Yoursay Malay Dignity Congress Looked Anything But Dignified

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YOURSAY | ‘Shame on the politicians who gave them legitimacy by attending the congress.’Do they know what 'dignity' means?Newday: Malaysiakini columnist Mariam Mokhtar, you hit the nail right on the head and drove it straight and true
On one hand, it is extremely sad and a bit frightening for the rest of us who uphold civic values - equality, ethics, morality, honesty and hard work. On the other hand, what we also see is the true state of the majority of Malays being brought to the surface for all to see
Know thy enemy comes to mind. However, what of the kampung (village) folk who make up much of the Malay population? Are they interested in talkfests like this
Do they understand what is happening to their future under people such as those that attended the congress - supposedly well-educated who have a way with words, mostly of no substance
Do the kampung folk really believe that the non-Malays and liberal Muslims are behind their poverty? I hope not
It is a messy blurred picture of right and wrong presented by those at the congress, especially the ruling coalition. Is this going to be Pakatan Harapan's platform to the kampungs - promoting the talkfest resolutions? Or can Harapan change the rhetoric of supremacy
Any of the five resolutions, if implemented, will result in turmoil to the country. We ignore the kampungs at our peril in this now obvious in-your-face fight between good and inclusive Malaysia and evil, hate-filled Malaysia
Come on Harapan, make sure the old man does step down as no one wants to listen to him anymore, especially when it comes to the need for Malays to look within themselves for change
Harapan, make sure you tend to your voting flock - you know the lot that got you over the line 17 months ago. Your strategists may think you only have to focus on Malays who represent the majority, but at what cost
Who do my family vote for in three years’ time? We are Malay. We are liberal, we are a minority amongst Malays. We are part of 30 percent of Malays who voted for Harapan. Is that a big enough minority to make a difference
We all work hard, we educate ourselves, we keep up with current affairs and have a keen interest in Malaysia's future. We are the sort of voters you need for a dynamic, progressive future
What of those at the Malay Dignity Congress talkfest? Do they really have a genuine interest in Malaysia's future? Going on their race and supremacist-based five resolutions, the answer is no. Their future is a despotic third world state in our globalised world
Come on, Harapan: be inclusive, engage the kampung folk, and stamp down on this supremacist mindset. Be committed and clear that the outcomes of the (or lack of) ‘dignity’ talkfest are just plain unhealthy for our future
Mat Md: It is true that affirmative action has not hit its right target - to help the most needy and poor, which is the main aim of the policy
It turned out that the policy had been skewed to help those who had close political link and cronies, thereby enabling rich Malays becoming even wealthier at the expense of the poor. The affirmative action needs to be reviewed to ensure that it is targeted exclusively at the poor and needy
It is not right and totally unjustified for the Malay Dignity Congress to call for all the coveted posts in the government institutions to be held by Malays. It has been proven that many of the institutions headed by Malays failed to perform well and are poor in delivery
All these posts have to be filled by people who have the capabilities and tested abilities, chosen in accordance with merits. Malays who have the requisite qualifications have to compete for the posts on merits, not on affirmative action
As Malays could no longer depend on the affirmative action, it will be very much appreciated if the successful non-Malay business enterprises could help the Malays in some ways as part of their social obligation
One of the ways is to open their businesses to the Malays by offering 20 to 30 percent of their shares to them and training them to be successful business people, not as Ali Baba partners
If this could be sincerely practised, the enterprises could request for the contracts from government institutions, which are meant to be allocated to the Malay contractors, be assigned to them
This scheme, if followed by many other enterprises, will more or less, able to distribute the wealth of the country equitably to all and narrow the economic gap
Anonymous_1371482984: There is a simple solution to those Malays given initial public offering (IPO) shares at a discount which they sold for a quick profit and then clamour for more - create a class of shares where only Malays can buy and sell but otherwise ranking pari passu with the other ordinary shares
In that way, the company will always have 30 percent Malay ownership. Of course, the privileged Malays will have none of that because that will deprive them of quick and easy profit
David Dass: Those at the Malay Dignity Congress looked anything but dignified. They blamed the non-Malays of insulting or undermining the rulers, the Malay language, Islam and Malay privileges. Where is the evidence of this
To declare Malaysia as the exclusive property of Malays is to ignore the Constitution and to leave 40 percent of the nation enraged. To threaten to suspend the citizenship of non-Malays is clearly seditious. And this was the speech made by a professor with the name Kling
Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad did lend legitimacy by attending the congress. And he succeeded in antagonising both sides
He upset the ‘dignity’ Malays by saying that they were to blame for their condition, whatever it was, and by the non-Malays by calling them “orang asing” repeatedly in giving a version of history which was inaccurate and for suggesting that Harapan had to be sensitive to the feelings of non-Malays because they came to power with their support
Was he actually saying that if Malays had been more united, the government in power needs not be as sensitive to non-Malay feelings
Mahathir subsequently clarified his actual position by rejecting an Umno invitation to join Umno and PAS to form a Malay unity government. He then said that Malaysia belonged to all races and any government should comprise all races
Indeed, non-Malays should not be blamed for the state of the nation or its people. All races should come together to move the nation and its people forward
Harapan has the opportunity to prove that an inclusive government with inclusive policies will achieve more for all its people, especially the poor
Observer123: Mariam, I have always been inspired by your clear-headed views on the current state of affairs of the Malays in Malaysia
All the political rhetoric of Malays under threats are self-created fallacies, hoping to capture sympathy and garner more Malay supports
It's really tragic to realise that even after 62 years of independence, we still have so many people championing something that's clearly detrimental to the progress of their own race
Unless more far-sighted intellectuals like you come forward to show the way, I am afraid the progress of our nation will be hindered these narrow-minded individuals
Frank: Mariam, just to add one more thing to your brilliant write-up, it looks like Mahathir and friends and those spearheading the gathering seem to ignore its impact on the nation's economy
In particular, the foreigners will stay away from Malaysia while those who are already around may now be looking elsewhere. That is why the ringgit continue to come down in value and graduate unemployment shall be more than 170,000 in just a few years from now
So, it is the young who shall continue to suffer more, and more miserably, as time passes by. Are our elites so - for no better words - damn stupid? Or evil? Why are you doing this to your sons and daughters
Another really pathetic thing is that a number of these political elites are still trying very hard to entice more and more investments from inside and outside the country with one scheme after another, but at the same time doing things such as the congress for the whole world to see that the so-called New Malaysia is just a fantasy
Indeed, inconsistency in words and in conduct are all that come to mind to describe Malaysia yesterday, today and tomorrow
Hence, how on earth are we going to get ahead in any field? And other countries in no time can surpass us in all that is important with no problem
This is truly sickening and nauseating. Time to go back to the streets
One: One just needs to follow former premier Najib Abdul Razak’s 1MDB trial to see that the ‘maruah’ (dignity) problem is real
A prime minister who used siphoned money from the sovereign fund for his political survival. A board of directors that lost control of many rounds of bond issues or borrowings
Worse, before a cent was made available, the nation was already creamed of its money by the conman and the financial institution which knew they were dealing with very weak leaders
Even worse, a CEO who could proudly say he had no financial skills and depended on the unsavoury cronies of the conman to tell him what to sign. And audit partners who were willing to sign to give the audit a clean bill of health when previous audit firms had resigned
Yes, ‘maruah’ needs to be restored and the only way is to quickly put the crooks that have let the country down into jail
Anonymous 5237890145285379: Dignity? I am currently engaging an Indonesian to do some work at my house. Malaysians are either not willing to do the work or will charge a much high price
This Indonesian is very efficient. He will quote a low cost and immediately carry out the work. He will shoot a video of the work when I can’t see the work area due to height
He will answer phone calls immediately and take action. He will also look for more things to do to improve the house and so I am very satisfied with his performance although I am paying more due to the increased work scope
I see him as diligent, very entrepreneurial and efficient. He mentioned that he is running several projects at the same time and is hiring a number of other workers to carry out his projects
Dignity? I see him as a totally dignified person although he may be dressed as a worker and ride on a motorcycle. He is intelligent and efficient. People like him will not just survive but will do well in life
To me, he is an expert on dignity. I would suggest that Professor Zainal Kling consult him on how to get dignity
Tidak Harapan: 'Stupidity' is too kind a word to use. A Malay Australian who left his homeland described this so-called dignity congress as a "gathering of idiots"
It aptly sums up the people who attended, and worse, organised by universities who are supposed to be seeds of learning, now appear to be seeds of bigotry and led by pseudo professors and vice-chancellors
Shame on them and to the politicians who gave them legitimacy by attending and silently listening to the barrage of racist demands
The congress said nothing about nation-building and uplifting the status of the Malays through hard work and training so that they can compete equally with others
Headhunter: The involvement of the universities in organising the racially-inspired congress is one reason why non-Malays don't trust the national schools
Slowly but surely, they are morphing into madrasas. - Mkini

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