FROM POLITICAL PARTIES TO SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CLUBS.

…CAN THE CHINESE AND INDIAN POLITICAL PARTIES IN MALAYSIA CHANGE TO BECOME MERE SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CLUBS IN THE NEAR FUTURE WITH ITS LEADERS PLAYING MAHJONG AND SALUMBUM?

By Mansor Puteh

In Indonesia and the other countries in Southeast Asia, including in Thailand, the Philippines and Myanmar, the Chinese and Indians of those countries can never form their own political parties.

Their numbers are so small to warrant such an action.

So they ended up having small social and cultural organizations instead, where their leaders probably spend their time practicing their kungfu, Chinese dragon dance and sometimes play mahjong.

Politics is the least on their minds.

If they are politically active and more inclined, they would have to join the political parties dominated by the host countries where they are in; with some of them actually running for office if they are lucky, i.e. if they can exhibit their non-preference for things Chinese and especially if they have local names and adopt the local religion and not of their own.

In Malaysia, the existing Chinese and Indian or Tamil political parties including some of those which claim to be multiracial political parties, too, would have to be disbanded and turned into social and cultural organizations or clubs, if their numbers shrink to such an extent that they are not able to have any parliamentary or state assembly areas with Chinese or Tamil majority.

They were quite a few of them before, but the number has shrunk now. Chances are this number will continue to be further reduced as the Chinese and Tamils are dispersed by economic, social and professional necessities, so much so that they are forced to live in Melayu-majority areas.

So much so that if foreign tourists want to see Chinese and Tamils they would have to go to the few Chinatowns and Little Indias which have been established in some of the major cities and towns in the country, which ironically only draw attention to their immigrant history and background.

So they cannot blame the tourists and some locals who still think of them as long immigrants to the country because of their fascination for things China and things India.

And this is despite the fact that the younger generation of Chinese and Indians are slowly losing interests in Motherland China and Motherland India, which have not provided for them on anything that they require to survive living in Malaysia.

But the older generation of Chinese and Indians are still controlling the thinking and direction of the Chinese and Indian young in the country. But their influence now hinges on how much of a nuisance they can make of themselves, the more they cry foul of the treatment or ‘mistreatment’ that they claim to receive from the government, which they see as a Melayu government.

Their ancestors depended totally and fully on the Melayu when they first landed in Tanah Melayu; yet, many generations later, their descendants still want to depend on the charity of the Melayu by making demands some of which are outrageous ones.

They do not dare to compare their fortunes with their brethren in the neighboring countries, because they are not being accorded the type of respect they can demand here in Malaysia.

Ironically, they also cannot look at America, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and the other countries in the west where there are some Chinese living in the midst of the locals, because they are forced to adopt local ways and also names that they cannot demand financial and land allocation from the host governments.

Even those Chinese and Indians who flee from Malaysia to immigrate into those countries become so quiet and respectful of the local cultures and languages, that they willing surrender their racial and cultural and even religious identities to them.

The reason for this to happen is simply because they are so small in number.

But the main reason being that they know they are in White countries, therefore they cannot play the fool and complaint too much, unlike when they are in Malaysia where they can make any demand on the government, because they know they still have some cloud and can cause the dominant Melayu-dominated government of Umno and Barisan Nasional to topple, because the Melayu voters have been divided into many factions causing the Melayu to suffer with the non-Melayu becoming the unnecessary kingmakers.

Where are the vocal Chinese and Indians in the west?

They cannot even appear in public speaking in English because they look odd.

In England, the non-English who excel and expose themselves in public are mostly those Muslims from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.

Many of the television newscasters and reporters are from this group of Muslims.

And when I was last in England in 2010, I noticed the many news that this community made, compared to the Chinese who are holed in the Chinatowns in the major cities in the country.

Therefore one looks forward to the time when the majority race in Malaysia are the Melayu who comprise eighty percent of the population with just one political party to represent them, so that the non-Melayu ones can be turned into social and cultural clubs for their leaders to waste their time playing mahjong or solumbum.

Those who wish to become prominent and expose themselves, have to show how local they are, and not how alien they can be.

Malaysia will be more at peace with itself and the Melayu playing a more prominent and dominant role in the development of the country with racial strive cut to the barest minimum or not at all.