Tuesday, November 28, 2006

I Tarzan, You Dumb

This probably can only happen in the jungles of Malaysia.

We elect a Minister who tells you that you are too dumb and have not attained the necessary "mental maturity" to watch live parliamentary debates.

As reported in Malaysiakini, "Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin has ruled out live broadcasts of parliamentary proceedings, saying the public was not mature enough to accept MPs' behaviour and racially charged debate."

He refused opposition requests for the broadcasts on Radio Television Malaysia (RTM), saying "the decision was made in the interests of safeguarding harmony in the multi-racial country."

Surely the decision has nothing to do with the fact that the Barisan Nasional MPs' persistent habit of making sexist and insensitive remarks, the fact that they are often missing from parliamentary sessions, the fact that Ministers and Deputy Ministers are hardly present to answer questions and the fact that many often dozed off during debates. It also absolutely does not matter that the rakyat would like to see their elected MPs perform their duly elected legislative duties in Parliament.

No, it has absolutely nothing to do with the above. It's a simple case of Zainuddin Tarzan, you Dumb.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, don't have to rely on RTM... just broadcast it on the YouTube... hahaha...

Anonymous said...

To be fair to the racist and seditious UMNO, aren't DAP racist as well whenever they only champion Chinese issues and disregard Malay interest. Perhaps what Najib (not that I am a fan of him) said is fair comment, if most people could read the DAP assembly speech in Mandarin, it would too sounded more chauvinistic that considered necessary for a "race-neutral" party.

Anonymous said...

There's a difference between championing chinese issues and saying stuffs like "soak it (the keris) with Chinese blood."

'Racist' by definition means: "An individual who adheres to a belief or doctrine where inherent biological differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, with a corollary that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others."

Applying your logic would mean a society like a "Buddhist Society" to be "anti-non-buddhists" since it does not champion issues that are not related to Buddhism and hence (again to your logic) disregard the interests of other religions.

I think your application of the word 'racist' is rather ambiguous in its meaning and doesn't fit the situation.

By the way, if there wasn't any policies that prohibits opposition parties to fully express their views and have their opinions debated amongst the general public, then DAP would not have been as "chauvinistic" as you think (remember ISA and the so called 'taboo' of Constitution 153?).

There is limited political capital amongst opposition parties. And DAP's current cause is a product of historical racial relations (formed at a time when racial reconciliation was considered to be an interest for all... so was the formation of MIC and other parties in which its causes and membership is confined to a specific race/group of people) and as a reaction to the disrimination that it has received from the UMNO dominated government. DAP needs to utilize its available political capital so that it could be deployed effectively, it is a logical and rational move, even though there might be better ways to do it. Its causes might be related to things that are Chinese, but that does not mean it has racist origins.

If you are curious, then maybe you should browse the official DAP site and search for the word 'Chinese' (and try to take note its frequency and in what context). Do visit UMNO page too, and contrast with what is being said in their assemblies (ah, I am beginning to like the word 'blood') with their party objectives and stated missions?

In fact, they are hardly accessible (no clear party objectives and mission statements)and i am not sure whether they have such things on their website... but their sejarah section reflects their party ideology... hmmm... sentences like:

"Penubuhan UMNO pada 11hb Mei 1946, dengan Dato' Onn bin Jaafar sebagai pemimpinnya yang pertama dapat dikatakan sebagai mengelak orang-orang Melayu di Tanah Melayu dari tenggelam di bawah satu perkembangan politik dan ekonomi yang begitu deras dan menguntungkan golongan-golongan lain yang lebih maju."

I have to say, they did write a good sejarah and they got a great name for their party "United Malays National Organization". (Notice 'm' word?)

And by the way, the word "chauvinistic" is derived from a French soldier who was "extreme and had unreasoning partisanship on behalf of a group to which one belongs, especially when the partisanship includes malice and hatred towards a rival group." And, of course, his name is what else but Nicolas Chauvin. Do you think DAP is such an organization? Willing to die in the line of fire and cries "The Old Guard dies but never surrenders!" ????

I am a MALAYSIAN and even though UMNO has been doing the wrong things and blaming its problems on other races, I do not think UMNO is racist or chauvinist. Politicians are opportunists, and considering them as racists and chauvinists would only serve them good. (hmm.. applying a simple 2x2 matrix and applying game theory on it, is interesting.. put the tactics of UMNO on one axis and the reaction of other races on the other, and assign each quadrant a certain payoff... and try to figure out how the game should be played and what tactics the 'other races' should choose to arrive at a Nash equilibrium... if there's one at all)...

In any ways, I respect your thought but I feel like I should correct your usage of certain words. By what I mean by respect is that I don't harbor any hatred towards you (or being a chauvinist in my own ways) or to lock you up when I am powerful enough. Alright, should have summarised what I've wrote:

1. "Be sure of the what you write (the words)".

2. "Politicians are opportunists"

3. "Politicians are opportunists"

4. "Politicians are ..."

Goodluck and have a good debate~

Anonymous said...

oh yeah, I admit I'm a bit cheap in referring to Wikipedia all the time... guilty as charged

Anonymous said...

that zainudin is probably talking through his orifice in his posterior...muaha ha ha ha