A Display Of Ketuanan Or Idiocy ?

For as long as I can remember a Malaysian Indian family lived on the ground floor of my late grandmother’s house in Teluk Intan.  The family is no longer there as thaatha had passed on and the children have all moved out after starting their own family.  That family was like an extended kin to us; helped our family when my grandmother passed away almost three decades ago.  My father allowed them to stay on even after that and never once, as far as I can recall, was the rent rate ever revised.  My father  never have allowed that to happen as he too was taught to be just to all races even though his late uncle was the first UMNO leader there, and my late grandfather the first secretary.

Which brings me to this post.  My friends and foes in UMNO would probably scream at me once they get to read this post, but it is a matter that I have to bring forth.

I have been made aware that the MIC Youth has had their request for allocation to the Youth and Sports Ministry for a youth programme involving 1,000 Indian youths from Malaysia and Singapore shot down by the latter – apparently without offered reasons.  The request was personally sent in by the MIC Youth Chief,  T Mohan to the Deputy Minister for Youth and Sports, Dato’ Razali Ibrahim.  However, I was made to understand that without even opening the envelope to read the content, Razali passed the letter on to his Special Officer.  The very next day, the Special Officer, when contacted, told MIC youth’s secretary, P Punithan that the Ministry had run out of allocations.  Punithan reluctantly accepted the reason (excuse, I would say) and asked if a Local Order could be issued, but was told that the Deputy Minister does not have a local order facility.  Now, I find that excuse quite absurd.

The above is apparently NOT the first time that such an incident has happened involving the MIC Youth and the said Ministry.  One wonders if the “Big Brother” attitude is back in business at this eleventh hour (with the General Elections just around the corner)?  Is it because Razali feels that Muar is a safe seat, oblivious to the fact that major voters’ registration process in major towns in Johor is taking place (and not organised by BN component parties)?  Or is it because the MIC Youth openly supports the UMNO Youth Chief, Khairy Jamaluddin?  If the latter is the case, they I do not find Razali a mature or professional politician (he is four years younger than I am).  I, too, have had issues with Khairy but I know where to draw the line when it comes to the importance of the community at large.  Differences aside, Khairy is still a better choice, commandingly, as a youth leader than Razali is.

I pity the Prime Minister because every time he tries to do something different and acceptable to virtually all, some jokers will drag his efforts down.  And when Najb tries to appeal to the nation stating that “No one will be left out in nation’s march towards progress“, people like Razali proves otherwise.

If the Malays really want to prove their “Ketuanan,” they ought to learn that respect has to be earned and commanded – not demanded. The only way this can be achieved is by being fair to and respecting fellow Malaysians, and not by shunning them.