Jun 1, 09 7:00pm
Former Umno leader and minister Zaid Ibrahim has lashed out at Malay
daily Utusan Malaysia for playing up racial sentiments.
He said the articles which appeared in the daily's Sunday edition
reminded him of how far removed the paper is from the reality of life
in Malaysia.
"This is probably the reason why its readership is on the decline.
It's theme and main plot is race, race and race," he added in a blog
posting.
Zaid cited a particular article with the heading 'Melayu
dikhianati?' (Malays betrayed) penned by Awang Selamat.
In the article, the former Umno leader said, the writer lamented that
he is hurt by the demands, which reek of racism, of the non-Malays
since the last general election.
"In other words, Malaysians must not hurt the feelings of Awang
Selamat because when Awang Selamat is hurt, Umno is hurt and when Umno
is hurt, the Malays are hurt.
"This is the logic of Awang Selamat," he added.
Zaid said the writer made no mention of the 'extreme' demands made by
the non-Malays in his article.
"If they (the non-Malays) are asking about scholarships, land
allocation and employment opportunities, can't these questions be
addressed rationally and based on facts?
"Why get hurt so easily?" he asked.
Are all their demands baseless?
The former de facto law minister also questioned if all the demands of
the non-Malays, whose rights are enshrined under the Federal
Constitution, were baseless?
According to Awang Selamat, he said, this appears to be the case
because "50 years ago Umno and the Malays were generous enough to
offer citizenship to their (non-Malays) ancestors."
"Since Umno had been gracious in according them citizenship, their
descendants should never make any demands because they must always be
grateful to Umno," he added.
Zaid pointed out that this is the exact mindset which is no longer
viable and has been rejected by all races.
When a citizen, be it a Malay, Chinese or Indian, asks for something,
he said it is the duty of the government and the media to evaluate it
in order to grant the request.
"If the demand is excessive, explain but don't raise history to cover
up shortcomings. Do not get angry always, threaten and dish out pieces
of incomplete history for political mileage," he said.
Zaid also reminded that the country obtained independence because the
British agreed with the alliance on the terms. "When we agree, we must
honour the agreement," he said.
In view of this, he said there was no reason to state that "we were
being generous in granting citizenship to the Chinese and Indians."
"The fact is, that is the term we agreed to. At the time, it was
impossible for the British to relinquish Malaya if the issue of
citizenship for Chinese and Indians was not resolved.
"The British were strict on this issue and Umno agreed. That is the
price which the Alliance accepted with an open heart. Does Utusanhave
different historical facts?" he added.
Zaid said even if one went by the perception that Umno was generous in
giving citizenship to non-Malays, there is still no room for Awang
Selamat's 'feudalist mindset' in a modern nation.
Those with 'blind hearts'
Meanwhile, he said another article by senior writer Zulkiflee Bakar
had advised Utusan readers not to be 'historically blind'.
"I suppose Malays like myself are historically blind. But history is
not difficult to learn and I am interested in knowing more.
"However, the most unfortunate people are those whose hearts are
blind. When our hearts are blind, no amount of facts or knowledge can
fill the void," he added.
Zaid said instead of stoking racial sentiments, Utusan should help the
prime minister find ways to develop the economy via pragmatic and just
policies.
"To Utusan, the Malays fail because of the Chinese and Indians. Wake
up Utusan, non-Malays and Malays themselves can tell the difference
between the Malay race and Umno, they know that when an Umno policy is
criticised, it is not challenging the Malays but Umno.
"Much effort is being put into creating friction between the Malays
and Chinese. Believe me, racial flames will not burn as brightly as
before," he said.
"The Malay mindset has changed. They know the challenges that lie
ahead in the world and the changes which they must make. OnlyUtusan
has not realised this," he added.
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