Monday, 01 June 2009 | NO HOLDS BARRED | Raja Petra Kamarudin
Something old, something new
Something borrowed, something blue
And a silver sixpence in her shoe
This is an old English wedding tradition that goes back to the Roman days. It is supposed to be a sort of good luck for the bride. ‘Old’ represents traditions. ‘New’ represents optimism of a good future ahead of you. ‘Borrowed’ means you can depend on your old friends and family. In ancient Rome, brides wore blue to symbolise love, modesty, and fidelity. And a sixpence in her shoe dates back to a Scottish custom of the groom putting a silver coin under his foot for good luck
Today, let us look at something old (the older Umno generation) and something new (what the young minds think). You will find that the rationale of the Melayu Lama and Melayu Baru are a world apart.
The Old Malays still talk about ‘orang Melayu and the support they give Umno’. The argument for Barisan Nasional (meaning an Umno candidate) to contest in yesterday’s by-election in Penanti is so that the Malays would have a party to vote for. If Umno did not contest the seat then the Malays would not be able to vote.
And many Malays did not vote yesterday. The voter turnout was about 25-30% less than what it should have been. Only 7,000 or so voted. 3,000-3,500 stayed home or went for the free tour to Thailand that Umno sponsored on Polling Day.
Assuming these 3,000-3,500 came out to vote and they had all voted for Umno, then the Pakatan Rakyat candidate would have won with a majority of just 2,000-2,500 as what Malaysia Today had predicted even before the names of the candidates were revealed and when it was not known yet that Umno would boycott the by-election.
If you look at the arguments from people like Kadir Jasin, whom can be classified as Old Malay, you can see that his reasoning as to why Umno should contest is so that the Malays can vote. If Umno does not contest then the Malays would not be able to vote. They equate Malays with Umno, and vice-versa, and not contesting the Penanti by-election would mean you are denying the Malays the chance to vote.
It never occurred to the Old Malays that there is still life after Umno and if Umno does not contest this would not mean the end of the world. Why do the Malays need Umno? Simple, because it is a Malay party and a party that safeguards Malay interests. That and only that is the reason.
But the Malays of today, the Melayu Baru, look beyond Malay interests. This, however, must not be interpreted as treacherous or pendeharka Malays who sell out their fellow Malays -- as what some Umno people would say. It is just that they see life as more than just communal interests. There is more to life than just worrying about Malay interests. We also need to consider what these Malays in power can do for the nation at large.
This may be difficult for the Old Malays to understand. What can be more important than Malay interest? Surely Malay interest is the one and only consideration. Well, maybe so to the Old Malays. But to the New Malays there are also things like transparency and good governance, an end to abuse of power and corruption, an independent judiciary and better laws, freedom of association and expression, and those other things that Umno would label as ‘Western values’.
The Old Malays like Kadir Jasin are not stupid. In fact, if you know him personally, you will know that he is one smart cookie. So why does he still talk like he is a country bumpkin? Does he not realise that there is more to life than just communal interests?
Of course he does. As I said, he is not stupid. But Kadir Jasin, the Old Malay, believes that Malay interests override all other considerations. The ends justify the means. Okay, maybe we have rampant corruption plus all the other ills you can think of in a failed state or banana republic. But these are necessary evils. This is collateral damage. This is what we must endure to ensure that Malay interests are protected.
This is the mentality of the Old Malay. But the Old Malay is finding out that the New Malay does not think like this at all. The New Malay has different values from the Old Malay. And the Old Malays are getting lesser while there are more New Malays emerging.
In time, there will be more New Malays than Old Malays at the ballot box. If we can convince the five million Malaysians eligible to vote, but not registered as voters yet, to come out and get registered, and if we can convince them to actually come out to vote come the next general election, then we will find that the Old Malays will be reduced to a minority in a sea of black T-shirts, metaphorically speaking of course.
Can we embark on a voter-get-voter campaign? For every one of you who is already a registered voter, convince someone you know who is not yet a registered voter to go register as a voter. Then, in time, people like Kadir Jasin will be a thing of the past while people like Anak Muda Melayu will rule the day.
Voting should no longer be seen as a right. It should be regarded as a responsibility. Young people should be told it is their duty to vote. And to able to vote they must first register as a voter.
About half the registered voters came out to vote yesterday in Penanti. That works out to about one-third the eligible voters. That is not good enough. We need more than double that to really see change. Even if half the registered voters vote for the opposition, Barisan Nasional will still form the government. That is the reality of the Gerrymandering system that Malaysia practices. Short of 60% votes for the opposition, Barisan Nasional can never be kicked out. So we need more voters and we need more of these voters to think like the Melayu Baru, not like the Melayu Lama.
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Tidak Wajar Boikot Pilihan Raya Kecil
A Kadir Jasin, 20 April 2009
WALAUPUN Perdana Menteri, Mohd Najib Abdul Razak, “tidak ketepikan apa juga kemungkinan,” termasuk memulaukan pilihan raya kecil (PRK) Dewan Undangan Negeri Penanti, Pulau Pinang, saya rasa adalah amat merugikan jika Barisan Nasional mengaku kalah sebelum bertarung.
Sekiranya BN memulaukan PRK itu atas apa jua alasan, ia adalah tindakan yang tidak demokratik, cetek fikiran dan merugikan pengundi.
Sebagai sebuah pertubuhan yang mendakwa sedang melakukan penambahbaikan dan restorasi, Umno wajib meyakinkan parti-parti komponen BN yang lain bahawa BN wajib bertanding di DUN Penanti.
Sikap menyerah kalah atau defeatist akan menyebabkan lebih ramai pengundi hilang keyakinan BN dan parti-parti komponennya. Umno dan BN perlu mempamerkan tahap keyakinan dan semangat juang yang tinggi.
BN mungkin tidak berjaya merampas semula kerusi itu daripada Parti Keadilan Rakyat tetapi ia masih mempunyai penyokong yang ramai yang pasti kecewa jika ia tidak bertanding.
Pada pilihan raya umum 2008, Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin (PKR) mendapat 7,346 undi manakala Abdul Jalil Abdul Majid (BN) memperoleh 5,127 undi memberikan kelebihan 2,219 undi kepada Mohammad Fairus.
Lagipun, kalau betul analisis yang mengatakan semakin ramai pengundi Melayu di Bukit Gantang dan Bukit Selambau kembali menyokong BN pada PRK baru-baru ini, adalah sangat tidak bijak bagi BN memulaukan PRK Penanti.
Orang Melayu yang ingin kembali menyokong Umno dan BN kerana bertambah yakin dengan kepemimpinan Umno dan negara sekarang akan kecewa dan hilang semangat.
CHE DET TAK FAHAM ORANG MUDA
Anak Muda Melayu
Dalam blog CheDet (http://chedet.co.cc/chedetblog/2009/04/the-generation-gap.html#more), Tun Mahathir kata generasi muda tidak memahami erti kemerdekaan, diperintah oleh Orang Kita dan bukan Orang Asing. Beliau menyalahkan pendidikan sejarah di sekolah yang gagal memberikan kesedaran kepada generasi muda.
Oleh kerana aku lahir pasca 1957, aku ni generasi muda walaupun umur dah hampir separuh abad. Memangnya aku tidak pernah berada di bawah pemerintahan Inggeris, dan tidak berada di zaman perang. Tetapi aku masih ingat kacaubilau tahun 69. Aku ingat zaman Tun Razak yang menyemarakkan perpaduan. Masa tu juga banyak bentuk kemakmuran melalui bantuan pertanian, dan biasiswa pun dah mula diberikan kepada rakyat. Zaman tu juga banyak sekolah-sekolah asrama penuh yang melahirkan ramai cerdik pandai terutamanya di kalangan orang melayu. Kemudahan-kemudahan prasarana pun ditingkatkan. Jadi, sejarah yang aku lalui tidak perlu pergi jauh sebaliknya zaman pembangunan dan pemulihan ekonomi.
Bermula era Mahathir, pada mulanya terasa gah kerana Dasar Pandang Ke Timur, Bersih Cekap dan Amanah dan kemudiannya timbullah penswastaan. Pembangunan pun memang hebat tetapi masa tu dah banyak berlaku percakaran politik. Di pihak UMNO, Mahathir dengan Ku Li kemudian Mahathir dan Musa Hitam. Kemudian berlaku pula pembunuhan Memali dan seterusnya Pemilihan UMNO 1987 yang menyebabkan perpecahan dalam UMNO, maka timbul pula Semangat 46.
Apabila Tun Salleh Abbas di pecat, sekali lagi berlaku tragedi dalam pentadbiran negara kerana Cabang Kehahiman telah di kembirikan. Masa itu, aku yang masih di awal dua puluhan dah mula rasa seperti dijajah, bukan oleh orang asing tetapi oleh UMNO. Sungguh pun ada keistimewaan, kerana boleh bekerja dan ekonomi yang baik tetapi merasa diri ini dijajah. Minda dibodohkan dengan media, dan orang-orang UMNO berlagak macam Malaysia ni dia orang punya. Rakyat biasa hanya menerima apa yang ada, digula-gulakan dengan kehidupan biasa, dan kononnya negara ini aman.
Bagi orang yang pernah berada di England, Amerika, Australia tentulah tidak boleh dibodohkan dengan propaganda UMNO, kerana telah melihat erti kebebasan bersuara di negara-negara itu. Tetapi bila balik di Malaysia media dikudakan. Segala media kerajaan di Malaysia boleh bercakap tentang keamanan, kestabilan ekonomi, dan pembangunan tetapi Minda diikat. Untuk bercakap songsang daripada pemimpin BN bererti menentang. Tambahan pula bila kita lihat mahkamah-mahkamah dan Polis digunakan untuk menjaga kepentingan UMNO dan Barisan Nasional. Generasi muda kecewa, fasal kebebasan yang diinginkan seperti yang dilalui di negara maju tidak boleh dicapai. Dengan adanya ISA, AUKU, Akta Rahsia Rasmi, dan pelbagai lagi Akta yang menggerunkan terasa bahawa Malaysia ni macam negara ketiga di Afrika. Baru-baru ini Suruhanjaya Pilihanraya pula bercakap seperti pihak UMNO dan BN. Sebagai rakyat, perasaan benci meluap dan lama-kelamaan akan diterjemahkan sebagai undi untuk memilih pembangkang.
Selain daripada undang-undang itu, banyak bentuk penyalahgunaan kuasa dan pembaziran wang negara berlaku. Aku tak boleh tahu apa yang betul atau salah. Tetapi bila di sebut skandal BMF, bail out untuk MISC, PERWAJA, MAS, dan banyak lagi mula timbul tandatanya -- apa sebenar yang berlaku. Jawapan samar-samar dan mengelirukan. Bila timbul pula kes pembunuhan Mustakizah, apa sebenarnya berlaku? Bila banyak sangat timbul tentang Altantuya, kami ingin cari kebenaran. Semua ini menjurus kepada kekeliruan dan keraguan. Kredibiliti pemimpin masa itu dipersoalkan.
Seterusnya kuasa raja-raja pun dikurangkan. Masa tu, sebagai rakyat memanglah seronok sebab kita rasakan kuasa dikembalikan kepada rakyat tetapi lama kelamaan baru menyedari bahawa kuasa itu sebenarnya adalah untuk PM dan pemimpin-pemimpin UMNO.
Apa yang berlaku? Sungguh pun bukan semua dalam Internet betul, tetapi penulisan daripada Raja Petra (sebagai contoh) boleh diterima. Banyak bukti dan kenyataan beliau ada asas. Kami generasi pasca 1957 yang bukannya ahli totok UMNO akan terus mencari kebenaran dan biasanya boleh diperolehi daripada Internet. Kami tahu apa yang karut, dan apa yang betul. Dalam Internet tak ada penapisan jadi sebagai manusia yang diberikan fikiran kami buat penilaian dan tahu mana baik dan buruknya.
Kemuncak rasa tidak puas hati apabila Anwar Ibrahim diperlakukan dengan cara zalim. Sungguh pun aku tak pernah kenal Anwar dengan rapat dan dia pun tak peduli sapa aku, tetapi sebagai manusia berhati perut aku rasa perlakuan Mahathir kepada bekas Timbalan Perdana Menteri melampaui batasan kemanusiaan. Masa itu bukan soal kredibiliti tetapi kebencian yang amat sangat kepada Tun Mahathir. Dia mungkin hebat satu masa dulu, tetapi segalanya musnah kerana melampau dalam tindakannya.
Apabila Che Det bercakap tentang sejarah dan bebas daripada penjajahan, aku tidak terima hujah tu. Generasi aku inginkan kebebasan sebagai rakyat, untuk bersuara dan memilih pemimpin kami. Selagi pemimpin itu memahami aspirasi rakyat, bertindak adil dan segala institusi kerajaan tidak dipergunakan, kami boleh terima mereka. Pada kami, Malaysia telah bebas daripada penjajahan dan kami mahu terus bebas. daripada pemimpin yang korup.
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