Ominous

Recent developments just after the new Cabinet line-up was made have allowed some ominous signs to surface and raise doubts about the real meaning of the 1Malaysia concept. Just on Sunday 19 April, the Information Minister was seen on TV announcing that starting this week the Mandarin and Tamil evening news bulletins would be switched back to their 'traditional' slots. That was a big piece of untruth. The 'traditional' slots were on TV2 at 8:00 pm to 9:00 pm and not the new 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm slots. Such very blatant misleading policies clearly show that the government is giving short shrift to the 1Malaysia concept. The Information Ministry has the right to switch programmes but at least it should be frank in giving out statements. There is suspicion now that the new Information Minister might not be having a high opinion of the two languages being used to disseminate news. The Minister should be advised that the two languages are effectively global languages due to the huge numbers of their speakers being found all over the world, thanks to the past colonial powers who caused their diaspora to come into existence far away from their original homelands. The same cannot be said of other languages. Still, the ministry has the right to knock down any language it wants to, but at least be honest about it. Don't beat about the bush over it. At the same time some mainstream newspapers have deliberately enticed senior ministers to voice sensitive comments and yet there is no action taken. We are now beginning to doubt the purpose of this so-called 1Malaysia concept. Is it just a slogan or just a propaganda effort or weapon a la Goebbels style ? Has anyone ever heard a minister or even an official uttering the word 'safety' or 'honesty' when talking about 1Malaysia ? Or is it that the Cabinet ministers are individually allowed to have their own interpretation of the concept ? Or perhaps the various ministers are second-guessing the PM on the real meaning or even the real aims of the concept ? The rising doubts about the real intentions of the ministers in the new Cabinet are beginning to bother the common people. Are their recent actions and statements a harbinger of more ominous things to come ? The other senior ministers like Mr O are strangely quiet. Perhaps they are beginning to worry too. Perhaps making noise now might worsen the situation. After all, you cannot read the mind of the PM. Is he allowing the others to go their way and take centre stage, who can say.

In the end we might have to accept that the 1Malaysia concept encompassed the idea of giving sole supremacy to only certain entities. The recent opinions voiced by certain quarters very recently surely give credence to this possibility. The tough talk and hardline stance in recent days only betray the true nature of the intentions of the mainstream. The silent blocs in the country must know that they were absolutely right in their decision at Bt Gantang. Perhaps it is only right that we must always take the word of any politician with a grain of salt. When a politician speaks on a certain subject, he might actually want you to turn his words the other way round in order to get to the real gist of it. Perhaps that is exactly what the real meaning of the 1Malaysia concept is about. The future is beginning to look ominous. Very ominous. The public needs to hold onto their Bt Gantangs.