A TIMELY KICK IN THE BACKSIDE

By Yin

Thank you Steadyaku47 for the timely kick in the backside, says Yin.

“This “not sitting on our backsides” is not just for the Malays only! All Malaysians should make their voices heard by the extremists who are destroying the country’s multi-ethnic and multi-religious make-up. If you ‘Nons’ do not have leaders who are prepared to stand up and be counted on these matters, then let these extremists hear your individual voices over and over again until it is heard.”

– Hussein Abdul Hamid aka Steadyaku47.

Thank you Hussein Abdul Hamid, but at the same time I am disappointed that you have restrained yourself. You should give it to the “Nons” with both barrels! Tell it like it is man! If you can be hard on the Malays you can also be hard on the “Nons” –  why are you discriminating?

I have some choice words for these people.  I can swear in four languages and several dialects. (We are multi-lingual in Ward 5) but I am not allowed.

Let me say this loud and clear.

The “Nons” are by and large a useless pathethic lot! That’s the long and the short of it.

How many “Nons” have spoken up like Siti Kassim, Tajuddin Rasdi, Haris Ibrahim, Mariam Mokhtar etc?

Check any list you care to and you won’t find a “Non”.

How many were at the Bersih marches? My observation is that the majority were Malays.

We sit on the sideline and cheer these people on. We let others fight our battles. The above mentioned could very well have said and done nothing. In fact if they did that they would have been very handsomely rewarded. Yet they speak up and take action risking the ire of their own community while most of us come up with lame excuses like “no chance so why bother”, “dream on”, “be pragmatic” (this is a very Chinese thing. They know the price of everything and the value of nothing),  “don’t know what to do”, “cannot write”, “I am fed up with politics” “every politician is the same whichever party you vote so why bother” etc etc. You can write a book “A Thousand and One Excuses For Sitting On Our Backsides”.

Having said that, I agree with the last observation in that most (not all) politicians are useless. Politicians are just for themselves.  They are there for the big fat pay, the perks, the pension and if they are corrupt (which many are) the money they can make.

But that is all the more reason why we must do something ourselves – take our future into our own hands; don’t leave it to these scumbags.

For this reason MAJU’S proposition to field non-party candidates is worth considering.

Since Ambiga Sreenevasan and Maria Chin in the heady days of Bersih there is no “Non” who stand out in fighting the racism, religious intolerance and corruption that has brought our country to its knees.

Have we forgotten how our grandparents and parents sold our future down the drain by their apathy?

They left it to MCA and MIC. They were more interested in making money. They thought that their money would save them. What they forget is that whoever holds the power decides whether you get the licence to operate. Whether you are allowed to tender for a contract and if you do whether you get it. They can take anything away from you anytime. Ask Robert Kuok; he built a shipping empire only for the government to demand a share (almost free), rice millers who have operated for generations, had to close shop when their licences were not renewed so that they had to sell on the cheap to UMNO vultures waiting on the side. Bus operators found it not viable anymore when their routes were taken away from them.

In the past we could worship freely. Now we are constrained by the sensitivies (imagined or otherwise) of religious extremists.

There are other issues – education, citizenship, culture, the list is long.

We cursed our grandparents and parents for their apathy. Let not our children curse us for ours.

Yes, things have gone very bad – and that is because we did nothing. The wound has been left festering for too long when it should have been dealt with from the start.

Now even the token “Nons” in government is no more. The extremists have shown their true colours. They don’t want a Malaysian nation. They want a Malay nation.

For the first time Perak has no “Nons” in the cabinet. The MB has declared that it is not necessary.

In the Federal Government they have two lackey – token “Nons”.

The state of the nation is critical but it is not hopeless.

Many of our Malay brothers and sisters are prepared to fight for a Malaysia for all. They are prepared to take on the racists and religious extremists when the white knight of the “Nons” – DAP – sold us out for a  place at the top table.

We have become cheerleaders. We cheer others on from the sideline. Asking them to risk their heads while we keep ours beneath the parapet.

There is a lot we can do. I accept that not everyone can be an activist. I understand that most of us have a living to make (so have our Malay brothers and sisters).  I know it is very disheartening that even when we did our part in GE14 those we voted for have let us down.

It’s not going to be easy and no one can promise success. But unless we try we will fail. Malaysia will fail.

Do even small things like writing to the press or a website. Encourage your friends and neighbours to stand firm. Even by not spreading negativity you are helping.

Namewee did his part in his award winning film Babi. Wong Yan Ke, Yap Wen Qing and Tan Li Yuan, of Umany (University Malaya Association of New Youth) spoke up and despite being hauled up by the police, have maintained their ideals.They are young Malaysians. I am sure there are others for all communities.

Maybe there is hope after all. But unless we join them, these green shoots will wither.

Show some positivity, show some “can-do” spirit instead of discouraging others by your negativity and cynicism. Use your own initiative to do whatever little or much you can, but don’t sit on your backside.

If we want Bangsa Malaysia; if we want equal citizenship  and fair treatment by the government; if we don’t want encroachment on our rights; we have to speak up.

Today they shut down some liquor outlets, what will they do tomorrow? The country will go ‘dry’ if we let these religious extremists have their way and from there, hudud is not far behind. They condemn liquour as evil but they don’t condemn corruption and racial discrimination. Munafiks!

We stand to lose much much more than just the freedom to drink if we don’t  stand up for ourselves. They made it hard for your grandfather to do business; they are doing the same to you. They will do even more if you let them.

If everyone does his bit in the end it will become a mass protest. Our voices will be heard. They cannot ignore 40% of the population for too long. 

Look in the mirror. That person you see is responsible for the situation you are in; not someone else. And only he can put things right again.

Thank you Steadyaku47 for the timely kick in the backside.

(The views expressed are those of the contributor and do not necessarily reflect the views of Rebuilding Malaysia.)