Is Rafidah Aziz angry or ashamed with Sri Lankan-born poet for telling the truth of a Malaysian apartheid that practices discrimination against non-Malays by barring them from high posts such as Vice-Chancellors of public universities to prohibition from securing government contracts?
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Press Statement (2)
by Lim Guan Eng
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(Petaling Jaya,
Wednesday):
Is International Trade and
Industry Minister Datuk Seri
Rafidah Aziz angry or ashamed
with Sri Lankan-born poet
Sharanya Manivannan for
telling the truth of a
Malaysian apartheid that
practices discrimination
against non-Malays by barring
them from high posts such as
Vice-Chancellors in public
universities to prohibition
from securing government
contracts? As in
Shakespeare’s Hamlet, “The
lady doth protest too much,
methinks”. Clearly Rafidah is
using anger to hide her shame
that this poet, writer and
actress who spent 17 years in
Malaysia simply spoke the
truth.
In the article, “The
Malaysian Apartheid” which
appeared in the 4 December
2007 edition of ‘The New
Indian Express’, Sharanya was
eloquent in describing the
state-sanctioned division in
Malaysia,
“…The entire bureaucratic
system of Malaysia privileges
the Malay above all of these
groups. Historically, Indians
of Malaysian origin have been
at the lowest rungs of the
race/class ladder because of
how they migrated there in
the first place, usually in
the servitude of the British
Empire. Post-colonial
Malaysia did not only keep
the divide-and-conquer system
intact, it augmented it,
making race essentially the
be-all and end-all of
everything. And yes, the
Indian minority does have it
worst — socially,
economically and politically.
But under a political system
that thrives on division and
uses the threat of discord as
a means of ensuring silent
acquiescence, everybody
suffers. To different
degrees, admittedly, and a
few, maybe not at all. But by
and large, living in a
society that judges, rewards
and punishes on purely
race-based motives takes its
toll. To live conscious of
inequality makes one a
participant, willing or not,
victim or not.”
But
Sharanya was also equally
critical of Hindraf writing
that,
“…So for Hindraf, the
organisation behind the rally
of thousands seen on TV
screens all over the world
last week, to portray the
issue as a Tamil Hindu one
not only detracts from the
big picture, but further
polarises communities. For
them to also sue Britain and
demand compensation amounting
to a total of USD$14 trillion
is regressive. The point of
decolonisation is to free
oneself from the shackles of
foreign rule. Pinning the
blame on the former coloniser
instead of admitting that the
problem is internal and has
persisted for fifty years
after independence because of
internal factors is just
evading the heart of the
problem.”
While
a mass demonstration of that
sort and scale of drama could
help change Malaysia for the
better, I do not think that
the manner of execution and
the lack of follow-up will
help anything at all, except
perhaps the preexisting
status quo and commonly held
stereotypes that Indians are
violent, emotionally volatile
and deserving of mockery. The
plight of Malaysians under
their deliberately divisive
government is both real and
needs urgent rectification,
and it would be a shame for
the sudden international
awareness and ire raised to
go to waste because of a lack
of vision.”
Unlike Rafidah Aziz who is
known for her histrionics
when faced with criticism,
especially corruption
allegations for approving
tens of millions of ringgit
in shares to her son-in-law,
Sharanya was trenchant,
measured and balanced in her
assessment on both Hindraf
and the government’s role on
the ills besetting Malaysia.
How can there not be
apartheid in Malaysia when a
non-Malay born here whose
ancestors have been in
Malaysia for hundreds of
years is not a bumi and
suffer inferior status as
citizen when compared to a
person like Selangor Menteri
Besar Datuk Mohd Khir Toyo,
whose Indonesian-born father
migrated to Malaysia?
(05/12/2007)
* Lim Guan
Eng,
Secretary-General of DAP |