Blatant Inequality

The speech made by Dr Mahathir at the so-called pribumi-PERKASA gathering on 22March2009 was peppered with racial statements and the speech in itself could be considered as very highly seditious and it is yet more proof that Malaysia is still one country which does not hesitate to practise blatant inequality. PERKASA is a right-wing racist group whose very existence is a big shame to the country. It actually does not even have the right to use the word 'pribumi', since that word or description should only belong to the aborigines or Orang Asli. The people belonging to the same stock as Dr Mahathir has usurped the position and place of the Orang Asli in this country and they are the ones who are truly the disadvantaged and the disregarded citizens of the land. Dr M is an irrepressible and an unrepentant political trickster who had tried so hard to change Malaysia into a sort of private fiefdom for himself and his cronies and yes-men. He'll be forever remembered for his clever and cunning manipulations of the politicians not only from his own party, but also those from the component parties. Malaysia had mostly experienced relatively lower levels of both crime and corruption until Dr M came into power in 1981. When this arch Machiavellian took control of the country he initiated programs to realise ambitious, grandiose and even disproportionate goals for the country. Such ambitions had to be achieved at whatever costs. Dr M wanted to build the longest bridge, the tallest tower, the biggest airport, the largest seaport, the best heavy industries and so on. Nothing was to be allowed to stand in the way. And along the way, he declared that Malaysia could easily support a population of sixty (60) million, and he and his cronies encouraged the importation of foreign workers, both legal and illegal ones, to provide instant population growth as well as to provide a cheap source of labour for the many instant businessmen that suddenly sprouted up due to his 'guidance' & personal patronage. Corruption, palm-greasing, bribery and all sorts of other unethical and illegal habits soon became the order of the day. It was alright to buy favours so long as you do not get caught. It was hard to get caught and even if you got caught, pulling some strings would soon solved your problem. Many uniformed people were in the thick of the trade. The inevitable result of the corruption and the unethical manner in which things got done was a sharp rise in crime, especially violent crime. The public soon got fed up with the situation and the BN ruling class began to suffer some reverses in by-elections which kept the opposition alive until the situation culminated in the tsunami March 2008 general elections. As a result of the setbacks, many politicians especially those belonging to the same stock as Dr M began to emphasise or even declare outright that racial awareness was necessary to preserve the 'traditional' hold on power in the country. Resorting to such courses of action meant that minorities were to be regarded as 'squatters', or people not worthy of equal rights under the law. This approach was seen by the minorities as unacceptable and there were outbursts of anger which in turn elicited threats from extremist groups like PEWARIS and other fascist elements, including the political leaders of PERKASA such as Ibrahim Ali. Such threats are actually illegal and criminal in nature, but in this

country, these actions by the racial extremists are routinely ignored. This is because Malaysia, unofficially, has two sets of laws for the people, one for the Muslim majority, especially those who are the proruling class and another for the non-Muslim minority communities. Despite the continuing blatant inequality, the national leaders often do not hesitate to boast about the country being a perfect model for other developing nations. What these people do not reveal is the fact that the minorities here have greatly tolerated the bad and evil practices that still permeate the administration of the country. In other lands, minority groups might not be so subservient or meek. Therefore, today, it's no surprise that people like Dr M can still get away with making very highly irresponsible speeches that are laced with racial venom. Dr M has long proved to be an undesirable yoke for the people of Malaysia. Even some people inside UMNO hated his guts and wanted him out, but he was always one step or two ahead of them. He had absolutely no compunction in using the police to go after his political enemies, including cooking up fake charges and using the ISA to neutralise them. When at last, he ran out of such methods, he didn't hesitate to use tears to shunt his critics aside and he was able to hold onto power until 2003. By then, the country was already treading in a climate of unmitigated corruption and the citizens were forced to live in homes that resembled mini prisons. Yet when he retired at end 2003, he continued to meddle with the current administration of the country and he indirectly prevented the PM from doing a good job and therefore the country continued to suffer from this very evil Machiavellian despite him no longer being in the seat of power. Dr M is one former PM who does not seem to care at all that his party has now become one of the most corrupt political parties in the world, if not the most corrupt one. His jetting here and there when he was in power is still unequalled in modern times. His legacy of bad corrupt politics is now the guiding path for Malaysia's UMNO politicians today. Today, more than ever, he still tries to meddle with the political state of affairs and he is doing a lot of untold harm to the country by making irresponsible speeches which only served to inflame the feelings of the citizenry. He is indeed like an evil twin of Adolf Hitler. Shame on the country for having such an evil canker in our midst.