5 May 2013 was a day Malaysians will remember. I call it a Dark Day for the simple reason that our hopes for a better future were shattered. What transpired the entire week later gave us firmer reasons to believe that the change that we have been clamouring for will be close to impossible.
When the election results were announced, National Front a.k.a Barisan Nasional (BN) - the ruling party - had won, albeit by an even smaller margin compared to 2008. In fact, it was reported that BN's performance was the worst in the Malaysian history. Despite being victorious, they were dissatisfied, and had to get a scapegoat to cover their embarrassing faces. Being the sour grapes they are, the BN government led by PM Najib called their loss a "Chinese Tsunami", implying that the Chinese rejected the government, and were the main cause of their dismal performance. From that day onwards, Malaysians saw headlines in the media of how ungrateful the Chinese have been. Whiffs of racial sentiments were blown across the country by irresponsible BN politicians each day. We see new articles in the media to condemn the Chinese who have been hurt by baseless accusations and condemnations.
- http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/zul-noordin-fans-chinse-tsunami-row-says-dap-behind-may-13/
- http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/former-judge-calls-on-malays-to-be-strong-and-aggressive/
- http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/utusan-continues-to-question-chinese-vote-claims-racist-dap-lied/
"Utusan Malaysia", a pro-BN paper was ruthless when the headline "Apa lagi Cina mahu?" (What else do the Chinese want) was splash big on its front page. It doesn't take a political scientist to read between the lines. Their agenda, I believe, was to cause even more hatred to the Chinese amongst Malaysians, and the BN has given them the green light to do so. The editor's analysis on BN's loss and the Chinese's "contributions" to the loss was indeed a lame one.
So what's the point of having the "1-Malaysia" slogan that BN has been harping about when we have individuals and the media who work for the BN sowing seeds of hatred and lighting up flames of racism each time something goes wrong? And why is it the Chinese have become victims all the time?
The massive post-election rally in Petaling Jaya the day after the elections was proof that the Chinese were not to be blamed for BN's loss. There were evidences that the results were unreliable due to fraudulent activities that occurred on the night of 5 May. It was reported that close to 50,000 were there to listen to ousted ex-Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim speak to call for a clean election and to call for an investigation into electoral fraud. Attendees came from all walks of life, braving the rain and traffic congestion to show solidarity. Malaysians showed their indivisibility that night, and we should NEVER let a few moronic, selfish politicians to break this unity.
The true "1-Malaysia" slogan which our BN government has been crying out loud for was seen especially at the rally. We have always been a united nation; we do not need that slogan, which I believe is just eye candy. It's just that someone messed things up long ago, causing the disintegration of the unity that our founding fathers had worked so hard to achieve over five decades ago.
This is a country where everyone lives together in harmony - the Malays, Chinese, Indians, Punjabis, Dayaks (in East Malaysia) and the Orang Asli (the indigenous people) - live under one roof, undisturbed. Anyone who ruffles this harmonious society should be banished.
