Perceptions can pose real problems

Like many Malaysians, I was saddened by the fact that Chinese voted against Barisan Alternatif (or DAP to be specific). We should to try understand why they did and what we can do to win the hearts of our fellow Chinese friends to join the fight against corruption, injustices and an unaccountable government.

There are a number of reasons why the Chinese reject BA. The "reformasi" movement is strong and alive among the Malays, but surprisingly, has not caught on in the Chinese community, which views it as an internal problem of the Malays. It is not that the Chinese are self-serving, have no regard for justice or are money-minded but rather, their perceptions and mindset are coloured by various factors.

The Chinese have long felt injustices due to the implementation of the NEP which affected them in many ways in their daily lives, dreams and aspirations. Chinese generally accept Malay dominance in politics, and many believe in the objective of the NEP; "we all believe it is not in the interest of the nation if Chinese are rich and Malays are poor".

However, they also believe poor Chinese in the villages should be given assistance too. The eradication of poverty should be regardless of race. So, for many decades, the Chinese, who had long forsaken the government, would do anything for them as long as they didn't implement more "discriminating" policies.

Hence, the scope of the "reformasi" as defined in the reformasi movement, is too narrow. What about brilliant students unable to get into university because of their race? How about people making a decent living having to pay "commissions" to those who have privileges because of their race?

To the Chinese, the government is already unjust, corrupt and only being pragmatic. They will work around the system knowing that if they challenge any of these, they will be in trouble without the support of the Malays and their MCA representatives.

They find no appeal in the Anwar Ibrahim saga -- there have been many past leaders who were detained unjustly, so what! They already know there are injustices, don't tell them about it (though I hold a different view). The Anwar saga appeals to the Malays because the injustice happened to a Bumiputera (as crude as that might sound) and a prominent one too. Why was there no fuss when Lim Guan Eng was charged under the Internal Security Act?

Since there is no benefit in joining the reformasi tide, and the prospect of an Islamic state is too threatening (in addition to the scare tactics of BN, which the Chinese truly believe the government is capable of carrying out), the Chinese voted for a predictable environment that perpetuated BN's legacy rather than an unpredictable one which would not address the injustices they've experienced.

In an election, we have to address the "real" issues as perceived by the community. All cries of "reformasi" are often drowned by these real issues. I would like to pose a few questions to all reformasi-minded Malaysians:

i) Can PAS protect non-Muslims and Keadilan protect non-Malays? (BN leaders are perceived as non-threatening.)

ii) What would Keadilan and PAS do to the injustices felt by these people? It may not be real to Keadilan and PAS but it is real as far as non-Malays are concerned. Would PAS and Keadilan stand up for non-Muslims and non-Malay rights in Parliament?

BA needs to clarify what they stand for. PAS would have a great opportunity show non-Muslims what they truly stand for with their deeds in the two northern states. If we are against the racial politics advocated by BN we must replace them with principles of justice, fairness and democracy.

Imagine (from Malaysiakini.com)