The Chinese call these people running dogs. I would not call them that though. I think it is not right to call them running dogs. I love dogs. I think dogs are lovely creatures. Why should we honour these 13 non-Malay members of Barisan Nasional by calling them running dogs?
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Umno papers slam MACC critics in Teoh’s death
The Malaysian Insider, 19 July 2009
Umno-controlled newspapers, Berita Harian and Mingguan Malaysia, today slammed critics for demonising the country’s graft-busters over Teoh Beng Hock’s death, with one suggesting there is an agenda to weaken Malay-controlled institutions.
Both newspapers accused the opposition of politicising the political secretary’s death on July 16, with Mingguan saying the federal opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) was using the incident to divert attention away from internal problems and weaknesses.
But Berita Harian suggested the agenda was to weaken Malay-controlled institutions in the article, “Kematian Teoh timbulkan pelbagai spekulasi politik”, written by the New Straits Times group managing editor Zainul Ariffin Isa.
He wrote that political opportunism can turn grief into political capital, and death can be made a catalyst to stoke anger and racial sentiments.
“It is not just the Chinese or supporters of the Pakatan Rakyat who know anger and seek justice.
“Suspicions have been raised especially among the non-Malays that MACC, which like other departments have many Malay officers, selectively chose non-Malays to be investigated,” he wrote.
The new boss of the Umno-owned New Straits Times group did not, however, address complaints raised by two DAP men who were also, like Teoh, brought in for questioning.
The two DAP men, one a Chinese and the other a mixed Malay-Chinese, claimed racial insults were hurled at them by the MACC officers.
Like Teoh, both men were not suspects, but “witnesses,” according to MACC officers.
So far, leaders of the PR alliance, led by Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, have not referred to race in their statements demanding the MACC be held responsible for Teoh’s death.
Zainul appeared to suggest that Teoh’s death was an accident and that the MACC officer involved was Malay when he wrote in Berita Harian that “when a victim of an accident was non-Malay, who was previously investigated by a Malay, the speculation is great.”
By suggesting anti-Malay sentiment in Teoh’s death, he also appeared to suggest that government departments were Malay-based institutions rather than a non-partisan civil service.
“Why did the Selangor MB, a Malay, question those of his own race to act fairly?” Zainul wrote.
Mingguan Malaysia, which is also owned by Umno, also attacked the PR alliance for politicising the death.
The newspaper said the controversy could not be resolved through demonstrations or wild accusations.
Mingguan suggested instead that the opposition was using Teoh’s death to distract attention from its own problems.
I have tried to explain this in the past but it has fallen on deaf ears. Some even think I may be seeing ghosts in the shadows. But I have attended enough Umno gatherings in my lifetime and have enough Umno friends in high places to know what I am talking about. Nevertheless, most of those who disagree with my views are those who comment from the comfort and safety of their homes and offices and would most likely not be at the Kelana Jaya stadium today. This means, basically, they do not really have their ears to the ground and comment without the benefit of having their fingers on the pulse.
Let me put this to you in plain words and as clearly as I can. Umno considers the government machinery as a Malay vehicle. The government machinery -- whether it be the Election Commission (SPR), police, the anti-corruption agency (MACC), the Information Ministry (that controls the mainstream media and radio and television stations), institutions of learning (from kindergartens right up to universities), etc. -- are there to serve Malay interests. And make no mistake about this.
There is a government propaganda outfit called Biro Tata Negara (BTN) whose job is to conduct courses and deliver lectures around the clock to government officers and students before and after they enter university. BTN’s main focus is to indoctrinate Malays with the idea that Malaysia is a Malay country. The Chinese, Indians and ‘others’ are immigrants. After allowing them citizenship status these Chinese, Indians and ‘others’ now demonstrate ingratitude and start demanding all sorts of unreasonable things such as equal rights -- forgetting that they are mere guests in this country and are therefore second-class and not first-class citizens.
The army is Malay. The police is Malay. The universities and all institutions of higher learning are Malay. In fact, you name it and it is Malay. There are no two ways about it. And if the Chinese, Indians and ‘others’ refuse to accept this then they should leave this country and go back to the country where they originally came from -- be it China, India, or wherever.
Okay, you may argue that today’s Chinese, Indians and ‘others’ were all born in Malaysia. None were born in China, India, or wherever. Their grandparents or great grandparents may have been born in China, India, or wherever. But almost all the Chinese, Indians and ‘others’ were born here in Malaysia. So that automatically makes them citizens and not immigrants although they may be descendants of immigrants.
I mean, every single US citizen (other than the native Indian) is a descendant of immigrants even if they themselves may have been born in the US and did not migrate to America. So, grandchildren or great grandchildren of immigrants are not called immigrants but are called US citizens. And all US citizens are regarded equal. No US citizen has more rights than another US citizens based on which country his or her forefathers came from.
But that is in the US. That does not apply to Malaysia. In Malaysia, the descendants of the immigrants who came from one of the Indonesian islands have more rights than the descendants of the immigrants who came from China, India or any territory that is not part of the Indonesian islands. That is how it works in Malaysia.
And the Malays are constantly reminded about this. And all those descendants of immigrants not from one of the Indonesian islands will also be constantly reminded that they are guests in this country, do not have equal rights, and are classified as second-class citizens akin to an immigrant.
And that is why Chinese, Indians and ‘others’ are treated more brutally when arrested or detained. They not only suffer verbal abuse and racial slurs but will be physically abused as well. And that is why the death under detention rate for those who are not descendants of immigrants from one of the Indonesian islands is very high. Most, however, die ‘sudden deaths’ or collapse and die for no apparent reason other than medically related ‘natural causes’.
Let me make it clear, again. The Malaysian government is a Malay government. The government’s job is to serve the Malays and protect Malay interests. Yesterday, the Deputy Prime Minister said so in case anyone may have forgotten this. And this will remain so as long as Barisan Nasional stays in office. Umno has promised the people this.
And any Malay who wants to change this arrangement is a traitor to his race. His or her citizenship should be withdrawn and he or she should be expelled from the country. This, Umno has made very clear more than once.
The descendants of immigrants from China, India or any territory not within the Indonesian islands have no problem with this though. They accept the fact that they are second-class citizens under the classification of pendatang. And that is why they are members of Barisan Nasional. And the job of these 13 non-Malay members of Barisan Nasional is to ensure that Umno stays in power although Umno has less than half the seats in Parliament. On its own Umno is out of office. With the 13 other non-Malay members giving Umno the mandate it can stay in office.
The Chinese call these people running dogs. I would not call them that though. I think it is not right to call them running dogs. I love dogs. I think dogs are lovely creatures. Why should we honour these 13 non-Malay members of Barisan Nasional by calling them running dogs?
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