KUALA LUMPUR: The international image of anti-Chinese demonstrations in Malaysia is untrue and incorrect, as there is no Malay-Chinese conflict or confrontation, but a battle between the politics of the nation for thefuture versus the politics of race of the past, warned DAP elder statesman Lim Kit Siang. “A struggle for the soul and future of Malaysia is taking place.”
“Are Malaysians prepared to stand up for thefuture or will they harken to the calls of the discredited politics of race of the past?”
Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region, gender, age or even politics, must hold their heads in shame as the country acquires a new infamy in the international society, added Lim who is also DAP Parliamentary Leader and Gelang Patah MP. “As if we have not enough of shame and scandals which had seriously hurt the pride of Malaysians including those overseas, the country in the past 24 hours has acquired a new international infamy, a country of ‘anti-Chinese’ demonstrations.”
Already, said Lim, the country was wrestling with the MH370 disappearance, the MH17 disaster, continued unsolved mystery of the motive for the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu and the blowing up of her body with military-grade explosives, the RM50 billion 1MDB scandal, and the RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal in Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s personalbanking accounts.
Malaysians and the world are being reminded of the anti-Chinese riots in Indonesia in 1998 which led eventually to the fall of President Suharto and hisgovernment in Indonesia, he noted.
Is Malaysia heading in that direction of inter-racial strife, unrest and political turmoil?
Definitely not, said Lim, or there would not have been a peaceful gathering of Malaysians, in hundreds of thousands, many times the size of the Red Shirts September 16 Umno rally, just a fortnight ago. “The people came together as one people, sehati sejiwa, with a singleness of purpose and the common objective to demand for goodgovernance and clean, free and fair elections.”
He reckons that those who want to defend the politics of race of the past want to create the false image that Malaysia was being convulsed by a racial confrontation and conflict between the Malays and the Chinese so as to preserve the past pattern of politicking. “They want to destroy the politics of the nation of the future from surfacing and replacing the politics of race of the past.”
Malays and Islam are not under threat in Malaysia, pointed out Lim. “Desperate and bankrupt politicians want to prevent the new politics of the nation from being born by continuing to frame the politics of Malaysia in 2015 in the mould of the politics of race of the past. Patriotic and progressive Malaysians regardless of race, religion or region want to put the past behind us.”
The Bersih 4 overnight rally in Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching represents the future and salvation of Malaysia, continued Lim, where Malaysians transcend race, religion, region, gender age or even politics for a common national objective: a united, self-confident, harmonious, democratic, just, progressive and prosperous Malaysian nation to be a model for the rest of the world.
“The Red Shirts September 16 Umno Rally represents the past of race politics which could only end up with Malaysia as a failed state and a basket-case in international society.”
