Is The Chinese Short-Sighted and Selfish ? (Part 1 : Kiasu)

Read this and judge for yourself:

Malaysia Today : TODAYonline - What about the Chinese?

IMPORTANT EXCERPT 1 :
THE recent spate of street protests may have affected Malaysia's international image to a certain extent. But at home, the protests could go some way in halting the Chinese community's slide in support for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN).

In fact, the government may even gain a few votes from the community, which had been leaning towards the opposition in recent months.

One reason for this change of heart lies in the traditional conservative belief of the Chinese that such street protests are bad for business.

IMPORTANT EXCERPT 2 :
The Hindraf protests were given wider coverage on Mandarin television news broadcasts than on national Malay language bulletins that day - perhaps a sign that the authorities were sending a message to the Chinese community that BN stood for law and order while the opposition represented some form of anarchy.

IMPORTANT EXCERPT 3 :
It was particularly noticeable that in fact, the Chinese were conspicuous by their virtual absence from both protests.

IMPORTANT EXCERPT 4 :
Madam F L Chen, a 50-something long-time resident of Petaling Jaya suburb, said she did not understand what the protests were all about."I could not go out that day to do any shopping. I just do not understand what the protesting was about," she told Weekend Extra.

IMPORTANT EXCERPT 5 :
Her reaction is perhaps stereotypical of many Chinese Malaysians, who, while not happy with the government over a host of issues including perceived discrimination, will not vote opposition if there is a chance it will lead to instability.
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First of all, in my opinion most Chinese folks belong to the selfish lot. Perhaps, Malaysian Chinese should not call Singaporean Chinese kiasu, kiasi and kiachenghu. With much disappointment I would say a big number of Malaysian Chinese are not much different than what they perceive of their Singaporean counterparts.

KIASU : LEISURE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANYTHING
Let's talk about kiasu first. According to the excerpt above, a Chinese auntie is concerned when she is not able to shop because of protests. I do not think she is concerned with the reason of protest and such. Maybe some would say it is arguable that this aunt does not represent Malaysian Chinese in entirety. However, bear in mind I do have a number of Chinese friends that labelled so-called protesters and rally participants as "criminals" or express downright condemnation over the affairs.

Now, why is it kiasu? Shopping is common in Malaysia. You can shop almost anytime and almost anywhere you like. We have several shopping malls in specific locations even around Kuala Lumpur itself. The issue here is, does one sideline national issues over the inability to shop ?

In essence, when one knows there is a protest going on, there could be something that is not right in the country. Protests mostly but not all arise from dissatisfaction over some handling of issues or perceived unfair treatment towards certain social groups. Rallies may stem out from a need to stake one's point for the benefit of the nation. Otherwise it could be some demand for the betterment of some procedures in the interest of all.

Selfishly, these selfish group of people will then conclude it has nothing to do with them. "Politics has nothing to do with me", they say. Such perception is definitely ironic. How could it have nothing to do with you? An election is a place for you to determine your future by choosing the correct leadership. A sham democracy represented by a rigged election may lead to marginalisation of your community. You and your children may suffer from the outcome of a poor leadership that may not be the aspiration of the majority. A poor economy may result from poor leadership. Widespread corruption and crime criples the economy. How in the world do you perceive that has nothing to do with you? How do you get to shop if you cannot get better income for your business?

Therefore, the irony of placing shopping as a priority over dissent and dissatisfaction of social groups proves the inability of certain chinese folks to see the bigger picture or similarly can be termed as "short-sighted".

There are even those who say they do not support Indians who rallied because it is "the affair of Indians and not ours". This is a selfish thinking, in which, certain Chinese do not view themselves as Malaysians. Some would say "Oh no! I think myself as a Malaysian but still it is an Indian problem, nothing to do with me". They think, it is not their affair that certain people in the nation of Malaysia are in difficult livelihood. Now, how could you be a Malaysian if you do not think of the well-being of other Malaysians? How could you expect to be treated as a Malaysian if you do not treat others as Malaysians?

As for those who label protesters as criminals, I would like to refer to a protest this year in Johor. It was right after a rape case. I am sure most of the chinese would know the crime in Johor is escalating. These people were protesting against crime. They were asking for police to do something useful to instil stability. So, how could these people who protested against crime be regarded as criminals? Ironic, isn't it? Stupidity or Short-Sighted, you decide. Could both work hand in hand?

So what if someone planned to protest over the matter of Mission schools must have crosses removed or over the Kampung Berembang incident ( as reported in Malaysiakini ) ? What if you are part of the mission schools or part of the people who was removed forcefully from their home ? Do you still label yourself as a criminal if you protest? Do you still place importance on shopping or other leisure activities? The fact that these did not directly affect certain chinese folks therefore did not see support or attention from these people prove again the selfishness and short-sightedness of certain groups.

Of course, there are exceptions to the selfish and short-sighted kiasu people in the chinese community. The question remains, "how many of them?". In my opinion, it is a minority.

( Coming up... Is The Chinese Short-Sighted and Selfish ? (Part 2 : Kiasi) )

HINDRAF Rally of the Marginalised (Videos and Pics)

Malaysiakini reported 30,000 Hindraf protesters rally in KLCC

WE WANT OUR RIGHTS ! ( Picture from BMahendran.com )

Big crowd around the area( Picture from BMahendran.com )

Malaysiakini further reported of A Gandhi-inspired mass civil disobedience :
Hindraf legal advisor P Uthayakumar, has declared the movement’s rally today “a success” despite not being able to hand a petition to the British High Commission.

-> Petition 'not main objective'
-> Crowd defiant and persistent
-> 400 protesters detained

For at least five times, the crowd would run at each 'water canon charge', only to defiantly claim back their original positions and chanting "We want justice!" in both Tamil and English.

( Picture from Reuters )

One of the Petronas Twin Towers in the background while chemical-laced water was sprayed onto peaceful marchers. ( Picture from BMahendran.com )



( Pictures from Reuters )

This post can also be labelled as "Heavy Handed Police Force on Malaysian HINDRAF Marchers" or "HINDRAF Rally: Democracy Malaysian-Style on Poor Marginalised Indians" . The full set of the pictures can be viewed in Reuters Slideshow .

Other important pictures on the HINDRAF protest can be viewed in Belladonna's blogspot
1) HINDRAF Protest - Part 1
2) HINDRAF Protest - Part 2

There are helicopters and other aspects of the rally taken from her family's apartment.

Views of Independent Organisations
The President of Human Rights Association (HAKAM) , Malik Imtiaz Sarwar has expressed his opinions on the Personal Dignity Of HINDRAF Supporters . Malik mentioned how different the police treatment on the UMNO Youth Demonstration during Condoleeza Rice's (of USA) visit at the same vicinity of the HINDRAF rally. No heavy handed police force on the former while the latter can be seen as provided by the videos and pics on this page and other blogs.

Haris Ibrahim of the People's Parliament, who is a lawyer did not walk in the rally but as a concerned citizen, he took the role as an observer in the Bar Council team. The Bar Council is apparently upset over the force imposed on rally participants.

Videos

( Malaysiakini.tv on Youtube )


( AlJazeera Official Report on Youtube )

A Youtube user by the name of thaksan had made several recordings AlJazeera news reports at different times.
1) Hindraf report at 9am on Youtube
2) Hindraf report at 10am on Youtube
3) Hindraf report at 11.35am on Youtube
4) Hindraf rally report with Y.B. Mr. S.K. Devamany, the Member of Parliament for Cameron Highlands and current Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) Member of Central Working Committee ( Must Watch! )

Some important points from the fourth video:
Q: Why then if there is a democratic process in place, you do not allow protests to take place. These people have requested a permit but you turned it down. Why is it necessary?

A: I think the intention was wrong. I think because religion was used and religious issues are very sensitive in this part of the nation. We are a multi-religious nation and things can go out of place and emotions are flaring.

Q: Hold on a minute, you seem to be suggesting the protesters are causing the violence but in fact it was not the case. It was clearly the police that were taking the aggressive stance by firing tear gas and spraying chemicals through water cannons. They were not provoked by the protesters.

A: We have to see the type of people that came for the demonstration. I am not there but I wish that the demonstrators are matured and know how to handle themselves.

Q: Sir, what do you mean by the type of people. Are you referring to the fact that these people are of Indian ethnicity? Is that something that the government cannot accept : Indians taking to the streets?

A: No, No, I don't think so. I don't think so. The fifth prime minister has been giving tremendous allowances for openness and errh, feedbacks from the people, the press has been given freedom, legislatively freedom has been given the last four years.

Q: OK.

A: And the result of this response is because also of the openness. And I think the reactions could be instigated by one or two incidences which could have been overshot, overblown and there is a reason. A layman doesn't exactly know what is being done.


Then, I have more questions to ask the MP from MIC:
1) If it is the openness of the current governance, why aren't the protesters allowed to march?
2) If laymen do not understand "what is being done", why didn't the MPs or members explain it to the laymen and make sure they fully understand way back before the rally?
3) Dear me, are you sure it is only one or two incidences that caused such dissatisfaction? I wish the Indians good luck. I vow to all Indians to perform as suggested by Devamany, do it through the ballot boxes too.
4) Are you really sure the press and legal are really free? Hmmn.. wow... let's see the newspaper tomorrow.
5) The person is still unable to convince me with his answer on "Why the protest is illegal when the country is supposed to be practising democracy ?".

My Stand on HINDRAF rally

I read with much enthusiasm about the Hindraf Rally this Sunday (tomorrow) . Meanwhile Malaysiakini reported Three Hindraf leaders arrested for you you-know-what.

These are the details that I have found on the net :
Date: Nov 25, 2007.
Time: 7am to 11am
Place: British High Commission, 185 Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur

Map and Transport details kindly provided here)

The intention of the rally is to present a memorandum to the British as well as to rally against marginalisation of the minority Indian community in Malaysia.

There are in fact two views to this rally. I would like to bring atttention to two posts on the question "Shall we rally this time around?"

1) A Nay :
Haris Ibrahim, The People's Parliament -> Why I will not walk this Sunday and why the walk must not proceed.

2) An Aye:
Nat Tan, Jelas.info -> Why I will walk this Sunday

Haris has brought up some valid points saying that the rally is communal/race-based and not national based such as the BERSIH rally. There are also concerns among bloggers and commentators that SOMEBODY would try to create a scene out of this in order to make future rallies for the best interests of the nation unlawful.

Point taken, but I would like to bring to attention some of the points mentioned in Jelas.info :

Point 1:
My conclusion is this: If we were to wait for another mass rally that will take a more mature, universalistic approach to race relations while actually having an impact in calling attention to the horrific living conditions facing Indian Malaysians today, we will wait forever.

Point 2:
Let’s be honest, no other group is going to pull those numbers in defence of minority rights in Malaysia.

Point 3:
So, are we going to walk the talk about multiracialism?

Point 4:
Are we who like to quote Voltaire’s “I may disagree with what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it” actually going to do anything to defend the right to assemble?

My stand on the issue is similar to this point (Point 4) brought up by Jelas.info . After all, Hindraf has mentioned that this rally shall be a Peaceful Rally, unless of course some Agent Provocateurs appear out of SOMEBODY's (you-know-who-always-sabotages) command. Hope you catch the drift.

Let Indians voice out.

Deepavali and Bulan Syawal Destruction

Malaysiakini reported Shah Alam council blamed for bloody fracas at the Kampung Rimba Jaya, Hulu Kelang 100-years-old temple demolition. Although the internet blogs generally placed more attention in this , it should be made clear that other structures such as Surau and houses in the village were destroyed as well.

Mainstream blogger, Lulu made a transcript from the Malaysiakini article above. There are a few key points to note from the incident, taken directly from the transcript.
________________________________________________

Point 1: Throwing Stone During Prayers


Malaysia Hindu Sangam (MHS) president A Vaithilingam said Majlis Bandar Shah Alam (MBSA) mayor Za’ba Che Rus had no control over his enforcement officers who were throwing stones into the temple while a special religious ceremony was taking place.

"How can they (MBSA personnel) attack devotees like that? No enforcement body in the world attacks people with stones,” he said."

Point 2: Unreasonable 2 Hours Notice Period
Vaithilingam also slammed Za’ba for allegedly personally telling temple authorities at 9am on Tuesday that the temple was to be demolished in the next two hours.

“What else can the innocent devotees do when given only two hours? ... " he added.

Point 3: Deepavali will be celebrated by all Hindus on Nov 8.

Point 4: MBSA Wounded Detainee, Medical Attention Not Immediate
Uthayakumar said that he witnessed one detainee who had a five-inch cut on the head while he was detained at the Section 11 Shah Alam police station.He claimed that the wound was inflicted by a MBSA enforcement officer with a parang.

Uthayakumar and three other lawyers were arrested ....
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What can I say? Is that an act that respect human rights? Why can't MBSA give the residents more time to pack up and leave? If Malaysiakini stated it right, I would consider 2 Hours as downright illogical judging by the amount of things they have to move out.

Malaysia was initially built as a tolerant nation that respects human rights and reasoning. What has Malaysia turn into? It seems during the administration of Pak Lah's Hadhari, negative news has become a almost daily staple for Malaysians.

Meanwhile Malay blogs, UMNO Reform and Malaywomen expressed their greatest regret and anger over such incident. It is not hard to understand the reason. These days there are more occasions to class struggle rather than racial or religious struggle.

According to Malaywomen (if he got it right), a 7-days eviction period was given to residents earlier. Still, the time for these people to move out is relatively short. It makes no sense as most people will have difficulty locating a new place to shift to within a week. Moreover, there is another mind-boggling theory to this.

Malaywomen purportedly said, "The hotshot developer who had promised to allocate a new location for the demolished temple to the Malaysian Indian community in Kampung Rimba Jaya must deliver that promise as soon as possible. Do not piss people off with insincerity and lies." If such promise had really been made then it should be immediately fulfilled.

Ironic, isn't it ? Now, who is supposed to be accountable for all this? No one is sure. There is a Malay saying that goes "Gajah Sama Gajah Berjuang, Pelanduk Mati di Tengah-tengah". Translated it means the little deer dies standing in the middle of the battle between two elephants. Such an apt description. Metaphorically, we can be sure that the residents of Kampung Rimba Jaya represents the unfortunate deer, the victim of such governance.

Raajarox provided a number of pictures on the incident...... (2 of the bunch displayed below)