Nothing

Malaysia has seen a change of leadership and the introduction of a brand new concept, 1Malaysia, but fundamentally, nothing has really changed. Malaysia is still a racist society, with government politicians and supporters spewing anti-minority sentiments and feelings every now and then. Perhaps that is what is meant by race supremacy rights. The right of a certain portion of society to lambast others on account of their ethnic backgrounds. And to spread falsehoods knowing that others would have a hard time to repudiate them. We know that the mass media in Malaysia is controlled by either the government or the pro-government groups and therefore they have the free licence to spread falsehoods and lies about the minority groups in the country. The minorities are more often than not usually pictured in a bad light. But the reality on the ground is far different. We know who are the most involved in things like corruption, crime and social ills and the many other manifestations of undesirable conduct in a very long list of compilations available to any human society today. The government is proposing the 1Malaysia concept, but it should have gone through the meaning of the concept with UMNO and the pro-UMNO mass media first. As it is, many UMNO politicians are still unsure of the real meaning of 1Malaysia. To many UMNO politicians, the 1Malaysia concept is taken to mean that the minority communities should now stand behind the BN and UMNO and allow the UMNO-dominated BN to speak and act on their behalf. Ethnic identities must now be suppressed to allow the 1Malaysia concept to flourish. That is not the real meaning of 1Malaysia. 1Malaysia was not meant to be used by a particular group to dominate and silence others. The 1Malaysia concept was not meant to be used by the government to suppress ethnic education in the country. Neither was it meant to be used by the government to silence dissent and cede complete political control to UMNO and its supporters and yes-men. Last week, tv1 hosted a program in which the racist attitudes of the Malaysian authorities of the past were allowed to resurface and it was clear that the program was aimed squarely at the minorities of the country. The speakers blithely engaged in minority bashing and even accused the minorities in Malaysia of 'keeping the secrets of success' to themselves. It was a thoroughly slanderous accusation and one that bordered on the ridiculous. (It could qualify as a seditious accusation.) As anyone with a brain would be able to tell you, the secrets of success are not secret at all. Success in life, whether it is in education, sports, work or career comes solely from dedication, perseverance, commitment, discipline & the honest sweat of one's brow. And not from spite, jealousy, ill-will, corruption and moral decay.

The country has just announced a 6.2% contraction of the economy. No one should be surprised that the country is doing so badly. Anyone who has worked in the multinational sector would be able to vouch that our workers are among some of the worst you could find in the world. The male workers are not known for their work or their contribution. Instead, they are more famous for their addiction to tobacco, their fondness to 'shorten' working hours by themselves and their habit of constantly borrowing money from their colleagues. And what about the dropouts from our national schools ? These are very often found involved in drugs, wayside robberies, snatch thefts, gangrapes, motorbike hooliganism and a myriad number of endless social ills. Are all those residing in the top government posts impatient to see others get involved in such activities as well ? Is it that if one's offspring desires to walk the road of failure, others' offspring are required to do likewise ? The racist demons at tv1 and inside the Information Ministry and eleswhere are apparently trying their utmost to undo the work put in by the new PM to move the people away from the 'ethnic silos' mentality. These demons want to preserve it forever instead. No wonder the crime situation in the nation has become so bad today. Ordinary law-abiding citizens feel they have been let down by the very people chosen supposedly to protect them. The authorities in Malaysia should be aware that the BN is seen as untrustworthy and no amount of dirty propaganda, minority bashing or the use of such racial connotations like 'pejuang bangsa' (fighter of the race) over the airwaves could change the situation. It would only reinforce the suspicion that the country is still as racist as ever. The minorities in Malaysia are aware they have been shortchanged by successive administrations in the country and things have not changed for the better. That would explain why certain jobs and positions are out of bounds to them, even today. The government could never be able to explain why the post of Information Minister and the post of Education Minister are off limits to minority politicians. One is used to ensure that the government is able to crticise and slander the minorities any time it feels like it and the other is used to squeeze the bright ones from the minorty communities out of scholarship awards and grants that they were rightfully entitled to. Malaysian society is still as racist as ever despite the change in leadership and the birth of the latest concept, 1Malaysia. The chief reason is that the baggage of the past has never been fully discarded and evil politicians from the Mahathir era are still holding important posts in the present administration. Unless such undesirable vermin are ejected from the government, Malaysia will continue to be a racist society and subtle forms of apartheid and racism will continue to exist here. The losers are the minority communities and our future generations. There is really no need for the leaders to go on foreign visits

abroad. No amount of visits would wipe away the stink of racism in this country. Wake up and smell the Malaysian air instead.