UMNO is now hell-bent on serving
only Malays. After all the Malays now form about 60% of the population and UMNO
is going to increase the figure to 90% if not 99.99%. UMNO wants to make sure
Malaysia is turned to a country just for the Malays.
The non-Malays can “balik negeri”
(go back to their ancestral lands). After all, the Malayan peninsula was dubbed
Tanah Melayu, not Tanah Cina, not Tanah India, not even Tanah Asli. Never mind that the term “Melayu” is more a
political construct than a tribal grouping (like the Orang Asli) - since Malays
comprise a diverse mix of genetics ranging from Austronesian, Micronesian,
Sulawesian, Javanese, and Sumatran to Cambodian, Chinese, Thai, Filipino,
Burmese, Indian, Turkish, Yemeni, and Arab. In the last century, a generous
amount of Anglo-European DNA has also been added to the cocktail.
Indeed, the name Malaya derives not
so much from being the Land of Malays as it does from the Tamil word for
mountain, malai. As recently as 13,000
years ago, you could walk from what is now Peninsular Malaysia to Sumatra and
Java. As the last glacial period ended, around 10,800 BCE, the sea level rose as
much as 360 feet, creating what colonial geographers call the Malay
Archipelago.
In effect, Tanah Melayu is merely an unfounded claim – so long as a single Orang Asli insists he or she is NOT Melayu. Which is why the Orang Asli Affairs Department (JAKOA) has taken on the mission of systematically “assimilating” the Orang Asli through conversion to Islam. An anthropologist wryly noted that the Malays want the Orang Asli to become Malays – so they themselves can lay claim to being Orang Asli!
In effect, Tanah Melayu is merely an unfounded claim – so long as a single Orang Asli insists he or she is NOT Melayu. Which is why the Orang Asli Affairs Department (JAKOA) has taken on the mission of systematically “assimilating” the Orang Asli through conversion to Islam. An anthropologist wryly noted that the Malays want the Orang Asli to become Malays – so they themselves can lay claim to being Orang Asli!
The fact that the United Malays
Nationalist Organisation is better known as UMNO than Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu
Bersatu or PKMB reveals its colonial origins. The British worked out a deal
with the Malay aristocracy, represented by Tunku Abdul Rahman, which would
grant a semblance of political independence to Malaya – while allowing Britain
to retain a firm grip on Malaya’s rich natural resources.
In short, UMNO was founded on a
gigantic deception. That’s why they tend to spend so much energy and money on
propaganda, hype and braggadocio, to cover up their deep-seated insecurity.
Originally, the bulk of UMNO members were schoolteachers, junior civil
servants, fishermen and farmers. By the time the party was declared illegal by
Justice Harun Hashim in February 1988, it was largely populated by contractors,
small entrepreneurs, and professional rent-seekers.
In its new incarnation as UMNO BARU,
it became an extension of Mahathir Mohamad’s insatiable lust for wealth and the
power it brings. A breed of instant Bumi billionaires was artificially created
by Mahathir, with the help of his finance minister Daim Zainuddin, as a
personal power base.
This gave rise to the UMNOputra or nouveau riche ruling elite who began to taste the intoxication of seemingly limitless wealth, luxury, and political influence.
Every UMNO warlord who made his first million desired to imitate the regal lifestyles of the Sultans – so they went on to making their first billion - or, rather, stealing it.
This gave rise to the UMNOputra or nouveau riche ruling elite who began to taste the intoxication of seemingly limitless wealth, luxury, and political influence.
Every UMNO warlord who made his first million desired to imitate the regal lifestyles of the Sultans – so they went on to making their first billion - or, rather, stealing it.
To maintain their grip on the
national purse-strings, they needed the unquestioning support of the rural
Malays, whom they began to deliberately dumb-down by manipulating the education
system and controlling the mass media. Having replaced English with Malay as
the medium of instruction, they realized the advantages of effectively keeping
the rural Malays monolingual and monocultural – insulated from outside
influences and sheep-like in their religious indoctrination.
The various stages of UMNO’s
strategy
Initially UMNO sought independence
with the support of all the races. The British taught them how to divide and
rule by establishing race-based political parties like the Malayan Chinese
Association (MCA) and Malayan Indian Congress (MIC). There weren’t enough
Eurasians to warrant a Malayan Eurasian Party; and the humble Orang Asli were a
long way from demanding their own political lobby.
 |
| Lee Kuan Yew announcing Singapore's departure from the Federation of Malaysia, 9 August 1965 |
For the first ten years, the nation
progressed smoothly and grew into a larger political federation with the
inclusion of Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo (now Sabah). It didn’t take
long for the Malay elite to realize that with Singapore’s entry into the
equation, the Chinese community would become much larger than they felt
comfortable with. Lee Kuan Yew’s vision of a powerful modern state driven by
business acumen, drawing on vast natural resources, and cosmopolitan in outlook
stirred deep unease among the UMNO elite.
They knew the Chinese would soon
control the economy – as they already did the urban areas – and the Malays
would be at a severe disadvantage, because of their strong attachment to
traditions which made them reluctant to embrace globalism - unlike the Chinese,
Indians and Eurasians who, as migrant races, were far more open to foreign ideas.
Singapore had to be expelled before the Yellow Peril could take root.
 |
| Abdul Razak Hussein |
In 1969 a cabal of educated
middle-class Malays in UMNO were seized by chauvinistic fervor. They became
impatient to wrest power from the traditional elite, the Anglophilic Malay aristocracy
symbolized by Tunku Abdul Rahman.
Their own Sultans were so enamored of British culture, they often spent more time in London visiting the Queen than in their own states. Indeed, Sultan Abu Bakar of Johore was rumored to have been Queen Victoria’s secret paramour, and in the UK he preferred to be called Albert Baker.
Their own Sultans were so enamored of British culture, they often spent more time in London visiting the Queen than in their own states. Indeed, Sultan Abu Bakar of Johore was rumored to have been Queen Victoria’s secret paramour, and in the UK he preferred to be called Albert Baker.
Stirring up existing tensions
between the Chinese and Malays was easily accomplished and this led to an
outbreak of racial violence triggered by UMNO’s poor showing in the first
nationwide elections held on 10 May 1969.
This was the golden opportunity the young Malay nationalist cabal led by Razak Hussein had been awaiting. If the riots had been a spontaneous eruption of racial animosities, the police and military forces could have established a strict curfew and brought the violence under control within 48 hours. Instead, the killings were allowed to go on for several weeks with a total loss of life and property that has never been fully tallied.
This was the golden opportunity the young Malay nationalist cabal led by Razak Hussein had been awaiting. If the riots had been a spontaneous eruption of racial animosities, the police and military forces could have established a strict curfew and brought the violence under control within 48 hours. Instead, the killings were allowed to go on for several weeks with a total loss of life and property that has never been fully tallied.
With Razak Hussein taking over from
Tunku Abdul Rahman, UMNO began to remake the nation after its own chauvinistic
and opportunistic image. The New Economic Policy was introduced, followed by a
National Cultural Policy aimed at sidelining “foreign” cultures. Soon the Biro
Tatanegara (National Ideology Bureau) was initiated to indoctrinate civil
servants with the spurious concept of Ketuanan Melayu (Malay Supremacy).
 |
| Taib Mahmud |
In Sarawak where the robber baron
Taib Mahmud reigned unchallenged as Chief Minister for 32 years, UMNO was
unable to gain a foothold. With a majority population of Orang Asal (indigenous
tribes) – many of whom were Christianized by missionaries during the days of
Rajah Brooke – the only way UMNO could make its oppressive presence felt was
through attempts to turn them into Malays, just as they have been doing with
the peninsular Orang Asli.
To achieve this, UMNO had to first discourage them from practicing Christianity – hence the brouhaha over the use of Allah in the Malay-language Bible or Alkitab.
To achieve this, UMNO had to first discourage them from practicing Christianity – hence the brouhaha over the use of Allah in the Malay-language Bible or Alkitab.
Even as hollow slogans like
“1Malaysia” were coined at enormous expense, UMNO’s apartheid mentality has
become increasingly obnoxious and overt – especially since losing its
two-thirds parliamentary majority (again) in March 2008. Efforts to instigate a
fresh round of racial violence after the 12th general election quickly fizzled
out because Malaysians across the racial spectrum have become far more savvy
since the internet destroyed UMNO/BN’s absolute monopoly on newspapers and
television.
No longer is it possible to pretend
that it’s about Malays versus Chinese. Enough Malays have become educated and
well-traveled to realize that it’s really about integrity versus disintegrity.
Nothing to do with race or religion
– and even less to do with royalty, which most Malaysians have come to accept
as an unfortunate fact of life that can only be redressed when enough of us
view ourselves as Malaysians.
UMNO is not at all worried about the
brain drain - even though many who have migrated elsewhere include a large
number of Malays, the ones with ability, intelligence and integrity. After all,
UMNO depends entirely on compliant, semi-literate, rent-seeking Malays with an
inferiority complex to maintain its voter base – and, alas, there are still
vast numbers of these around, even after two generations of special privileges and
preferential treatment.
UMNO is bad by design and for a
purpose
Part of the post-1969 UMNO agenda
was to completely dominate the economy, making it difficult for non-Malays to
succeed in business. This UMNO attempted to achieve by setting up so many
bureaucratic obstacles that the non-Malay business community was compelled to
resort to bribery.
Having accepted the bribes, they then turned around and accused the Chinese of being a corrupting influence. UMNO itself, of course, has acquired a species of magical immunity to corruption – mainly by planting cronies in key law enforcement positions.
Having accepted the bribes, they then turned around and accused the Chinese of being a corrupting influence. UMNO itself, of course, has acquired a species of magical immunity to corruption – mainly by planting cronies in key law enforcement positions.
UMNO knows it is corrupt, dishonest,
arrogant and extravagant - but will never admit it. With the rise of an
educated, well-informed, urban middle class clamoring loudly for reform, UMNO’s
only response has been to revert to heavy-handed authoritarianism, clamping down
hard on dissent and setting loose the police on the political opposition and activists
– instead of on increasingly powerful crime syndicates, the real threats to
peace and security.
Even as Zionist Israelis learned
from the Nazis how to oppress the Palestinians, UMNO Malays have learned from
the Zionists how to go the whole hog towards fascistic Nazism.
It appears that the Great Transformer, Najib son of Razak, has only managed since 5 May 2013, to transform Barisan Nasional into Barisan Nazional – with a little help, of course, from a hand-picked Attorney-General, Home Minister, and Inspector-General of Police.
It appears that the Great Transformer, Najib son of Razak, has only managed since 5 May 2013, to transform Barisan Nasional into Barisan Nazional – with a little help, of course, from a hand-picked Attorney-General, Home Minister, and Inspector-General of Police.
Published 3 November 2013 in Malaysia Chronicle [First posted 14 January 2014; reposted 18 September 2014 & 25 February 2016]
