constituency who won his seat in Parliament with about 7,000 votes.

His presence insulted a great man - a giant of our times. What excuse have the PM and his deputy for not being there?

Kingfisher: PKR vice-president N Surendran is a rare and surely a laudable example of a legislator who speaks the truth. He has some similarity to the Mandela of younger days.

Many Malaysians would wish for Surendran's well-being so that he can continue articulating the peoples' real-life grievances in what many see as an unfair and distorted political culture.

Fogbom: Apartheid (Afrikaner for separateness) was a system of legal racial, economic and social segregation enforced by the government of South Africa between 1948 and 1994, under which the majority 'non-white' inhabitants of South Africa were dominated and oppressed, while the rights and privileges of white people were maintained.

Any state using segregation laws, racial discrimination and racially-based policies could be found guilty of the crime of apartheid.

Malaysia's formation in 1957 is embodied in the Reid Constitution. At that time, apartheid was not yet identified as a crime within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court at The Hague.

The powers-that-be will argue that the institutional racialism that we have is either not apartheid, or in any case, not inhumane, since provision is made for the minorities that are discriminated against.

Will expert legal minds like Tommy Thomas and Prof Abdul Aziz Bari think this through? I await their analyses in trembling anticipation.

Yeoh Chee Weng: Chinese (even Malay) parents are having their children educated in Chinese schools because:

1) The standard of teaching, knowledge, and communication skills is higher than in national schools.

2) There is no attempt to impose Islamic values, and other subtle Islamisation agenda in the curriculum.

3) Mandarin has more international advantage than Bahasa Malaysia.

4) The teachers are more dedicated and non-discriminating.

I wish rich Chinese can set up a fund to help the poor Indians and Malays to enrol in Chinese schools, which unfortunately are overflowing to the brim, for such is their popularity.  

When the opposition takes over the government and the education system is thoroughly revamped to redress the points raised above, then the Chinese schools will gradually lose appeal.        

Pemerhati: Umno uses words such as bumiputera, NEP (New Economic Policy), NEM (New Economic Model) and BEE (Bumiputera Economic Empowerment) to implement its apartheid-like policies.

Umno’s aim is to use these policies to give some crumbs to the majority group and make that group happy, then get their votes during elections to stay in power and steal billions of the people’s money.

As a result of Umno’s racist recruitment policies, about a million Malays have obtained public sector jobs, but it has resulted in a sharp drop in standards in all fields as a lot of useless and incompetent people have been hired.

Consequently, all the 29 million Malaysians, more than half of whom are Malays, are suffering. The Malays are slowly wising up to the Umno crooks and turning against them, as shown by the 13th general election, where BN only managed to get 47 percent of the popular vote.

But Umno-style apartheid is unlikely to come to an end in Malaysia as long as Umno continues to stay in power through fraudulent elections.

Onyourtoes: That easy? By attending the tribute ceremony for Mandela's can exonerate all the inequality and unfairness perpetrated and perpetuated by Umno for the past five decades?  

We don’t label Umno ministers nincompoops for nothing. Most of them think there is a simple and elegant solution to a complex problem and situation.  

By the way, taxation without representation is also a form of apartheid, which you have just done with the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur through the assessment rate increase.

CiViC: Thank you Tengku Adnan. Now we truly know what a "loyar buruk" is. If Surendran is gaining popularity by likening Umno to the apartheid system, then there must be some truth in it.

Worried Sick: Ku Nan, I bet you this 'loyar buruk' will make mince meat of you if you dare challenge him in a mixed constituency in an election. Take a bet?

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