YOURSAY l ‘It is the Malays, not necessarily Umno, who have the sole power to rule the country.’
Vijay47: Good approach, Umno leader Salleh Said Keruak. Start by mentioning the similarities between DAP and Umno, MCA and MIC in their race-based outlook. That should establish you as a beacon of fair-mindedness and honesty in your analysis of political realities in Malaysia.
Then you proceed to highlight and explain how by its very make-up, BN has overcome the race features, which on their own the member parties may have. Ergo, since it is not constituted in the same manner, DAP is a Chinese-based party which somehow makes it unwelcome in, and harmful to, Malaysia.
Salleh would have us believe that through its power-sharing, BN transcends race and blossoms into a multi-racial coalition. Not quite.
In joining BN, all that MCA, MIC, and the others achieved was to be emasculated for their pains, Chinese and Indian parties with no say whatsoever, at the beck and call of Malay Umno's crack of the whip.
If this is your preferred taste, so be it. I'll settle for the dish DAP offers.
Mojo Jojo: The BN propaganda czar strikes once more with his twisted sense of logic.
Salleh, if DAP cannot represent the demographics of this country because it does not have 50 percent Malay membership and 60 percent bumiputera membership, then what of Umno?
Since the ethnic Chinese represents 25 percent of the national population, shouldn't Umno's membership reflect this demographic for the sake of "inclusiveness?"
BN is maybe a coalition that is multi-racial in composition, but it isn't multi-racial or multi-religious in its stance. No, BN exists for the dominance of one ethnic group and one religion only. Saying otherwise is just plain disingenuous.
Wg321: In 1965, most of the members of DAP are Chinese. But times have changed.
About 50 years ago, 47 percent of the population in the country was Chinese. Today, Chinese population is only about 25 percent and it is continuing to shrink very fast. In about 10 years’ time, the Chinese population may dwindle to 10 or 15 percent.
The DAP leadership foresee that the party may become extinct if it does not make any effort to attract other races, especially the Malays, to join the party.
The DAP leadership is targeting to increase its bumiputera membership to at least 50 percent. This will eventually transform the composition of the party leadership.
Lao Tzu said, “The journey of a thousand miles begin with a single step.” DAP has taken that first step by increasing the number of Malay candidates for the coming 14th GE.
In 10 years’ time or so, DAP will develop into a truly multi-racial based party.
Mushiro: Salleh is right that Umno is a Malay party where the biggest beneficiary are Chinese.
After all, the second biggest beneficiary of 1MDB is Jho Low. And look at Vincent Tan, Yeoh Tiong Lay and the new owners of the Sungai Besi land - all Chinese, some even from China.
Anonymous_1372741039: Salleh speaks the truth. Somehow, DAP is what the Malays want for they deliver what they promised and Malays are comfortable with that.
Umno-BN promised a lot to the Malays but nothing significant happened. Wealth is in the hands of the elites and not the kampung folks for all they got was unfulfilled promises.
We can't blame the Malays swinging to a party that may uplift them. I would vote MIC if they could help Malaysians.
MCA lost that right to represent the Chinese or Malaysians so they now vote Pakatan Harapan. It's a natural thing for voters to do.
They too may vote Umno, but like MCA, they too have lost the confidence of the Malays. That’s politics in action.
Patriot1: DAP started as a Chinese party but is moving in a multi-racial direction with non-Chinese gradually increasing in numbers at various party levels.
It is one of the component parties of an opposition alliance and actively working with PKR and Amanah, both of which are predominantly Malay.
Ask the average Malay on the streets of Penang (not Umno members) whether they had been victimised there?
Oh Ya?: Indeed, Salleh is opening up the Pandora's box. Isn't BN an Umnoputra-dominated coalition, so how could it be holier than DAP?
Are not the BN president, deputy president, secretary-general, treasurer-general, Wanita chief and Youth chief all appointed from among the Umnoputras?
Are not the country's PM, DPM and senior ministers all appointed from among the Umnoputras too? Even the Umno Youth chief and Umno Wanita chief are full ministers, unlike their nobody counterparts.
And who dominate the top echelon of the army, police, judiciary, civil service, the diplomatic service and GLCs (government-linked companies)?
It has already come to a stage where the ruling elite does not need to pretend to be multi-racial. So, how could Salleh justify that BN is multiracial?
Negarawan: Obviously Umno is feeling the heat from DAP. Umno continues to lose Malay support as the Malay populace get increasingly aware of the massive corruption, abuse of power and self-serving attitude of the Umno leadership.
Statements like this from Umno are a sure sign of their desperation to regain Malay support, and they sought to do this by demonising DAP.
Worldly Wise: When DR Seenivasagam and SP Seenivasagam asked for equal opportunities for all in the 1960s, then PM Tunku Abdul Rahman said that two Ceylonese fellows were fighting for the Chinese.
Now when the Chinese themselves are asking for equal opportunities for all regardless of race, religion or creed, BN is saying Chinese should not do so.
Saya Pun Nak Cari Makan: It is people like you, Salleh, who are poisoning Malay minds into thinking that DAP is going to rule Malaysia and thereby snatching away their rights.
This strategy is nothing more than to preserve Umno's cling to power and its plundering of the country's wealth.
And of course, at the end of the day it is the ordinary Malays who suffer, while Umnoputras would have made their piles, storing them in foreign land in preparation for their ultimate flight.
But many Malays are aware of Umno's tricks. DAP can never ever rule Malaysia. It is the Malays, not necessarily Umno, who have the sole power to rule the country.
That is the reality DAP has acknowledged a thousand times.
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