The political popularity of Malay reservations may soon see this system being extended to include minorities. Sooner rather than later, Malay’s reservations too will come to be, though perhaps in a modified form.Mahathir suffers from a complex dis-ease. He suffers from DENIAL of his own flaws. he suffers from a condition called distorted thinkingwhere lies are turned into truths. he lives in fear of his own self. He has no attributes to be statesman. Its quite fine for me seeing Mahathir with Ibrahim Ali. Birds of the feather will always flock together.And of course he suffers from this insatiable greed and an inflated EGO ( easing God out ).He wishes to be GOD and that of course will lead to his inevitable crash. I believe in this that we reap that which we sow. I’m certain he will see that in his lifetime. If ain’t then I think there’s no GOD.
So as the mainstream news would have it, an entire nation waits with bated breath as their numero uno deliberated and chiseled away at his purported `new economic model ‘. For months before, his grand plans already peppered the air pandered, powdered and puffed by gushing financial writers, who snap to heel at his bidding.
So there we have it. A nebulous mouthing of contradictions such as promises of new affirmative actions with fairness to all and such.
Across the border, while democracy played out in crippling demonstrations, neighbouring Thailand saw a soaring stock market in a show of confidence, without nary a notch on its internal rumblings.
Our NEM indeed made an effort to rename one of its development schemes (for scheme it is) Malaysian Investment Development Authority from its previous moniker Malaysian Industrial Development Authority.
Any difference would be the scramble for a new rebranding exercise where precious funds be set aside for re-design of logo, logotype, stationery, signage, business cards and hey, you never know, refurbishment of the already flash offices.
What’s in a NEM? We’d like to know more for the news was rosily perky, vague and non-eventful.
Are all these reservations helping to correct caste and other imbalances and injustices in our polity, and thereby increasing the social and economic freedoms that we enjoy as a society, or are they jeopardising such freedoms in the name of affirmative action? In the name of enlarging and enhancing the scope of our democracy, is the ever-enlarging system of reservations imprisoning and shackling democracy by cutting off the oxygen supply of democracy based on the principle of competition?
Sorry to be writing to you so soon after the last, but I read on Malaysianinsider that at the racist Perkasa congress over the weekend, you had called for a review of something or the other so as to be able to reply to allegations that the Malays have stolen the country’s wealth and denied the rights of non-Malays, and felt that I could not let you get away with these mischievous, dishonest observations without responding to the same.
You see, I do not think anyone has said that the Malays have stolen the country’s wealth or denied the rights of the non-Malays.
What many have said, myself included, is that you and your privileged cronies, inside and outside of government, have robbed the people of this nation, Malays included.
And, inspired no doubt by you, many in the civil service also got in on the action.
I’m going to keep this short, so I’ll just cite one instance. I’ll leave commentators to add to the list, if they care to.
One evening in the early 90’s, when Putrajaya and KLIA was being conceived by your government, I got a call from a friend who excitedly asked me to meet him to look at a ‘cannot go wrong’, ’sure make money’ investment opportunity.
I met him at a pub in PJ.
He opened up maps of Sepang and Dengkil, said he had connections with people who had connections in the highest offices of government, identified the areas on the maps that were being earmarked for the construction of Putrajaya and KLIA and the housing and commercial areas that would sprout up thereabouts, and then said that the owners of these property were unaware of these intended developments. If we bought now, the price would be dirt cheap.
When sold later, or if acquired for purposes of the intended development, the returns, either from the re-sale or government acquisition, would be considerably higher.
Big profits to be made.
At the loss of those who had held those properties for a long time, some passed down from generation to generation.
And who were unaware of the intended development.
These were Malays.
Who were screwing them?
If you remove competition from a democracy – whether it is competition to win an election, or to get admission into an educational institution, or get a job – you remove initiative, enterprise and accountability. If I get a legislative seat, or admission to a college, or a job, not through merit but because that seat, that admission, that job, was reserved for me, will that make me more or less well equipped to function as a free citizen in a free society? Will that increase or decrease my self esteem?
Yes, there are shocking inequalities and oppression, based on caste, creed and gender, in our society. And yes, these stigmas have to be expunged.
But are reservations the best delivery system for social and economic justice? Or are they just an excuse to perpetrate an exploitative political system of vote banks, which is a travesty of true democracy?
Suppose you had to cast your vote for or against the policy of Malay reservations. What would be your choice?
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