The "Multiracial" Opposition

The Opposition claim that they represent the multiracial, cross section of the Malaysian society. I did some surfing and managed to get the list of top national office bearers of PKR and DAP. I realised that these two parties, although they claim to represent a multiracial Malaysia, in actual fact do not have a multiracial crowd of leaders, representing the equal proportion or percentage of races in the country. We need not discuss PAS, as the party only believes in one cause -- an Islamic state. Needless to say, their leaders are all Muslim.
I am not being a racist or anything like that, it is just that I am fed-up with the lies and baseless claims of these two parties, namely PKR and DAP. If these two parties want to champion the causes of a multiracial Malaysia, then the national leadership line-up of these two parties should also reflect the proportion of races living in this blessed land.

Here is the breakdown according to race in PKR. It's top national leadership has 30 Malays, 8 Chinese and 5 Indians.
Out of the five Indians in PKR, three are national council members (N.Gobalakrishnan, Irene Fernandez and S. Manikavasagam), one deputy secretary general (Dr Xavier Jayakumar) and one vice-president (R.Sivarasa).

In the DAP, it is just as bad. It's top national leadership has 25 Chinese, 5 Indians and 2 Malays.
The Indians here are chairman (Karpal Singh), vice-chairman (M.Kulasegaran), deputy secretary general (Prof P. Ramasamy), and two committee members (Gobind Singh Deo and P. Gunasekaran).

Some who read this will say that although there are limited number of Indians in these two parties, others, meaning those of other races in the party, will not differentiate among races in fighting for a better Malaysia and that they represent all Malaysians regardless of race and religion.

But if this was the case, why not let the party be equally represented? Why is there a majority of a certain race in the parties i.e Malays in PKR and Chinese in DAP. Where does that leave the Indians?

In both the parties, there is not a single Indian leader who holds a key post. The chairmanship of Karpal in the DAP, as we all know, is just a rubber stamp for decisions made by the secretary general. To further the point, we have yet to see Karpal coming out with concrete proposal or recommendation for the betterment of the Malaysian Indian community.

My advice would be please do not be hoodwinked. We have to remain united not divided in trying address all our problems.

UPDATES: With regret, I wish to state that most comments on the above article have failed to get the point. Either people are blind or myopic in their view of the issue or are defending something they don't even have the slightest knowledge about i.e the system in which these opposition parties operate.
My contention was that while DAP claims to be multiracial it has only five Indian leaders in the top brass. The same goes for PKR. Both parties have also yet to state how they are going to uplift the community if, and that's a big IF they come to power.
If you wish to comment, let it be sensible please. I am not putting up articles for people to say what they like. Get involved in an intelligent argument. But I know for some, that would be difficult.
While it is easy to lump all these leaders together in the Pakatan Rakyat basket, my question is about the individual parties. Anyway as for Pakatan Rakyat, when parties which do not share the same or similar ideology or aim come together and try to grasp power, are they really doing this for the people or do they only want power. And IF they do come to power, what next? What would be their policies on just say an Islamic state. Pas will say Malaysia is an Islamic state while DAP will claim otherwise. They can't even find a common ground.
Then you have the Indian problem. Pas will say save the Malays while the DAP and PKR will say lets plan something for the Indians. Thats only planning, mind you!
That aside, my contention in the above article is, can or would opposition Indians leaders come-up with a proper proposal to uplift Indians. These are the kind of inputs or arguments that I expected from the comments. You can support the opposition, that is not an issue but please give me intelligent comments. Calling people names is not going to help.
CHANGE PEOPLE!

ANWAR'S SEPT 16

Sept 16 came but where is the promised fireworks by Anwar Ibrahim, the de factor leader of Parti Keadilan Rakyat? He promised that today he would takeover the government. Even as off last night the Opposition leader had said he would takeover the government today. But alas, it turned out to be an empty vessel making a lot of noise.
Some people are angry, some consoling, some hopeful that it would really happen. But I personally don't think so. At a press conference today, the leader or so-called leader said he wants to meet the Prime Minister to tell Abdullah that he does not want a curfew imposed and that the transition of power done in an orderly manner. What a load of bull.
He also claims that he has 31 BN MPs under his fold and that more are joining by the hour. Thats a laughable. Just wait another few days then and maybe all 222 MPs would be in PKR since they are joining by the hour! When asked for the list of MPs, Anwar as usual was elusive.
If Anwar had the 31 MPs as he claims, he would have made a big huha over it. He would have organised a march to Istana Negara and another at Putrajaya. He would have asked the King to declare him Prime Minister. He would have virtually stormed into the PM's office or the Parliament. That is Anwar. He strives on controversies.
But this time he has over stepped his boundaries by promising the date he would come to power. That was a mistake. Now his credibility is at stake. The people would have to reevaluate Anwar's credibility all over again!

p/s And Mr OldFart, bye-bye. Please don't waste your time and mine contributing if you don't have anything to contribute. I don't mind losing one person. At least the blog would be cleaner.
For those who don't know what I am talking about, the person using the nick has used foul language etc despite several warnings. I have always published what he had to say even if it was hurtful to others but I guess like Anwar, he had over stepped his boundaries too. Bye-Bye pal!

AHMAD ISMAIL SUSPENDED

Below is the news article of Ahmad Ismail suspended for 3-years by Umno. Does he deserve a stiffer punishment?


KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 (Bernama) -- Bukit Bendera Umno division chief Datuk Ahmad Ismail has been suspended from the party for three years with immediate effect for making a disparaging remark at a political ceramah in Permatang Pauh last month, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced Wednesday.
The Umno president said the party's supreme council meeting Wednesday found that Ahmad's statements and actions, which had caused anxiety and drawn protests from the Barisan Nasional component parties, were serious.
As such, a decision was made to suspend his rights in the party under Clause 20.9 of the party constitution, he told reporters after chairing the two-hour meeting here.
Ahmad had caused a polemic with his statement at the ceramah on Aug 23 that the Chinese community are immigrants in the country and are not entitled to equal rights as the bumiputeras.
The statement had drawn anger from Gerakan and MCA leaders who demanded that he make a public apology but he had refused to do so.
"He will be stripped of whatever posts he now holds which are related to the party or the people or in his capacity as a representative of the party," said Abdullah, who is also the Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman.
Asked whether Ahmad could appeal the decision, he said: "Normally, everyone has a right to appeal."
On whether action would be taken against the newspaper which reported Ahmad's statement, he said the decision would be made by the Home Ministry.
"Matters relating to the press, matters relating to the actions of people outside the party, as I've just said, will be decided by the relevant government departments or ministries like the Home Ministry and the Royal Malaysia Police."
He said that if the political parties sensed that something had potential to create a bad situation in the country, they should lodge police reports and the same applied to the people if they felt that something not right had occurred, so that action could be taken under the law.
Abdullah said the Umno supreme council also felt that all the BN components should also be firm and take disciplinary action against any of their members who act or make statements that can cause anger and sour relations among the component parties.
"These are the two decisions made in connection with the matter," he said.
Abdullah said he also informed the meeting that the cabinet this morning discussed the situation on racial ties in the country and expressed the feeling that the signs were not good and the situation could lead to racial tensions.
"So, when many things are raised, when things are spoken about which touch on racial sensitivities in the country... matters that are not normally raised are raised and become an issue. Matters which should not be discussed are brought up and this draws various reactions," Abdullah said.
He said that all this while his government had been able to control the situation so that nothing untoward occurred but "we cannot allow this situation to continue."
The prime minister said he hoped that the people would understand that public order must be maintained through law enforcement.
"This is what we want because with one heart like this... order, peace, racial goodwill have given us the chance to develop our country so that the peole can enjoy progress, peace and security.
He had conveyed all this to the meeting, he said, adding: "We must love our nation. We must do whatever it takes to avoid clashes, things that pose a threat. We must save Malaysia from racial clashes."
Asked whether the government would use the Internal Security Act (ISA) to maintain public order, he said that only the Home Minister could sign the order for the use of the act and this also only if he really believed that the person could threaten national security.
Asked on the freedom of speech, Abdullah said although Malaysia did not restrict the freedom to speak, the laws of the country must be respected and given priority.
"Our laws are formulated in Parliament and our members of Parliament are elected by the people. We are democratic. We must understand that no one can, in the name of freedom, say what he or she likes to the extent of jeopardising public order, hurting others and violating the law," he said.
source: BERNAMA

UMNO APOLOGISES

Late this evening, Deputy Prime Minister and Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak issued a public apology to all Malaysians over the racist statement made by Ahmad Ismail, the Umno Bukit Bendera division head, in the run-up to the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election.
This is seen by many as a departure from the "arrogant" Umno, we used to know and is definitely better than "I will tell him not to do it again" statement.
I hope the party, being the backbone of the Barisan Nasional, realises that it does not merely cater for one single race but also is watched by other races in the country.
Umno leaders should realise that they do not just cater for a specific race and should watch what they say.
We in the MIC, MCA or even Gerakan even at our general assemblies are controlled in our words even when we talk about Bumiputera policies and privileges. They too should do the same.
They also need to realise the change in the nation's political landscape and the time has come for them to make sweeping statement, that could hurt the feelings of other races.
We need to bring back the good old days of tolerance, unity with sincerity and not mere words. Let us hope that this mistake would not be repeated and that the Bukit Bendera Umno division head would be dealt with accordingly by the party.

HAPPY 51ST INDEPENDENCE DAY

First and foremost, I would like to wish all Malaysians Selamat Hari Merdeka. It has been 51 years since we gained Independence from the British and yes, we have come a long way.
Although there are many issues, especially those related to race and religion, that needs to be ironed out, we have progressed.

Now to more pressing issues at hand. During the Permatang Pauh by-election, it was reported that the Umno Bukit Bendera division chief Ahmad Ismail at a ceramah said that the Malaysian Chinese were "squatters or temporary residents" of the country, thus they do not qualify to be given equal rights. This statement had prompted a barrage of criticism from the MCA and Gerakan. The MIC Youth too have come out with statements slamming the Umno leader.
This is a typical Umno leader who wants to champion his or her own political cause especially with the looming Umno divisional elections just around the corner, by making provocative statement without thinking of the consequence.
Did he forget that this is Malaysia and this is also my "tanah tumpah darahku". We non-Malays too have put in our efforts, tears, sweat and everything we have for this nation. We are citizens of this country although our ancestors were Indian and Chinese.
Stern action should be taken against him. He should be suspended of his Umno membership and made an example to other Umno leaders who are thinking of using race and religion to further their own political career.
The Barisan Nasional leadership should use this opportunity to take action against this division leader and gain some support from the non-Malays, which was lost pre March 8.
Once again Selamat Merdeka.