I was in Standard Five when this happened. We were in a kampong in Melaka, basically nothing eventful ever happens there. So, 13th May was an "event" for everyone. Not that it affected us directly.
I was maybe too young to remember many things but I remembered that we do not have to go to school. And the adult folks were saying something that the Chinese were getting too much and need to be taught a lesson. But the few (less than 10) Chinese families in the kampong have nothing to worry as they have been accepted as part of our community. They were all safe but I'm sure they must have been very worried.
I also remembered that we had to "mandi minyak" (oil bath??) to give us special powers in case we are attacked. Up to this day I still wonder how we can take an oil bath which is boiling, or was it an illusion?. After that we kids felt so powerful that we started fighting among us.
We were informed about the curfew by policemen in their patrol cars using hailers. A lot of the kampong folks simply ignored the directive to stay indoors after dark.
So what happened then? I think it is about time all Malaysians know the truth so that we can move on with our nation building. Lets settle this once and for all. There are definitely some lessons to be learnt from this painful episode of our nation. Let not it be exploited by some selfish few for their benefits.
Personally,I do not think there will be a repeat of May 13. The country simply cannot afford it. Moreover, the masses are now more informed. The prospect of them being taken for a painful ride is much less than 40 years ago. But lets not take any chances and work towards a more united Malaysia.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Perak oh Perak
I was following the events that were unfolding in Perak this morning. Thanks to the internet, we get live coverage of the events from various sources. Even if some of the sources are biased towards a particular individual, groups or camps, at least we have the choice of "knowing" from various sources. And then it is up to us, the intelligent rakyats, to decide which one to trust. This was not so not too long ago where we had to rely on the "official media" version of everything that happens in the country.
I'm not going to touch on the details of the events that happened which culminated in today's encounter. But to me, as a layman rakyat, I'm sad at the state of affairs of my beloved country. Too many leaders who are supposed to look after the rakyats have instead failed us. Are these people who started this political fiasco ever stop to think about the rakyat or the country? I do not think so for if they do I do not think they will do what they did.
As things stand at the time of my writing, I have a feeling that BN will be the government of Perak. Personally, I do not think they have the moral legitimacy of being the government even if all the Courts of the land and the Sultan of the state who have the prerogative to appoint the Chief Minister said so. A government is chosen by the rakyats and they should have the final say. Of course, my personal views carries no weight whatsoever but I have a feeling that a significant percentage of the rakyat is with me on this.
If I am YB Nizar, I would now hand over the government to the BN since they craved it so much and are willing to do everything to get it. Along they way they have got the Sultan and the Courts on their side. Everyone knows that the police, SPR, Civil Service have always been on their side. So let them have it, for the sake of political stability. If not, we the rakyat, will suffer what with the present financial situation.
Let them rule the state without any inputs from the previous government (the PR government). The ADUNs just attend the State Assembly but do not utter a word. Let them table their Budgets or whatever bills. We just keep quite unless they are proposing to change the constitution or something like that which we should vote against. This way, nobody can say that we are responsible for any of their actions. In the meantime our ADUNs should serve the rakyats to their best of their abilities, despite not being in the government. For the seats that are held by BN we should identify potential candidates and start asking them to serve these areas.
Come next elections, we will be fully prepared and I'm sure we will win more than two thirds of the seats.
But I'm just a nobody and I do not think anybody will give my views a second look.
I'm not going to touch on the details of the events that happened which culminated in today's encounter. But to me, as a layman rakyat, I'm sad at the state of affairs of my beloved country. Too many leaders who are supposed to look after the rakyats have instead failed us. Are these people who started this political fiasco ever stop to think about the rakyat or the country? I do not think so for if they do I do not think they will do what they did.
As things stand at the time of my writing, I have a feeling that BN will be the government of Perak. Personally, I do not think they have the moral legitimacy of being the government even if all the Courts of the land and the Sultan of the state who have the prerogative to appoint the Chief Minister said so. A government is chosen by the rakyats and they should have the final say. Of course, my personal views carries no weight whatsoever but I have a feeling that a significant percentage of the rakyat is with me on this.
If I am YB Nizar, I would now hand over the government to the BN since they craved it so much and are willing to do everything to get it. Along they way they have got the Sultan and the Courts on their side. Everyone knows that the police, SPR, Civil Service have always been on their side. So let them have it, for the sake of political stability. If not, we the rakyat, will suffer what with the present financial situation.
Let them rule the state without any inputs from the previous government (the PR government). The ADUNs just attend the State Assembly but do not utter a word. Let them table their Budgets or whatever bills. We just keep quite unless they are proposing to change the constitution or something like that which we should vote against. This way, nobody can say that we are responsible for any of their actions. In the meantime our ADUNs should serve the rakyats to their best of their abilities, despite not being in the government. For the seats that are held by BN we should identify potential candidates and start asking them to serve these areas.
Come next elections, we will be fully prepared and I'm sure we will win more than two thirds of the seats.
But I'm just a nobody and I do not think anybody will give my views a second look.
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