A I S E H M A N . O R G

so true we colour our opinions through the tinted glasses of race and religion! so sad

I don't find his comments suprising at all. Zaid Ibrahim is one of the smartest, intelligent and enlightened person in UMNO. The fact that he makes the assumption about race and religion only goes to show how brain-washed the bumiputeras are particularly those involved in politics (which is a huge group) and the fact that someone like yourself find it surprising means that the non-bumiputra are in deeper shit than they realize they are.

I said it before and I will say it again. Without the ISA, eventually this country would be torned apart. Deep deep down, we are no longer a nation.

i think in the denial is more dangerous. we know it's there, we can see it's there but we just don't wanna see it.

I agree with Bigjoe and Smellyroom.

The non-bumis in this country are well aware of the truth beneath the seemingly peaceful facade we put up in public.

How else can you explain the way Malay leaders continue to intimidate others with displays of keris waving and shouting the word "racist" more than 40 times in Parliament, not to mention scores of other bullying tactics AND GOT AWAY WITH IT??

We have madmen in our midst and it does not take much to push their buttons and trigger chaos and destruction. The only thing that is keeping the lid on for the time being is, sadly, still the ISA.

How can we ever achieve TRUE UNITY under such circumstances when a large section of our society is constantly reminded that we have to take whatever crumbs given to us because we are not of the privileged race?

In every country, it is human nature for the majority to make the minority dance to its music. This is an unfair world. Therefore the price to pay to live in majority's world is to submit and to live by the rules of the majority.

Thus, I believe it is pointless to lament about the minority being not of the privileged race. Because the truly non-privileged are the poor who find it hard to survive daily.

On the individual and superficial level, wealth and class seem to transcend the racial and religious barriers. For example, with few exceptions, a rich chinese will invite a rich malay to his house for dinner and not the chinese beggar.

However, it seems that the poor will not discriminate. The poor malay will not hesitate to invite the poor chinese to fellowship and dine at his home.

This is where hope lies and the fact that all human beings share 99.99 percent of human genetic makeup tell us on the day of final judgement, our Maker is not going to judge us based on the color of our skin but how we treat others who are different from us especially the poor amongst us.

Let's us expand our discussion here a little bit. Instead of keep pointing fingers at politicians and others for the state of ethnic relations in the country why don't we ask ourselves what we have done to improve it ?

Only when we pose this question to ourselves and act on that this country will move forward in the ethnic relationship.

Many Malaysians are quick to point fingers at others for the current sorry state without realizing that they are actually the part of the problem instead of being the part of the solution.

Sadly the day Bangsa Malaysia will emerge seems to be further and further away with each ethnic and religious groups keep fighting to preserve its beliefs, language and culture without making any efforts to find a middle ground or compromise.

However I would not go as far as to say that only ISA is keeping the country from breaking apart. There is no country in the world where there is no racial tension. But most of it remain hidden beneath the surface as the minorities are often very small and/or only interested in making as much money as possible.

While my fellow non-bumis tend to point out to the NEP for causing much of the damage, they also must understand that part of the blame lies with them. I certainly agree that NEP's implementation has been one of the key factors in the racial/ethnic disunity. But the business and cultural practices of non-bumis too has contributed significantly to this situation.

Before some folks jump on me and demanding explanation, my intention here is not to provoke any ethnic groups here but rather asking for self-examination by all Malaysians.

The non-Muslims should not view "kris" waving incident as a threat to them but rather a stunt by a political candidate to win votes. At the same time bumis should not view the non-Muslim religious practices as a threat to Islam but as an example of the rich multi-religious facet of the country.

I would like to discuss Sankaran view which quite a number of people could take and hence worthy of debating. The question is should ordinary Malaysian rise above their leaders and politicians to create Bangsa Malaysia. Morally, there is no argument but logically does it make sense?

Frankly for the vast majority of Malaysian, it does not make sense. Why? Because its not us, its not who we are. We are not a nation of rugged independent individuals - historically, culturally we are more like long-suffering sheeps benefiting from our nature and trends that comes from somewhere else. We are also a nation with frankly no great heroes. Does anynone know historically of a Malaysian hero that the world respect for its accomplishment or idea? Philippine has its Rizal, Indonesia for Soekarno, Thailand for King Mongkut but Malaysia? Hang Tuah? - not really.

Think of other things such as people movement. China has the long march. Philippine has "people power". Even Indonesia had konfrantasi. Malaysia? May 13, 1969 and not our proudest moment.

If anything, Malaysian should realize that as a people, we are incapable of changing ourselves if our leaders fail us. We have the ability to pay for their mistakes which itself is something to be proud of but to actually take action despite their failures? Its just not us.

Firstly I would like to thank Bigjoe99 for telling it like it is. Shooting straight from the hip, that IS our sorry state of affairs.

However, we should not remain fatalistic; aspirations are just that until it becomes reality. In fact, if it never becomes reality, but the effort and energy is put in, moving from the current lethargy and apathy would be better than no movement at all.

We elect representatives, but they may not reflect our desires, beiliefs and aspirations. Such a pity it is having these representatives, who really have the ability to change things at macro level, being as impotent as they are. This does not alleviate the fact that we can make a difference from a micro level, these postings being an example. If we discuss and aspire to better things firstly from a familial domain, and continue enlarging our circle of thought, we may yet make a difference.

We first have to want it.

It is the behaviour of politicians to take up the causes and aspirations of the majority, not because they believe it but because they want to get elected. If majority of Malaysians aspire for better ethnic relations then I am sure we can pressure our politicians to change. The problem is that we Malaysians speak for Bangsa Malaysia but act for Melayu, Cina,India,Kadazan, Iban,etc.

We cannot on the one hand whine about the lack of unity but at the other hand claim that we are powerless and go on to act on the contrary.

As for heroes, it is true that we lack someone whom all of us can easily identify with (the closest I can think of is Tun Mahatir, despite all his faults). The first reason is that we are not a homogenous country like Thailand, Indonesia or the Philippines. Secondly, as a country we are a very young nation.

Someone wise (can't recall who) said "Be the change you want to see". This is the motto that should guide us in not just nation building but also in our daily life.

Mahatma Ghandi: "You must be the change you want to see in the world"

If only more people thought like Sankaran and the great Mahatma...