Blogging ‘cos I can’t sleep.. :P :(
Here are some (again poorly researched/cited.. you know where to lookla.. :) reflections coming out of the Umno Gen Ass.
I’ve said time and again that the BN formula perpetuates ethnic division because that is the driving rationale and perpetual fate of ethnocentric parties. Without issues built on ethnic lines, there is no need for ethnic parties.
The Gen Ass reminded me that when ethnic issues don’t really exist, you very simply make them up.
It turns out self-justification is a crucial element in the life of a political party. The core values and motivations for a party’s struggle must resonate with the rakyat’s concerns, after all.
Here’s the magic though – in Umno,they don’t seem to fit the party’s core values to match the people’s evolving concerns; they work their butt off to make sure that the people are forever concerned about (read: scared of) the only core issues Umno has ever been known to sell itself on.
This is why every Gen Ass functions to remind the Malays that their economic interests are being maliciously enroached upon by the ‘other races’ (only Umno can protect them from such treachery); that Islam is being insulted, challenged and degraded by all other religions (but even more so by PAS, of course); and that the non-bumiputeras seem to spend every waking hour plotting for a way to usurp the special rights of the Malays.
I make the plea to any bumiputera friend and reader – do you personally know anyone (hearsay does not count) who is assiduously making it harder and harder for you to make a living? How many people have you actually ever heard insult, challenge or degrade Islam? Are the non-bumis you know always complaining about Malay special rights? Do you believe that that’s what they talk about incessantly behind your back?
Umno makes most of these things up. Just like the mufti of Perak makes up the ludicrously large number of people who have apostasised. No masses of apostates, no need for overzealous muftis. No threat to the Malays, no need for Umno.
Trouble is, the Umno-led government is so busy making us believe that Malays are being threatened at every corner by non-Malays that they aren’t taking the time to deal with the same problems that affect every Malaysian – Malay or not. Do snatch theives differenciate by ethnicity? Does wastage of taxpayer money and public funds affect one group more than another? Is the ISA only used to detain and torture people with certain skin colours?
But these aren’t the issues that Umno has trained its members to look out for. Umno loves nothing more than to see inter-religious dialogue – regardless of what is actually being discussed, it’s perfect to condemn them as attacks on Islam; to Umno, any discussion of the NEP is a windfall – ‘they are trying to economically colonise us, the true masters of this land!’
Umno loves these just as the Israeli government loves Palestinian suicide bombers; just as Hitler loved the Jews; just as George Bush loves terrorists.
In truth, I am thus encouraged. The rot in BN is evident, to my eyes at the very least. They’ve built themselves a mighty fortress of power, but how long can it stand, built on a coalition where each partner is condemned to vilify another forever just to justify their continued existence? What long term future can there possibly be for a party that continuously recreates the same old bogeymen out of thin air because they are too lazy to respond to the real concerns of the day?
Don’t fall for it friends – take a look outside for yourselves. Without using anyone elses lenses, look into your hearts, look into the hearts of everyone you know.. what do you see?
