As things become clearer, I've been contemplating this issue lately. I've noticed, through the years, the Chinese are becoming more politically aware and vocal, especially the younger generation. The question is, was it's a natural progression or was it by design?
I suppose it can be considered a good thing, that today's youth are more aware of issues. It's partly due to the internet. Information flows freely and travels in lightning speed. Gone are the days when governments can do things covertly or cover up certain issues. It is also a two-edged sword. It's often not easy to sort out the truth from untruths. Today, because of the declining credibility of MSM, people have resorted to get information from online sources.
The Chinese, especially the younger generation of today, are more outspoken than their elders. And they are also more impressionable, which makes them easily influenced by trends, as well as propaganda. The internet, through social media, forums, etc, plays a big role.
I'm not saying the others are not being radicalised. I think this phenomenon is happening all over the world. The whole world is so connected today, that events that take place in other countries can and do, influence other countries. Malaysians are not spared.
When the Occupy movement happened in the US, Malaysians followed suit. Then, there was the Arab Spring, and Malaysians are taken it by it as well. It is like a trend. But some times, we can't just adopt a movement without considering the context. For example Arab Spring. Do we want or need that in Malaysia? What was the original context in Egypt, which spawned Arab Spring in 2010?
Back to the Chinese Malaysians.
They remained quite docile from the 80s till the late 90s. Perhaps they were busy making money. But since 2004, during Pak Lah's tenure, things began to change. Online news portals mushroomed. Facebook was popular. Then there was a campaign against Pak Lah, and it was fought online. Bloggers, especially political ones, were very active and organised. The most popular was Raja Petra's Malaysia Today, which published many inside stories about BN and the government.
Political parties & politicians & mercenary (paid) bloggers
Non are more aggressive and took greater advantage, than the politicians and their hired minions. The event that managed to lure the Chinese out were the Bersih rallies. Taking part in rallies, which by tradition were mostly a Malay affair, has never appealed to the Chinese. The Chinese were always wary of street rallies or protests especially those which are political in nature. But slowly, but surely, with assurances and cajoling from these blogs and civil society leaders, they joined the crowd. The Indians, too, were not spared. They too were drawn out through the Hindraf rallies. |
| circa 1998: Hmmm... where are the Chinese? |
Remember, in 1998, the Chinese did not participate in the Reformasi rallies. Why? Because it was an UMNO political fight between Anwar & Mahathir.
In the 1999 elections, Umno lost 50% of Malay votes. It was with the Chinese votes that BN managed to win. Did UMNO thank the Chinese then?
But when the opposite happened in 2013, when the Chinese votes went to Pakatan, the Chinese are blamed, despite BN retaining power.
On the surface, these rallies looked like the people's effort, so called 'people's power'. In my opinion, nothing like this ever happens spontaneously nor organised by normal laymen.
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| Ten years later... here we come! |
So, the Chinese seeing the Malays and Indians coming out in numbers, were lulled into joining in. This continued until GE13 in 2013. Rallies after rallies, they came out in full force, young and old, cheered by the pro-opposition bloggers, NGOs, civil society personalities and opposition-friendly news portals. Up until the GE13 election campaigns, with each rally, their enthusiasm increased to fanatical proportions. Pakatan Rakyat did a splendid job in misleading the Chinese into thinking that their Malay countrymen were leading the 'Ubah' or change.
The Chinese need to realise that they were used, and are still being used, by both BN & PR and the NGOs like Bersih, Himpunan Hijau, paid mercenary blogs, news portals, etc. for their respective agendas.
The Chinese will always get the shorter end of the stick, politically, whether they like it or not.
I have not included any BN or UMNO in the examples below because they are already in the open. Their bloggers and NGOs, such as Perkasa are well known and visibly pro BN and Malay. They did not covertly lure the Chinese out. They very openly pushed the Chinese away, which they have been doing all these while. Everyone knows Perkasa=UMNO (a certain group within UMNO).
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| White ang pows for old folks. What's the message? Why do this? The the man in yellow, is Collin Tiew, an MCA branch chief. He brought the old folks there to be insulted. |
However, if the pushing and whacking of the Chinese is done too long and too much for their political gains, it is going to destroy the Chinese people. There is a limit to everything. I think the damage is irreversible already. Looking at MCA & Gerakan now, it doesn't take a genius to see it. It saddens me to see even the elderly Chinese are not spared by politicians like these (both Chinese & Malay ones).
Now, the more sinister ones are those pretenders, those with a hidden agenda, that are more dangerous. They are the ones who mislead the Chinese into supporting their often noble-sounding causes. These are the ones, that will really do the Chinese in.
How it is done? Hidden agendas. Hidden Hands.
1. One very good example is Malaysia Today.
RPK has always been instrumental in getting the Chinese to 'rise up' against the government, to join the other races, specifically the Malays. He has made this know from the start, lamenting the fact that rallies seemed to be only attended by one race, the Malays. Whatever his intentions are, noble or otherwise, we will never know for sure. But one thing for sure, the Chinese were lured into the open, without any safety net. In any event, he and his family is safely living it up in his home country.
Before the GE13, the articles that were published then, seemed to appeal to the Chinese readers. Some were even critical of Islam & Malays, and that gave the impression to the Chinese readers that this blog was liberal and all that. Whenever articles critical of Malays or Islam or Government appeared, the presumably Chinese readers would comment, often echoing the writer's views. Of course, the presumably Malay readers would feel offended and posted their displeasure.
Anyway, this went on for the whole of 2012. Usually, the webmaster would censor comments deemed too offensive. However, right after the GE13 polling date was announced, RPK decided to allow all comments to be published. Of course, there were a lot of comments which were not too kind to the Malays, UMNO, BN and government. RPK would put on a show, to 'warn' the commenters that the Malays would be offended and cause opposition to lose Malay votes, while at the same time still allowing these offensive comments to be published.
After the elections, as we are aware of the results that followed, it was clear that majority of Chinese votes went to Pakatan, and Malay votes swung to BN. RPK then blamed it on the presumably Chinese readers, telling them off that their offensive comments caused the lost of Malay votes. With that excuse, he has absolved himself from any blame, and for his part in misleading the Chinese.
The funny thing is, not long after that, RPK admitted that he knew all along that Pakatan would lose. That the Chinese had themselves to blame for not understanding the Malays and Islam. That vernacular education made the Chinese into chauvinists. That it is the Chinese's own doing that they are being blamed and insulted now.
His Chinese readers don't even realise when RPK openly used them, and after that, mocked and insulted them. He hates everything about the Chinese, from their language to the schools. He is a half-Malay, half-caucasian, and the Chinese think he adores them?
These Chinese Malaysians, fans of his, are still oblivious to the knife stuck into their backs.
2. Organisations (Bersih, Himpunan Hijau, etc.)
Bersih. This has to be the mother of all cons. Before the elections, they were viewed as a neutral organisation. That was the image they cultivated anyway. It was during Bersih 3.0, that it became very apparent that they were very pro-Pakatan, specifically towards PKR.
Their role, in the deception, is to provide the impression that these Bersih rallies were indeed non-political. But it is clear today, that they just wanted to topple BN. That makes it political. Who were those that were managed to be lured into the streets? Everyone. Including the Chinese.
They managed to lure the Chinese into the streets in big numbers, which hadn't happened since 1969.
Himpunan Hijau. The protest against Lynas has been political from the start. Although I am against facilities such as Lynas, which harms the environment and people, it disgusts me to see how low politicians can go. I suppose by now, everyone is familiar with the con-job of DAP's lackey, Wong Tack. I'm still amazed at the number of votes he got in Bentong. Again, the Chinese were lured into the streets, thinking that it was for a good cause, to save the environment.
3. Politicians & their minions (news portals & such)
The truth is, politics in Malaysia was and still is, very much about race and to a certain extent religion. Which explains why these issues are always played up by politicians. It is surprising that there are people who believe those politicians who say otherwise.
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| Crowd during GE13 at one of DAP's 'ceramahs' |
The politicians themselves, have become somewhat like celebrities, going from town to town, entertaining the crowds, collecting donations. The Chinese, already lured into the open since 2007, are again enticed to attend these ceramahs. The content are the usual fare of hate and insult towards the ruling party and government, often whipping the crowd into a frenzy.
With the help from pro Pakatan portals such as Malaysiakini, the Chinese were served their daily doses of hate, hate towards the government and BN. News highlighting the mistakes and inefficiency of various branches of government, agencies and leaders are published daily, 24/7. The other news merely serve as fillers. Their main purpose are to disparage and discredit the country's leaders, and the government.
During rallies, they will post pictures, videos and updates in realtime for the readers, free of charge. Although it seems that it is a natural function of news portals, which is true, but the intention might not be so altruistic. It is actually a way to get more people, Chinese included, to join in.
Is it any wonder, that the Chinese, with continuous whacking from government owned mainstream media, and hate propaganda from the alternative media, that each generation is getting more radical than the previous? That they have become, to their detriment, anti-establishment by the day?
This is my worry for the Chinese Malaysians. I don't like what I see happening.
DAP -This party is led by veterans. They are an old hand at ceramahs. However, it is the younger leadership that has managed to captivate the Chinese. They knew PKR do not have enough Malay votes. They knew Pakatan won't be forming the government. They knew the Chinese would end up in the opposition in big numbers. They would do whatever it takes (even shaving their heads) to retain Penang. This is the number one party that has managed to galvanise the Chinese to be vocal towards the government, BN, UMNO, MCA, etc. They have managed to transform the unsuspecting Chinese into photocopies of Lim Kit Siang and son. Since MCA abandoned the Chinese, it didn't take much effort on the part of DAP to woo the Chinese. They were literally herded into DAP's corner. DAP, in cohorts with PKR & PAS have misled the Chinese into believing that the majority of Malays were with Pakatan, ready to change. As the results show, it was far from the truth.
MCA - No words could describe this party and their leadership, specifically their president. They literally told the Chinese to f**k-off to their face. Knowing the dynamics within BN, it is safe to assume that they did so with full knowledge and blessing from UMNO. So, in truth, it is MCA that has abandoned the Chinese. And they have the cheek to say otherwise. The sheer arrogance. Until today, the president, Chua Soi Lek, sees it fit to punish the Chinese by refusing posts and shutting down their service centres. Who in their right mind would threaten their voters to vote for their party while at the same time, chickening out from facing his opponent in Gelang Patah?
This is a good example of how politicians actually feel about their supporters. The people are just pawns to them, to be used and discarded.
So, did the Chinese have a choice in the first place?
The Chinese politicians and their cohorts know very well that all this will cause insecurity among the Malays. The Malay politicians also know very well that the constant sabre rattling against the Chinese will also do the same to the Chinese. But they still do it. Because the people let them. These politicians, the pretenders, the liberal bourgeois wolfs in sheep's skin, would have no qualms sacrificing peace, harmony and in this case, the Chinese community, just to achieve their agendas.
Do the Chinese Malaysians, as a community & race, deserve to used and abused like this? To suffer fools like this?
After all that been said and done since 2007 leading up to GE13, through all the deceptions and lies, in the end, it's the Chinese community who're left holding the bag.
The most comical were the overseas Chinese, who specifically flew back just to vote. They were among those most vocal against the government. They are the ones who says they love Malaysia, but do not live or work here. Hahaha. Talk about hypocrites.
Where are they now? Well, except for the price of a plane ticket, they are living quite comfortably as immigrants in one of the first-world countries, which they love to use as examples how a perfect country should be. And in any statement they make, they always, always, without fail throw in their favourite phrases, "We still love Malaysia" or "...beloved country..." or "I consider myself a Malaysian first...", while in the same breath finding fault with and running down the country.
Would any of these people, these parties and personalities, step up to defend the Chinese community? What do you think they care about more, your welfare or their own agendas?
Will these people be able to or have any interest to safeguard Chinese customs, culture, religion, language, schools, business, etc. ?
Be wary of those who claim to champion your race, religion or community, especially those who seek power. These people will not be able to solve your problems, but instead, would most probably create more problems for you.
Remember, always take the middle path. Moderation is the key.
Don't surrender your fate to others. Think about you own priority and interests first. Your family, your future, your happiness, peace, harmony.
The young are impressionable. They are naive. They are perfect candidates to be radicalised. Then, they will be used. Soon they will be discarded. Worse, they will be blamed.
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| After radicalisation: Is this a typical Chinese characteristic? Is this something to be proud of? |
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| Before radicalisation: This is you, the Chinese. This was once held in high esteem by society. Don't forget that. |
" observe developments soberly,
maintain our position,
meet challenges calmly,
hide our capacities and bide our time,
remain free of ambition,
never claim leadership. "~ Deng Xiaoping
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