“We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”
“It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.”
“Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.
“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace,
for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
“May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .” “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
“Nobody ever defended anything successfully, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
“Fixed fortifications are a monument to the stupidity of man." “It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
Riots and racial bias - A reply - Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Sunday, December 02, 2018
Malaysiakini : “And how easy it is to recognise the revenant shapes that the old unchanging enemies – racism, leader worship, superstition – assume when they reappear amongst us (often bodyguarded by their new apologists).” – Christopher Hitchens, Arguably
COMMENT | I just do not get it. PKR leader Rafizi Ramli in his opinion piece "Riots
and racial bias" claims whenever racially tinged events happen, we must
embrace objectivity and learn to see from the other’s groups
perspective.
Unfortunately, being objective and empathetic – which is what, I suppose, Rafizi was aiming for – are mutually exclusive. Rafizi
says that whenever incidents like the Seafield riots crop up, we see
them through a racial lens. But this bias is a convenient distraction
from the institutional racism that is far more damaging to this country,
that also defines mainstream Malaysian politics. It is difficult
to tell people to embrace the other and be empathetic of our
differences when the majority race is defined in the Federal
Constitution and accorded privileges that when questioned is met with
threats of violence. Seriously, this is country where some schools decide that there should be separate canteensfor Muslim and non-Muslim students. And politicians wonder why people view things through a racial lens? Going beyond this recent case, Rafizi is right though when it comes to non-Malay racism. There
are those online who claim that Malays, when it comes to intelligence –
hidden behind whatever euphemism they think smart – are genetically
inferior. This of course is but just one example of the scintillating
discourse when it comes to race and politics in the alternative media.
The Seafield riots were, in reality, a defence against the
invasion of sacred ground. Take away the temple politics, corporate
interests, a compromised security apparatus and partisan political
correctness, what happened was that hired Malay thugs invaded the sacred
place of Hindus, and violence erupted.
Racially charged
Veteran
newsman A Kadir Jasin, for instance, think that the rioters should be
punished. If Malays are caught, then so should the Hindu rioters. He uses racially charged language – "gelap(dark)"– and wonders why the state security did not have torchlights when questioning why no Hindus were arrested at the time. He then goes on to “school”
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department P Waythaymoorthy for
attempting to shine a light on the false narrative of the state security
apparatus. And to think, his views are praised by some as being the voice of reason in this mess.
Think about this way. There have been many temple
'relocations' before and while there have been protests – and let's face
facts, people can dredge up worse cases than these Seafield riots – the
incidents have been relatively violence-free. Whenever
there are threats of racial violence, are the non-Malays making those
threats? Has a non-Malay politician ever threatened violence in
furtherance of his or her political agenda? Have non-Malay activists
ever threatened violence if the state does not conform to its agenda?
I
will go further. It is incumbent on non-Malay political operatives to
pacify the threats of violence thrown their way. It is incumbent on them
to temper their political ideologies, and in some cases, subsume their
agendas to appease mainstream Malay politics. This is why we have DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang walking back
his stance on the International Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd), saying that it is not worth
ratifying it if it means there will be another May 13. This is why
we get non-Malay political pundits, activists and propagandists for the
Pakatan Harapan regime, claiming that Icerd is not such a big deal and
essentially pushing the “social contract – in spirit if not in substance
– as a means of racial and religious compromise.
No threat
The
non-Malays are a zero threat when it comes to the safety of Malays.
Revise history however you want, but we do not control the state
security apparatus, we do not control the bureaucratic processes in
place in case there are riots, and we certainly do not control the royal
institutions.
Ever since May 13, 1969, non-Malays have learnt to keep
their mouths shut. Non-Malays political operatives who want political
power have to attach themselves to Malay power structures, which peddle
narratives that the Malay community are under threat. And
when Malays pose a threat to these narratives, they are labelled
deviants, liberals or worse. So when someone like Zan Azlee writes about
throwing away the crutches, he is vilified.
PKR
president Anwar Ibrahim writes about our hard-won peace. What peace are
we talking about here? Urban centres power the engine of economic
progress in this country, but urban Malays and non-Malays who are are
somewhat progressive in their views are reminded that the sensitivities
of the rural electorate have to be taken into account. And these are
normally racial and religious sensitivities. This, I suppose, is the hard-won peace that Anwar is talking about. But
is this really hard-won? We compromise, because to do otherwise would
be suicide. The non-Malays have a good life in this country as long as
we play by Malay rules. Partisan allegiance does not translate to
patriotism. What is good for political parties does not mean that it is
good for this country. Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris or 'Papagomo' gets arrestedand people are happy. But what has he said that most mainstream Umno politicians have not said before? Meanwhile, Umno are jumpingup
and down because Waythaymoorthy has not been arrested. But what has
Waythaymoorthy said that most Indian activists have not said before, or
even non-Malays online who go on about the 'apartheid' system here in
Malaysia? Every time a situation like the Seafield riot happens,
some folks say do not make the situation worse by writing about it. Or
at least, writing about it in a way that goes against pleasant
narratives about how we earned this blessed peace.
No, I think every time a situation like this happens, it reminds us of who we really are.