(Petaling
Jaya,
Saturday
):
Last Friday, Singapore Mentor
Minister Lee Kuan Yew has commented that Chinese in Malaysia (and also
Indonesia) were being marginalized systematically.
Lee must have said this to serve his party's agenda, i.e. to influence
Singaporean Chinese to support PAP so that his party could continue to
rule Singapore. But I'm afraid what he has said was not very far from
the truth in Malaysia.
Gerakan's outgoing chief Lim Keng Yaik and his heir apparent Koh Tsu
Koon have no credibility to tell Kuan Yew off as their party, Gerakan,
is being marginalised by their own partners in the Barisan Nasional
coalition, i.e.UMNO and MCA.
If Keng Yaik is true to himself, he should know more than anybody else
that how Chinese were being marginalized in this country.
As a long-serving minister, I believe he knows exactly how the
non-Malays were being discriminated and marginalized under the New
Economic Policy(NEP). And looks like the non-Malays will be haunted by
the NEP for many more years to come if people like Khairy Jamaluddin
and Hishamuddin Hussein continue to have their say.
Keng Yaik should know how the Chinese schools were being marginalized
in this country.If UMNO continues to push for the 2-4-3 formula and
finally decided to hold examinations only in English for Maths and
Science come 2008, that will be the end-of-the-road for Chinese
schools in Malaysia.
He should also know that the cultures of the non-Malays were not even
considered as part of the national culture. He should still remember
how Lion Dance was almost forced to change to Tiger Dance, and how
Chinese signboards were almost forced to be taken down without any
justification.
Keng Yaik should not forget that until today, non of the non-Malays
have made it to the top in the police force, armed forces and public
universities. Do you mean we could not find a single non-Malay who was
qualified for the top job?
He should still remember that we used to have a Chinese Governor in
Melaka, and non-Malays were used to be given the opportunity to lead
some important ministries, such as the Ministry of Finance and
Ministry of Trade and Industry. Not anymore.
Keng Yaik could not agree with Kuan Yew probably because he felt
ashamed for not being able to saveguard the interest of the non-Malays
in this country as a minister. He probably realised that by admitting
that the Chinese in Malaysia were being marginalized would not be a
good reflection on him.
I may even argue that even the Malays were being marginalized in this
country under the rule of Barisan Nasional Government. Only
UMNO-putras, MCA taikos and MIC warlords stand to benefit with their
special political connections. They run the country as if they own the
whole country, and the rest of poor Malaysians were being marginalized
by them for the past half a century.
(23/09/2006)