Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.
– John F. Kennedy, American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States
Sept 16 was my off day, so I wasn’t in Kuching when I should; I was in Serian, my hometown.
Morning side I was invited to an “Emperor’s Breakfast” which a friend threw for a friend who was born on Malaysia Day 55 years ago.
Our birthday boy said being born on Sept 16 was a joy because it gave him the excuse of not celebrating the “premature birth of a nation that today is plagued by ailments due to deficiencies at birth”.
That does say a lot about the Malaysia as we know it today.
But yes, by evening I was in Kuching, but I didn’t go to Unity Stadium, the venue of the Malaysia Day celebration; I was at a steamboat restaurant cooking away and creating some smoke of my own, which was when I received a message from a friend who was leaving the stadium just when the celebration was about to begin.
The message was in Bahasa Malaysia; in English, it’s something like this:
Let me tell you why I left before the celebration even started – my heart is pained…what’s the point in celebrating when the ministers and invited guests, sheltered from the haze, sit in comfort while the people are made to stand in front of a giant screen outside the stadium exposed to the unhealthy haze and heat outside.
The venue should not have been changed so that everyone could enjoy (obviously sarcasm) the haze together. Otherwise, put on your facemask.
Honestly, I am most upset with the double standard — members of the local media fraternity are shooed away by on-duty federal officers and there are no seats for Sarawak MPs.
Hello, you are in Kuala Lumpur or Sarawak? Cost of the celebration is being footed by Sarawak! Now the cost has doubled just because of the venue change.
Sarawak state government, stop your kowtow-ing! We are equal partners and not another state of Persekutuan Tanah Melayu.
In fact, today is our day, but it looks like it is Malaya day.
The best (another piece of sarcasm) part: there are those who come in their political party shirts complete with logo and that makes Malaysia Day look like a general meeting of a party. Obviously, some people don’t know when not to play politics.
Unfortunately, even Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad couldn’t help playing his brand of politics on Sept 16, which is why his Malaysia Day message of unity rings hollow.
You see, hardly three hours earlier, Dr Mahathir had spoken of wanting to see a change of government in the next Sarawak state election. He was telling the PH people to unite because “it’s important for us to change the Sarawak government in the coming state election”. His idea is he wants to see “a new government that could work closely with the PH-led government at the federal level”.
“This old government (under Gabungan Parti Sarawak) is set to defend its position (in the next state election). If we (PH Sarawak component parties) are united, we can defeat the ruling coalition,” Dr Mahathir was quoted as saying.
Any Sarawakian worth his salt would cringe at the idea of being ruled by Malayans. They have plundered the state of its oil and gas resources for over half a century and now they have declared that plundering is not enough but Sarawakians must be colonialised and Malayanised morally and physically.
Even before Dr Mahathir’s Malaysia Day message, federal Rural Development Deputy Minister Sivarasa Rasiah was speaking on Sunday of the federal government’s plan to appoint longhouse and village tuai rumah and ketua kaum like as if there were no laws pertaining to these appointments.
This has drawn much flak from not only the state leaders but the people as well because it shows the true intention of Malaya — Malayanisation of Sarawak, albeit in the most unconstitutional manner.
On the same day of Sivarasa’s public announcement, Gobind Singh, the Communications and Multimedia Minister, who was in Kuching, announced the establishment nationwide of 1,430 Komuniti Harapan Malaysia (KHM) centres. One hundred and eight four of these are in Sarawak, and they are the “eyes and ears” of the federal government tasked with getting the “truths” to the people. Someone said they are actually the PH government’s Red Bean Army of cyber troopers!
Must the GPS government of Sarawak be taking all these developments — the threat to topple it in the next state election, a new and separate set of community leaders, and the presence of government-paid cyber troopers in our midst — happy and contented?
A war has indeed been declared in the open, and for the whole world to know, to bring this state government down, and to defeat the chief minister and members of his coalition.
And this open declaration of war was made not on any other day but on Malaysia Day when this nation we call Malaysia was formed based on the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
Yet this is the agreement that is being trampled upon now! MA63 is being disrespected and GPS, which stands in defence of it, is being threatened with decimation at a future polls.
GPS must stand up to the challenge. No more gentleman’s game. Don’t pinch and blow cold.
They want war, so give it to them.
Yes, get on with your plans to develop Sarawak but get your war arsenal ready, too.
In political war, there is no love. Just look at what is happening to former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
That’s what political war is all about — you lose, you lose all.
