YOURSAY 'Could there ever be good intention by Perkasa, whatever the colours of packets that were dished out?'

What Perkasa and Malaysiakini have in common

your sayTrumpet Call: I disagree with Tan Zi Hao on his assessment of the motive behind what Perkasa, or more specifically Ibrahim Ali, has done at the Chinese New Year open house.

We should not base our analysis on a one-off event i.e. the ang pow debacle. We should look at the aims, track record and what the NGO and its leaders have been saying over the past few months.

Perkasa is racist and smacks of intolerance and aggressiveness against other races and religions, particularly the Christians. Against the backdrop of such senseless sentiments and tirade, the ang pow giving is at best, a poor attempt to mitigate a serious offence against racial harmony.

Once trust is broken, like broken glass, it is very hard to put back. Nevertheless, I say, give them the benefit of doubt, let the ang pow incident rest, and let's see what happens in the coming days. I suspect Perkasa will reveal its true colours again.

Astan: According to Tan, Ibrahim Ali's action appeared disrespectful to some. You are definitely wrong, his action was disrespectful to all. We should all be able to differentiate right from wrong.

Jeremy Tankh: Everyone knows Ibrahim Ali. He had gone out of his way to tell the whole world he is racist. Perkasa plays a zero-sum game - Malay and nothing else.

All of a sudden, when the general election is approaching, perhaps instructed by his political master (remember Dr Mahathir Mohamad said recently, PM Najib Razak needs the support of the Chinese to do well in coming GE?), Ibrahim Ali/Perkasa gave out ang pow to the old folks, who obviously can do with a little pocket money, and the writer said, "Unfortunately, the organiser's intention backfired. And since good intentions usually do not justify their ends if expressed haphazardly, Perkasa has indeed erred due to its insensitivity."

You call this "good intention" and excused it as "insensitivity". I call it "politically-motivated evil intention" and "insincerity", and "fortunately" it backfire.

Onyourtoes: This piece is just trying to be philosophical and sophisticated for nothing. Could there ever be good intention by the organiser, whatever the colour of packets that were dished out?

Perkasa is not some village nincompoop who knows nothing about its own political stand, the Malaysia's diverse cultures and the sensitivity of its people. Put it this way, the white packets or "raw" money could have been dished by any other organisation, it would not have become an issue as acute as Perkasa's.

Then you look at the recipients or the attendees of this function. They are old people, probably unsophisticated and unaware, hungry and in need of money, so what intention can you expect from them - pride, honour and dignity?

Suresh Gnasegarah: The most awesome part of this article was the fact Malaysiakini published an article that was critical of itself. That's cool and kudos to the editorial team.

AkuMelayu: There is nothing spectacular for Malaysiakini to take the trouble to ask permission from the writer to republish his article.

Malaysiakini has much to gain here for it allow them to make its clarification and at the same time make them look good by publishing the article that is critical of them. Clever move... or is it cunning?

V4C@GE13: After reading Tan's article, I am still incline towards the professionalism of Malaysiakini in allowing his article to be published for its readers' assessment of the whole matter.

I say ‘syabas' to Malaysiakini for being kind enough to have your view published, but it did not affect my good opinion of Malaysiakini.

Wanderer: The writer is cunningly and subtly trying to be apologetic to this racist establishment Perkasa. In a multiracial society like Malaysia, there is no excuse for ignorance in disrespecting the culture of another race.

We need to be sensitive to others' beliefs, but is Ibrahim Ali doing that?

Reborn: Malaysiakini is trying to be open by allowing this article to be read.

It is absurd as everyone knows that readers here are like the old folks (at Perkasa's Chinese New Year open house) - they will except and read anything and swallow it because they want to, believing this is an accurate and fair media. Is there such a thing as fair media?

Cala: Reborn, a truly good article must stand the scrutiny of every reader, not by you alone. As it is, this article may look pretty, graceful and articulate, but without doubts, it is full of holes.

My post-graduate training tells me to account for all aspects of social interaction from different perspectives. Judging from this lens, the author has failed us.

While Tan Zi Hao has highlighted the commonality of Perkasa (as a politically- inclined organisation) and Malaysiakini (as a newly emerged alternative media) where both are seen to be vociferous in pursuing their chosen endeavour, he failed to comment on the differences between the two "social constructs".

Whether you like or not, Perkasa is a regime-friendly political outfit of powers-that-be (no different from MSM such as the Star, Sin Chew Daily, Utusan Malaysia, etc, and hence helping ruling elites to perpetuate their dominance).

On the other hand, Malaysiakini is a lone voice who speaks for the weak, the masses, and the oppressed that have long been taken for granted by the corrupted regime).

If indeed Tan is serious about the practice of good virtue (one who gives first will first receive), he has to account for basic character of the ruler and its cohorts.

Hence, it is obvious that Tan's article is lop-sided, skewed to please the powers-that-be, and failed to provide a balance account of the incident arising from the lack of discussion on ethnic inequality peculiar to Malaysian context.

Where did Tan exactly err? He failed to recognise the role of Perkasa in seeking to maintain some sort of equilibrium in the current form so that the rich can continue to dominate over the poor through regime-sanctioned rent-seeking activities.

He also failed to appreciate the role of Malaysiakini in speaking up for the helpless, the marginalised, and working class whose interests have been thrown into the dustbin by the corrupted regime.

Indeed, if Tan is worthy of his salt, he ought to redo this article by providing us a more holistic view. As of now, he is merely doing apple polishing.

Artchan: Tan Zi Hao... okay, say we buy your story - that this was a gaffe unintended by Ibrahim Ali, can you also give us your take on Perkasa's history of racist rants and extremist tendencies?

Nicely written article, but to me, you seem to have been given an ang pow to write this apologist comment.

Anonymous_5fb: This article is more of a 'damage control' exercise resulting from Ibrahim Ali's 'white' ang pow fiasco rather than unethical journalism on the part of Malaysiakini.

Firstly, only God knows the actual motive of Perkasa having a CNY in 'white' decoration against the norm of red. But base on the past behaviour of Perkasa, I can guess their motive was to cause uproar among the Chinese community. It's not new here as Perkasa had tried to create fear of another 513 (May 13) before.

Secondly, it's clear Zi Hao is ignorant of the significance of ang pow. He pointed out that once the content of an ang pow is removed, the packet loses its purpose. He seems to not aware that the amount of money in an ang pow is secondary to the 'wish of fortune' to the receiver from the giver.

In olden days, something red, even without money, is sufficient to show sincerity in wishing. Didn't your parents teach you that?

Lastly, Malaysiakini has built up its reputation as a respected media organisation over the years, as against what we see in Perkasa, an ultra-Malay organisation that even Malays dare not touch with a five-foot pole.

For you to compare Malaysiakini along side with Perkasa, with the excuse of bad journalism, smell mischievous, if not cunning on your part, Zi Hao.

If I'm wrong in reading you, I apologise and wish you will forgive me. After all, you have emphasised on the politics of gifting. But I don't agree about forgiving without people repenting or apologising.

 

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