Imagining a 'Malay paradise'
COMMENT | Let us imagine that it is Christmas Eve and in a rare turn of events, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang decides to make a Christmas wish. He opens his eyes and finds himself the leader of a new country, the caliphate of Malaysia.
The non-Malays, like the Chinese and Indians, have long since left. They were fed up with the contempt of the Malays, who said, "You should be happy we allow you to live in our Tanah Melayu".
Do these Malays wonder how Malaya, the land of rubber and tin, would have progressed, without the imported non-Malay labour force?
Hadi is wrong because Malaysia belongs to the Orang Asli and indigenous tribes.
In Hadi's new-found caliphate, the only citizens are Malays and perhaps, some pseudo-Malays, like the Indonesians and Bangladeshis. The land grabs in Zimbabwe reduced the country to a "beggar" state when it was once the bread basket of Africa. Would we suffer the same fate?
Hadi's rallying call is that his party is the "defender of Islam" and the "protector of the Malays"; but if you were to ask them why Islam needs defending, or the Malays need protecting, they would be unable to answer.
The Malays should have nothing to fear as they enjoy most benefits, scholarships, school and university places, help for small businesses, housing applications and jobs in the civil service, than any of the non-Malays.
Perhaps, Malays need protecting from their own kind. As the Felda, Mara and Tabung Haji scandals have shown, few Malay leaders voiced their anger at Malays stealing from other Malays.
Malays are ill-equipped to deal with betrayal. They handle it by saying, "It is fated by God" or "Takdir". They are master procrastinators, unwilling to take charge of their own lives...
