Malaysiakini :: Letters
Malaysiakini :: Letters |
| Star article on Penang riddled with factual errors Posted: 07 Aug 2011 02:08 AM PDT We refer to the Star's column on July 31 'The Penang Dilemma' which is not only riddled with factual errors but is unbalanced in only quoting views from pro-BN NGOs biased against the Pakatan Rakyat administration led by Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng. Allow me to state some facts. First the unruly and violent demonstration on July 1 was organised not by NGOs but by Umno senator Mohamad Ezam Mohd Nor. Not only did the Umno demonstrators deliberately block traffic in the middle of the Penang bridge causing a horrendous traffic jam as long as 10 km, but they also beat up reporters covering the event. Senator Ezam even wanted to overthrow Lim as Chief Minister immediately without waiting for elections. Second, the demographic make-up of Penang based on the 2010 Malaysian Statistics Department is as follows: Chinese 670,400 or 45.6 percent, Malays 636,146 or 43.6 percent and Indians 153,472 or 10.4 percent. Third it is not true that there are no low-cost housing projects or not enough jobs created. As a people-centric government, the Penang Pakatan government has built and approved 11,596 low and medium-cost housing since taking over in 2008. Penang now faces a skilled as well as a workers shortage due to its success of drawing in investments, becoming top in Malaysia for the first time in history in 2010 with RM12.24 billion. We reject as totally false, lies that either Lim or the Pakatan Penang state government is anti-Malay as alleged by Umno or anti-Chinese as alleged by MCA. Our open tender system treats everyone equally and is colour-blind. Unfortunately views from genuine and independent Malay NGOs were neither canvassed nor reported. If Malay contractors get the majority of the contracts by open tenders, they deserve to and prove that Malay contractors are able to compete with others. There is no dilemma there.
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| Posted: 07 Aug 2011 01:28 AM PDT Ironically we had a national tourism tagline flying the globe. We claimed to be an experience that is 'Truly Asian'. Strangely none of our Asian neighbours thought of even coming anywhere near such superlatives. And we know today that they were the wiser for doing so. Today, going by the race and religious dichotomies that threatens to split and tatter the social framework of a nation that has hardly flown to a developed plateau, Malaysians are being watched with great concern by our neighbours. Today, travellers will tell you that Malaysia is even being regarded with a tinge of suspicious worry considering how the country is increasingly being bludgeoned with Islam versus Christianity attacks. Today, while our neighbours are well on the highway of calling themselves after their national band, i.e. Indonesians, Thais, Singaporeans, Cambodians, Vietnamese and Filipinos, we on the other extreme are after the Malay, Chinese and Indian throats as we are even into debating vehemently whether we are Malaysians first or race first. While political parties in Asia - especially within our close neighbourhood nations, are progressing along the bandwidth of championing humanitarian and democratic values, we are screaming full throttle for race preservation fueled by race annihilation battle-cries. While our neighboring countries – Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Philippines are forging ahead, courting with religious harmony and co-existence, we are sharpening our axes for the resurrection and crucifying of one religion at the expense of another. Now for how long more can we continue to deceive ourselves by claiming that Malaysia is a unique country and therefore its race and religion wars have to be fought by the hair and throat? For how long more will Malaysians be able to endure these vexatious moments that have been dragging for over three decades and seem set to go overdrive anytime soon? Lest we also forget, whatever comes out on the main stream media is also being filtered by our neighbors. Their citizens are also riding the numerous forums on the cyber loop. Hence is it any surprise if Malaysians are being watched with immense concern and suspicion by the neighboring and global community? It is not going to serve us all any better if we deny all of these tips of the icebergs while preaching that the going is great in the country. We do not have to use the yardstick of the first-world. Just by humbly comparing us with our third-world brothers and sisters, we will know the harsh and frightening truth. In none of these countries do we hear their citizens being shouted at within the Parliament "Balik Cina-lah; balik-India lah!" (Return to China, to India). Nowhere do you hear of their citizens wanting to run away from their homeland for good. They only leave short-term and temporarily merely to bring back greater wealth to their loving and inseparable home nations. But we have to set up engines at great cost to go out into the diasporas to woo and entice ex-Malaysians to return. Why? What does it tell us? We need not even philosophize. Just take the case of flying the national flag. How many times each year do we have to issue advisories, appeals, and even stern directives to fly the symbol of hope - the Malaysian flag, only to be met with cold response. But this is never the case with other nations. Thailand is a classic example. Truly, Malaysia despite all the blessings of rubber, tin, palm, oil, good soil and climate, and seas all around – is a spoilt and wasting child, politically. We have squandered our blessings simply because the powers that be propagated, nurtured and fuelled race and religious divisiveness. And so today painfully the awakened and weary cry despite still having millions living in self denial – that infamous 'semuanya ok' mentality in Malaysia. Indeed Malaysia risks being turned from a rising tiger to an injured tiger; meanwhile the rest of the region will be well poised to ride the next wave of the Long Tail given the countries' loyal and united citizenry with zero race and religious blinkers. Unless we wake up, face the truth in the eye and say enough is enough there is going to be none to heal this nation. But to do that we have to ask ourselves honestly, "are we capable and do we have what it takes to save this nation for a future in history?" And who shall be our leaders to march us onward before all else is too late? Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
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