YOURSAY | ‘This message by such a prominent ‘tokoh Melayu’ is important in no small way.’

Daim denounces 'Malays under threat' as nonsensical political rhetoric

Salam: Thank you, former finance minister Daim Zainuddin, for picking out the thoughts of many moderate Malays and people of this country and saying it eloquently.

The stupid and dangerous political game of using race and religion by many parties (including netizens) has the same goal - to create fear, which is irrational, empty of substance or basis, and not grounded in fact.

Fear leads to insecurity, which then leads to instability, which is then taken advantage of by the unscrupulous with personal agendas that have nothing to do with any sincere intention to bring peace and prosperity to all the people of Malaysia.

I'm a Malay. Daim is right. We have nothing to fear. What I wish for is that the Pakatan Harapan government will develop a new socioeconomic policy based on B40 rights and not on bumiputera rights.

Bumiputera rights are not organic or embedded in Malay culture or history. It is an affirmative action mechanism to correct a socioeconomic imbalance that was appropriate for its time, but not for current times.

Malays must progress now to higher thinking and higher aspirations of giving a leg up to all communities in need.

This would be an achievement to be proud of. And this is far more consistent with the teachings of our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah swt be upon him), who taught us 1,400 years ago that there is no supremacy of one race over another, only those who are always conscious that God will take all our actions into account when we are before Him.

Kim Quek: What a historic speech by Daim. Will the PAS-Umno power clique – who are playing the racial and religious cards to the hilt to grab political power at all costs – have the courage and intellect to respond meaningfully to this speech?

Coming on the heels of Housing and Local Government Deputy Minister Raja Kamarul Bahrin Shah’s great statement on the Christchurch killings to expose the hypocrisy of the same power clique, Daim’s speech is indeed refreshing.

It is hoped that these successive articulations will set a new trend of prominent Malay leaders standing up promptly to air the truth on these issues to the Malay populace. It is also hoped that government media like RTM and Bernama will give due coverage to such news.

It is only when the majority of Malays are enlightened about these political and religious truths that Malaysia will achieve political maturity to move forward strongly as a nation.

Quo Vadis: Is there not a critical problem of identity, and is it not the case that to be perceived as victim, is to be cloistered in a customised comfort zone of one's making, to continue to be exploited, to be kept in crutches by the corrupt and the power-hungry demons for whom varying truth is a time-worn, acceptable practice?

How can you deal with this situation appropriately unless the education system is revamped, unless critical thinking is fostered and respect for oneself and respect for fellow-beings internalised by word and by deed?

How do you eliminate practices in our schools that could be considered demeaning? Can you ignore the development of human resources?

Changes in identity perception cannot be wrought in the twinkling of an eye - it may well require a generation or more to come to pass. No?

Let Truth and Justice Prevail: I believe there are a lot of pertinent and important historical facts in Daim’s speech, which Education Minister Maszlee Malik should take keen note of and do the necessary to incorporate into school textbooks for posterity and for future generations of Malaysians, not just the Malays, to know and be truly proud of.

Mohd Isnin: Actually we Malays are under threat from the religious/racial extremists who come in the form of PAS and Umno.

The very presence of these two parties has dealt a killer blow to our development, progress and mindset. These two parties are the greatest enemy of the Malay-Muslim majority of this country.

We have now learnt to be dishonest, arrogant and are made up of people who have lost our integrity and can't even differentiate right from wrong. This is the greatest damage done by these two parties to cover up their wrongdoings over the years.

Existential Turd: Malays are not threatened by external forces or the non-Malays. Malays are under threat from within their own rank and file. Umno, PAS and Bersatu are the sources of their weakness, not their strength.

Daim's speech is only for the consumption of the non-Malays. The more important thing is to observe whether they are walking the talk.

Drngsc: Dear Daim, are you convinced about what you said, yourself? If so, can you please convince your fellow colleagues in the cabinet and your own political party about the same matters?

Please walk the talk, and lead the narrative. Try very hard to change the Malay mindset. Do not use race and religion in politics. That will help a great deal. Let us all be Malaysians and help all in need, regardless of race.

Ipohcrite: I must thank Daim for sharing his thoughts on the oft-repeated claim that the Malays are under threat. However, one lone voice cannot turn the tide of a siege mentality.

Hence, I wish more prominent Malay personalities, especially those in academia, would come out to support his views.

While we are at it, it is also important that there is a rational discourse on Article 153 of our constitution and what it really stands for.

As it is, so many desperate politicians have imposed their own interpretations of what this Article really means and caused generations of Malays to be indoctrinated with beliefs that are far from what our founding fathers had intended when they framed the constitution.

The often-bandied cries - “Do not question the special rights of the Malays”, and “Do not question the supremacy of Islam” - say it all.

Lodestar: Daim deserves a gold medal for this speech. We need more of this from Harapan leaders to counter the poisonous narrative spewed by Umno and PAS in order to gain power.

The government should wake up to the fact that the rhetoric on race and religion is working and requires strong counter-measures. But trying to compete with the liars by adopting ultra-Malay and ultra-Islamic policies is definitely not the answer for Harapan.

Hplooi: This, in my opinion, is one small step (small though it may be). Back in the early days of "social media" (newsgroups, message boards in the late 1990s) up until the birth of Malaysiakini in 1999, "Kalau tak suka, keluar" (If you don’t like it, get out) was mainstream within the Malay polity. Few Malays would dare speak up against such one-sided, hate-filled rhetoric.

Remember the cow-head incident in Shah Alam, circa 2009? Few 'tokoh Melayu' (prominent Malay figures) spoke up then. Those who did would have been quickly shouted down by the "majority".

For decades, from the 1970s to 1980s, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang would be trying to draw attention to this growing divide exemplified by the increasing "brain drain" in Parliament. And the retort would always be "good riddance", followed by "Kalau tak suka, keluar".

So just this message alone by such a prominent 'tokoh Melayu' is important in no small way.

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