Helan Ang argues that Pakatan's non-Malay representatives have a willingness to do anything to get the Malay vote.
COMMENT
By Helen Ang
DAP chairman Karpal Singh wants Mohamad Sabu to immediately retract his comments on the Bukit Kepong incident, and why?
Because – as FMT and other news outlets have reported – he is minded
that the general election is just around the corner and the PAS deputy
president’s remarks could well be “very damaging” to Pakatan prospects.
Karpal wants Mohamad Sabu – popularly known as Mat Sabu – to withdraw
his observation in order to staunch any possible backlash against
Pakatan Rakyat stemming from the attempt by the pro-Umno media and
bloggers to whip up frenzy among the Malays.
The only concern of the DAP chairman in his press conference yesterday seems to be Malay votes.
He appears to show little concern for historical scholarship and the
intellectual honesty which we should apply to critical interpretation of
that particular bloody episode alluded to by Mat Sabu.
It was another case of ‘politics as usual’ evidently trumping the
greater need for truth and accuracy in shaping our national narrative
pertaining to independence, and understanding the roles played by the
various contributors towards Malayan self-determination.
Karpal’s attitude is hardly surprising given the ‘Hasnah Yeop
Syndrome’ afflicting the Pakatan non-Malay representatives who rode on
the tsunami to their fortuitous seats in parliament and the state
assemblies.
Bending over backwards
If you’re wondering who ‘Hasnah Yeop’ is, she/it is a fictional name
that blogger Rockybru bestowed on Subang Jaya Adun Hannah Yeoh. One key
symptom of the Hasnah Yeop condition is a willingness to do anything to
get the Malay vote.
This wanting to win over the Malay electorate at all cost is again
recently illustrated by the assiduous activities of the Pakatan Chinese
Aduns worming their way into Malay areas during the run-up to Raya.
Like
chameleons changing their colour, these politicians metaphorically don a
Malay skin – as Net photos of the Selendang Squad attending various
functions will attest. (They are not similarly enamoured with trying to
look Indian though.)
DAP’s Teo Nie Ching was once even banned by the Selangor religious
authorities from further shenanigans in the surau despite her subsequent
tutup aurat (covering up). Non-Malays wearing baju kurung and baju
Melayu is nothing contentious as these have already come to be adopted
as our national costume of sorts.
The tudung however is another kettle of fish and has religious
connotations. There is no reason for non-Muslims to use it in situations
that do not warrant veiling, i.e. these women are not within the
confines of the mosque.
Recently photographs of a Chinese-looking man clad in baju Melayu and
songkok, engaged in what has been described as ‘takbir’ were uploaded
in Malay-language blogosphere. The Umno blogs identified the man in
question as Chan Ming Kai, PKR Adun for Simpang Pulai (
main photo).
Waiting for their conversions
Dr Novandri Hasan, an Umno leader in Bukit Gelugor (Karpal’s
parliamentary constituency) commented that Chan participating in the
Muslim practice is welcome if he genuinely desires to embrace Islam but
deplorable if it were only a piece of play-acting to fish Malay votes.
The blogger Sungai Rapat Online (of the blog almost indistinguishable
from the interests of Hamidah Osman, an Umno Adun and Perak senior
exco) commented: “Saya kenal benar dengan perangai Chang Meng Kai [sic]
ini dia ni hanya berlakon sahaja untuk mendapatkan undi Melayu.”
Sungai Rapat Online also accused Chan of being two-faced, saying one thing to his Malay listeners and another to the Chinese.
This same accusation of tailoring the message to suit different
audiences had been made earlier by Wanita MCA Penang chief Tan Cheng
Liang regarding the DAP. Tan noted too that her political rivals said
one thing in the Malay language and another in the Chinese tongue.
As with the inherent nature of contagions, the Hasnah Yeop Syndrome
is not limited to post-March 8 politicians but its other symptoms
extended to political commentators as well.
Siding solely with the strong
In an Aug 23 piece by FMT columnist Jeswan Kaur, it was revealed that
her good friend, a Muslim woman, had wanted to rename her [Jeswan] with a
Malay name – with the friend even going to the extent of repeatedly
urging her to say ‘bismillah’.
To recap Jeswan’s experience, she wrote about the said friend who
“would tease [her] for not returning to the ‘true path’, that is, to
Islam” as well as “point-blank asked [Jeswan] to convert”.
Another matter which Jeswan prided herself was in electing to fast throughout Ramadan.
(For comparison, India which is predominantly Hindu puts the shoe on
the other foot. There, in keeping with the dietary wishes of the
dominant faith community, McDonald’s outlets do not sell beef burgers.)
The sheer force of the majority usually prevails but isn’t it the
conscientious duty of those elected to public office to ensure that
minorities are protected? Pakatan operates quite the opposite.
Under
Penang’s DAP-led administration these past three years, 100 percent of
drainage and irrigation contracts and 98 percent of tenders approved
between January 2008 and November 2010 went to bumiputera contractors.
This sudden turnabout comes on the heels of decades where DAP (before
the party’s first taste of power) was unhappy with even the 30 percent
NEP quota.
From the state statistics boasted by DAP to show its current good
care of the bumi groups, it would appear Penang Indians got nothing
although belonging to the country’s weakest minority.
One-sided and sad apologia
It is a trait in common with Pakatan politicians who do not treat
Hindu devotees in the fawning manner they do the Muslim devout.
In the course of hosting buka puasa (an activity in which Hannah Yeoh
is competing with Teo Nie Ching to be queen bee doing the copious
rounds), our surau-hopping politicians are liberal with their shower of
cash and kind donations.
But we hardly hear of the pathetic Hindu temples, which are more
sorely in need of assistance, receiving Yang Berhormat visitors.
Going back to Karpal and the imminent election wherein Malay votes
are most pivotal, one can see how those in the Pakatan camp believe that
Indian votes are inconsequential to their Putrajaya ambition.
Hence Indians sadly don’t figure in the present socio-political calculus.
From other self-disclosures in Jeswan’s column, we learn that she
listens to Islamic religious talks on television. She is familiar with
Islamic customs such as ‘puasa ganti’ and aware that Muslims use
‘sejadah’ during worship. She is able to roll Islamic terms such as
‘sahur’ and ‘iftar’ easily off her tongue.
Not just that, Jeswan is also vicariously excited about the Mecca
pilgrimage and is knowledgeable about the ‘saie’ and ‘tawaf’
requirements during the Haj ritual.
I’m only left to wonder if Jeswan’s close Muslim friend knows
anything at all about Sikh prayer. Or has ever shown a pinch of interest
in Punjabi culture and customs … if only to reciprocate the eager
enthusiasm exhibited by the FMT columnist.
Since Jeswan did not write about any inverse scenario, the reader can
only conclude that the relationship between the two women is a one-way
street. Yet Jeswan appears totally oblivious to this imbalance that the
rest of us can easily decipher.
The Hasnah Yeop syndrome is one where non-Malay elected
representatives find it expedient to further empower the already
powerful majority. And these politicians display a similar lack of
self-awareness as to the one-sidedness of their behaviour that pays
scant attention to neglected minorities.
DAP’s disdain of Indians is best encapsulated in the disequilibrium
of Hannah’s mixed race child ending up a ‘Chinese’ baby in her birth
cert. Over-the-top politicking may just backfire when 5,000-year old
cultural traditions bite back.
These issues have been discussed in greater detail at helenang.wordpress.com.
It
also said that the continued public attention to such allegations also
could damage Najib's chances, who was then deputy prime minister, of
replacing Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as the country's new leader. 
Raja Petra was eventually charged with defaming Rosmah, Norhayati and Abdul Aziz on July 17, 2008. 
bapa-bapa yang enggan bayar harta sepencarian serta nafkah pada bekas isteri dan anak-anak;