Zaid Ibrahim has lamented the hijacking of Umno and denied that he is an apologist for the Chinese.

The former law minister noted how a good friend had questioned him about his defence of the Chinese community.

“I’m not anyone’s apologist. In my life, I have had good and bad experiences with all types of people, some of whom have been Chinese.

“I do not see ethnicity as the defining character of any person. I see people as people. Some are good and some are bad. It is as simple as that,” he said in his latest blog posting.

However, Zaid said when Umno leaders and delegates make ridiculous and dangerous allegations against the Chinese, then he felt compelled to speak up.

As for Umno’s recent general assembly and the performance of its leaders, the former party lawmaker said he is convinced that Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma), Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali and Umno’s sponsors have succeeded in “changing the once proud and great Malay political party into a senseless and directionless organisation.”

“It is sad to see the party - whose leaders once had vision and substance - transform into a motley band of angry men and women engaging in senseless attacks on the Chinese community in Malaysia.

“It has been a sad but defining moment for many Malays watching the awful performances of the delegates. We have always thought that, by their nature and religious upbringing, Malays are generally mild-mannered, moderate in their views and reasonable in their ways.

“That image has been destroyed by Umno,” he added.

Muhyiddin’s speech and ‘loony’ suggestion

Among others, Zaid cited the speech of Umno deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin, where the latter lambasted the private sector for not employing Malays, and if they did, the salaries were less than their non-Malay counterparts.

“We hear of this attack on the private sector at every assembly. But if the allegations are true, what has the government done about it? That should be the question. It is certainly a more positive way of looking at the problem.

“Umno is in government and is in a position to change the law or formulate new policies on employment so that discrimination ceases completely.

“Instead, Umno leaders and delegates choose to whine and complain. Why? Are they unwilling to enact anti-discrimination laws because they themselves discriminate against the Chinese in the public sector?” he asked.

Zaid also zeroed in on what he described as a “loony suggestion” that the Chinese do not know how to speak Bahasa Malaysia and therefore were unpatriotic.

“The proper observation is that the Chinese do know Bahasa Malaysia. Even in Chinese schools they have Bahasa Malaysia classes.

“In public universities they have to be good at Bahasa Malaysia if they want to succeed. The Chinese certainly know the language—they just choose not to use it. The question should be: why not?” he said.

Zaid, who was the former Kota Bharu MP, said if people are segregated into compartments and discouraged from close social interaction, naturally those who are segregated would speak amongst themselves in the language they are comfortable with.

“In our syariah-compliant country, we love to divide everything into some version of halal and non-halal.

“Those who are not syariah-compliant have little choice but to huddle together in the non-halal environment.

“Here, amongst themselves, they are naturally more comfortable speaking their own language—be it Chinese, English, Tamil, and so forth.

“Likewise, put a few Kelantanese together and they will go into their French-sounding dialect, but this does not mean they show no respect for Bahasa Malaysia,” he added.

Bringing religion into the sphere

The Chinese, Zaid said, have an immigrant heritage, and the first immigrants instinctively adapted themselves to live according to the ways of the local people.

He added that everywhere in the world, that is the behavior of first- and second-generation immigrants.

“Even in my early days many of my Chinese friends spoke good Malay and wore Malay dress by choice—they were not forced to do any of these things.

“And of course when we speak of Chinese Malaysians today, we are not dealing with first- or second-generation immigrants. We are dealing with Malaysians.

“But Umno Malays want to reshape and redefine the country so they bring religion into the public sphere.

“Now we have a situation where those who are not Syariah-compliant gravitate towards their own circles,” he added.

Zaid argued that if Umno is so keen to differentiate and classify the people of in this country and segregate them, then they cannot complain when people start to behave accordingly.

“I doubt Umno leaders have the ability to follow this argument, but others surely can.

“It is to the latter that I address this problem, because it is only the latter that can provide the solution. There is no hope in going to Umno for this,” he said.

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