http://www.thenutgraph.com/muhyiddins-colonialist-mind

Muhyiddin's colonialist mind
24 Apr 09 : 2.30PM By Ooi Heng

A COLONIALIST mindset is always linked with phrases such as "these people
are not grateful", said intellectual Prof Emeritus Dr Benedict Anderson one
week after April Fool's Day this year. Anderson was delivering a public
lecture, Is Asian Nationalism Unique?, on 8 April 2009 at Universiti
Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).
http://pkukmweb.ukm.my/%7Eikmas/bm/syarahan.pdf

Anderson is the author of Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin
and Spread of Nationalism, which topped lists of academic citations, even
outnumbering Samuel Huntington's The Clash of Civilisations and the Remaking
of World Order. Those who have been following Indonesian politics would also
know him as the scholar barred from entering Indonesia during President
Suharto's era because of his treatment of materials relevant to the
overthrow of President Sukarno.

What struck me was that Anderson's quip resonates with the kind of mentality
we have seen again and again in the leadership of Malaysia. What's more
striking is that four days after Anderson's insightful lecture, the new
Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, was quoted saying Chinese
Malaysians appeared unappreciative of the ruling regime's efforts by
supporting the opposition.
http://thenutgraph.com/dont-blame-chinese-malaysians-for-bns-loss

Muhyiddin was the Barisan Nasional (BN) leader tasked by new Prime Minister
Datuk Seri Najib Razak to lead the coalition's machinery in the triple 7
April by-elections, in which the BN only won in Batang Ai.
http://thenutgraph.com/by-elections-test-new-umno-leadership

Muhyiddin's remark, despite his subsequent backpedalling, essentially
demonstrates the colonialist mindset that Anderson joked about, only
Muhyiddin's mindset is embedded in a broader political ideology: ketuanan
Melayu.

Brainwashing

If one studies the factors ensuring the ruling regime's victories before 8
March 2008, one will notice the role of institutionalised brainwashing of
citizens by the Umno leadership. Given the extent of such brainwashing -
including the justifications for ketuanan Melayu - one wouldn't be too
shocked reading such a familiar remark from Muhyiddin.

In his newly published book, Saya Pun Melayu, the
"five-months-and-27-days-minister" Datuk Zaid Ibrahim says that many Malays
did not realise the notion of ketuanan Melayu was not a constitutional
provision.
http://thenutgraph.com/saya-pun-melayu

On the contrary, it was former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's
ideologue, Tan Sri Abdullah Ahmad, who started linking the ideology of
ketuanan Melayu to his interpretation of the "social contract". It is to
Abdullah's credit that an Umno-defined ketuanan Melayu was reinvented,
turned into a constitutional right, and ceased being mere affirmative action
defined by a limited timeframe.

Dr Mavis C Puthucheary, one of the authors of the book Sharing the Nation,
has produced a good piece of research: Malaysia's "Social Contract": the
Invention and Historical Evolution of an Idea. She points out that "social
contract" in the Malaysian context was first used by Abdullah in 1986, in
his own words, as follows:
http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/4468344

"The political system of Malay dominance was born out of the
sacrosanct social contract which preceded national independence ...
The [New Economic Policy] must continue to sustain Malay
dominance in the political system in line with the contract of 1957.
Even after 1990 there must be mechanisms of preservation, protection
and expansion in an evolving system."

But that's Abdullah, writing in 1986. What surprises me now is that within
days, the same media outlets that reported Muhyiddin's colonialist message
also introduced us to his boss's 1Malaysia concept.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/4/15/nation/3697685
&sec=nation

Wouldn't the Number One's vision directly contradict the Number Two's
remark? Is 1Malaysia a euphemism to continue a neo-colonial illusion, à la
Abdullah? Or is it an admission that for the past half century, what we
actually had in this country was 2Malaysias - a product of the BN/Umno
regime?
------------------------------------------------------
Ooi Heng is a political observer and follows parliamentary proceedings
closely.
____

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/4/24/nation/
3026697&sec=nation

Barisan and PAS claim they had Chinese interests at heart
24 Apr 2009

KUALA TERENGGANU: The battle for Chinese votes intensified with both sides
claiming to have done more for the community.

Former mentri besar Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh said it was Barisan Nasional's
assemblymen who had blocked a land takeover bid at a Chinese temple here
when the state was under PAS rule from 1996 to 2004.

Idris said a copy of the state government gazette, dated Feb 13, 2003,
showed that the 450sq metre-land where the temple was situated was needed by
the then state government for a flood mitigation project.

He was responding to a statement by state PAS deputy commissioner Datuk Wan
Mutalib Embong, who told reporters earlier that PAS never intended to take
over the temple.

Idris said PAS had done little for the people of Terengganu when it was in
power. "But when we took over the government, we brought down the poverty
rate by more than half, from over 15% to 6.5% in 2007.

"We also managed to improve the per capita income for the people in the
state from RM1,984 to RM2,463 in the same period."

He said the state government also wanted to take over 400sq metres of land
in Balik Bukit where the state Mardi building stood.

Idris said the community would not be swayed by PAS' promises now.
____

MCA saved Kampung Jawa
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/4/24/nation/3759571
&sec=nation
____

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/103077

After Hindraf, here comes Mindraf
S Pathmawathy | Apr 24, 09 8:21pm [extract]

Are you tired of MIC being the only authoritative political party for Indian
Malaysians? Are you tired of Hindraf being the only voice for the social
welfare of the Indians? Well, fret no longer, Manuel Lopez has an
alternative.

Lopez, who was formerly a journalist for almost 40 years, today announced
the formation of a new political party called the Malaysian Indian
Democratic Action Front (Mindraf).

Mindraf, according to Lopez, is a party that he has been promoting for the
past three years and currently has some 3,000 avid followers.

http://media1.malaysiakini.com/179/5c4786701dd85b490266301d672cbe38.jpg

Lopez, 59, founder of the party, told a press conference that Mindraf's
objective was not focussed on gaining any political mileage.

On the other hand, it would be service-orientated and concentrate on the
settling issues affecting the Indian community.
[...]
____

Hindraf to remain non-political, says leader
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/4/24/nation/3758212
&sec=nation

100 ex-PKR and Hindraf members join MIC
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/4/24/nation/3761246
&sec=nation
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