It is Ugly Singaporeans like Bilahari Kausikan who suffer the delusion that they understand the dynamics of what is happening in Malaysia
In the past few days, a top Singapore diplomat had been making waves with his delusion that he understands the dynamics of what is happening in Malaysia, causing him to pontificate on the do’s and don’ts for the Young Chinese in Malaysia.
Bilahari accused the “young Chinese in Malaysia” as being “delusional” if they believe that Malay dominance in politics can be replaced by a change in the system, claiming that this “dominance” will be defended “by any means”, including a possible political alliance between UMNO and PAS.
He said: “It is my impression that many young Malaysian Chinese have forgotten the lessons of May 13, 1969. They naively believe that the system built around the principle of Malay dominance can be changed.
“That may be why they abandoned MCA for the DAP. They are delusional. Malay dominance will be defended by any means.”
It is smart-alecks and Ugly Singaporeans like Bilahari who think they understand what is happening in other countries and even have the impertinence to prescribe how citizens in other countries should conduct themselves, such as expressing dismay that the young Chinese in Malaysia are abandoning MCA for the DAP, who are suffering from delusion.
Can these “delusionists” pretending to be realists state what are the “lessons of May 13, 1969” which he accused the young Malaysian Chinese of forgetting?
Those who follow closely the DAP’s political campaign will know that the DAP had never advocated a Chinese Malaysia but as stressed in the Battle for Gelang Patah in the 13th General Election, the Malaysian Dream which envisions Malaysia as a plural society where all her citizens are united as one people, rising above their ethnic, religious, cultural, linguistic and regional differences as the common grounds binding them as one citizenship exceed the differences that divide them because of their ethnic, religious, linguistic, cultural and regional divisions.
As I had the occasion to say last week, whether Najib is ousted as Prime Minister or UMNO replaced as the leading political party in the government coalition, Malay political power is not threatened as a new Prime Minister will be a Malay and new coalition will be Malay-dominated reflecting Malaysia’s demography.
Malaysians accept the reality of a Malay-dominated political scenario but not the concept of Malay supremacy, which is against the bedrock principles of the Malaysian Constitution and the Malaysian Dream.
As rational and responsible Malay leaders in political, economic and social spheres have rightly pointed out, how can Malays be under threat when the government is headed by a Malay, state governments headed by Malays with the exception of Penang, the civil service is mostly made up of Malays, the army and police are mostly Malays and there are also the Malay rulers; and furthermore, the country had been ruled by UMNO for 58 years with a panoply of policies to protect and advance the Malays?
It is unfortunate that Ugly Singaporeans like Bilahari are giving grist to the mill of opponents who oppose Malaysia moving away from the politics of race to be replaced with the politics of issues, by continuing to spread the “delusion” that Malaysian politics is a battle between Malays and Chinese when it is increasingly about issues of freedom, justice, the rule of law and good governance.