Dear All (Malaysians),
My mother always said, and I agree with her at least on this, that even when people were pissed while Mahathir was our PM and they said he was too strict, too this, too that, even so, comparing him to Pak Lah, it’s like choosing between the devil and the deep blue sea. In my personal opinion, our country did ‘reasonably’ well both economically and politically under Mahathir… a condition that seems to be absent these days…
Has anyone read the news yet? About those racist comments Ahmad Ismail (Bukit Bendera chief of UMNO) made against the chinese? Here’s a quote from The Star Online…
“Ahmad had allegedly called the Chinese pendatang (immigrants) and was also reported to have said that “as the Chinese were only immigrants it was impossible to achieve equal rights amongst races” during a ceramah in Permatang Pauh in Aug 25.
He had allegedly uttered the remarks in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Penang Gerakan Youth committee member Dr Thor Teong Gee lambasted Ahmad and charged that Umno was still using racial ideology to achieve its own personal political agenda.
Bukit Mertajam MCA division chairman Lau Chiek Tuan called for disciplinary action against Ahmad.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s political secretary Ng Wei Aik also called on Ahmad to immediately retract his statement and apologise to the community.
Ahmad could not be reached for comment.”
And all our PM had to say was,
“I will tell him not to do it again. You know in a campaign all sorts of things can come up. I don’t think he meant it. I’ll make sure to tell him not to use it again.”
Is a public apology even going to be enough? Firstly I doubt it would be sincere… and assuming it was, i don’t think it’s enough to make the people happy. If the races’ roles were reversed and it was for example, an MCA chief or a minority party chief for that matter, saying something like that about the MALAY heritage, would they get away with it so easily? I don’t think so! If you’re trying to convince me that yes you (assuming u are malay) would forgive him/her so easily, there’s a 99.999% chance you’re trying to fool me, yourself and the rest of the world. Politics is just an ugly battleground for the rich and the powerful who can use the little people like Army Men.
Even if this comment DIDN’T come up in a heated campaign and even if it WASN’T the month of our independence, i don’t think this kind of comment should be allowed to slide just like that.
Mr Ahmad Ismail, if you can find DEFINITE proof that the Malays are really all from this land of Malaya (and this source is an independant source ie not from Malaysia), maybe then the burden of your actions on that 25th of August 2008 would not be so heavy. Probably lighter by a feather’s weight. Did your forefathers DEFINITELY come from a small village in Malaya?… Are you sure? I am not saying that there are no real natives amongst the bumiputeras in our country today.. but are ALL of them definitely from this land? I know I’m speaking really kiddy now, but how else do you speak to immature people? It’s like explaining hydrolysis to a 2 month old baby… you just can’t do it.
What do you think would happen if all the Chinese left malaysia tomorrow so you could have your ‘harmony’? If you need us and (you think) we need you, why are you stirring up trouble to begin with? What kind of insult do you think you have made towards all us Chinese whose forefathers like yours gave their lives for this country, and to bring us here where we are today?
Ahmad Ismail has joined the ranks of the immature politicians of the world, because he used his mouth before his brain. Unless he doesn’t have one, in which case he is excused.
And our PM… I’m so disappointed in you. I’ve got nothing more to say.
I said this before, but if Najib becomes our next PM, I am not coming back (if I can help it) til he’s gone. It’s just a personal thing. I knew I didn’t like him from the instant I saw him yawning during the PM’s speech during our 50th Independence celebrations last year.
To those of you who are thinking of telling me, “Why bother? Why get so worked up? You know this can’t help anything,” etc., I’m saying all this and telling the world all this because
- I’m proud of who I am; a Chinese who can call herself Malaysian. I say I AM proud, because no matter how many mistakes we make today, the Malaysia I am proud of once existed and for her I will always fight.
- If everyone takes that kind of lax attitude, what kind of country would we have? In a country where blunt, open criticism and opinions are NOT TOLERATED, what would happen? We’d all be nothing toys of the corrupt and the rich. What Ahmad Ismail said, he assumed to be fact…
- Everywhere I go online, people who are members of Gerakan or PKR are using this statement in their blogs… whether it is sincere or for political purposes I don’t know. I want to take this opportunity to say that unlike some of these people (even though their sentiments mostly echo my own) I believe in SOME of the things UMNO has done (it’s a lesser of two evils situation.. or in this case, four or five) and it is not my wish in this post to entirely condemn UMNO (although i must say they’re getting reaaaaally close) but only this one person; Ahmad Ismail, Bukit Bendera chief of UMNO.
If a war between countries broke out tomorrow (God forbid), whose side do you think the Chinese would be on? Do you think we’d fight with the Malays and Indians side by side, as we did pre-independence? Or would we side with the enemy because we’d been ‘betrayed’ or ‘left aside’ all these years? Or would we just run away?
It’s all up to you to decide. I know what my answer would be.
Love for my country, or love for my people?
The 18 year old Malaysian-Chinese Editor.
I mean no offense to the Malay community in general, and for any offense taken, I apologize in advance. Criticism I don’t mind, and I will do my best to respond if I feel is necessary.
I’m in London now, stating with relatives in Wimbledon actually. I’ve really been able to get familiar with the locals; I’ve fallen down the stairs and caught at least 3 strains of bacteria that infect the nose and throat, and yet I find myself still excited and giddy and happy about everything. Gosh….. 
I AM MALAYSIAN! (Annuar: Drop Ahmad issue)?? Tuesday - September 2, 2008
Tags: ahmad ikmail ismail, ahmad ismail, chinese, comment, election, harmony, malay, malaysia, permatang pauh, racial, seditious
“Kelantan UMNO yesterday urged Barisan Nasional component party Gerakan to stop demanding that UMNO and the coalition penalise [Datuk Ahmad Ismail] over his racially sensitive remarks about the Chinese community (read previous post).”
” It’s chairman, Tan Sri Annuar Musa, said the remarks by Bukit Bendera UMNO division chief Datuk Ahmad Ismail were made in a personal capacity, similar to the statements by several Gerakan leaders urging the party to leave BN.”
“Gerakan has, of late, issued statements which threatened the harmony of BN but UMNO leaders have been patient … the moderation of UMNO leaders, particularly Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, should not be taken advantage of.”
-All excerpts from New Straits Times page 8 (Prime News), September 2nd 2008, Tuesday.
The New Straits Times has been accused of serving as a propaganda tool for the Malaysia government[citation needed] and its proxy owner, theUnited Malays National Organisation (UMNO), which is a right-wing Malay political party. - excerpt from Wikipedia article on New Straits Times.
Dear YOU.
If, hypothetically speaking, I stood in the middle of, say, KLCC Park, and shouted out that in my personal opinion, I HATE Indians/Malays and I think they’re inhibiting the country’s progress, would I be charged with sedition? Would the ISA be all out for my guts? Or would you stoop so low as to send of your people to beat me up and say, oh, s/he did of in her/his personal conviction? Why are bloggers, whose blogs are filled with personal thoughts and opinions and heartfelt hopes, being blocked and taken down for being ’seditious’ then?
UMNO, do not change the topic… the fact remains that what Ahmad Ismail said hurt the country’s people, he should be charged by the ISA by all legal counts. Don’t try to divert our attention to something that Gerakan did, it doesn’t change what Ahmad Ismail said. At least Gerakan learned their lesson and has the guts to speak their mind even if we all think it may just be a losing battle.
If I understand correctly, UMNO would rather keep Ahmad Ismail as he is and allow Najib to slide by without at least a public apology/reprimanding, and are more focused on the statements made by Gerakan that could ‘threaten the harmony of BN’, than passions and pride of their people? Or are we ‘Malaysians’ not your people, that you would stand up for the Malays but not for us? Or is the party for the people, more important than the people? Or do you simply not see that your people are angry at you?
Moderation? Where was the moderation of the UMNO leaders during other times? Calling this ‘moderation’ instead of lenience is more laughable than that joke about the twleve-inch pianist.
From this statement, if he speaks for all of UMNO, I can clearly see where their priorities lie. Haven’t you realized by now that if the majority of your people are Malays but you’re STILL losing the elections (by a metaphorical landslide, I may add) with the current stand you’re taking, it might *HACK**HACK**COUGH* be time for a change?
I’d like to write a more educated-sounding article, but this extent of stupidity present is too much for even me to process.
Here’s my advice, SIR. Go get an SPM History textbook. Read it. Try to use your ‘adult’, ‘educated’ mind to think about what sparked the racial riots and dissatisfaction here.
I know how pissed I am when I find myself wanting to kick someone whom I know could very well put me in jail.
It’s not people like us who are making racial harmony impossible. It’s people like you.
What have you done for/to us?
ThEditor.