Ketuananista Ignoramusings

Technorati tags: Humor, Politics, UMNO, Race, Nationhood

Zaid Ibrahim, in his brave and historical speech at LawAsia 2008, has really hit some raw nerves in the Ketuanan Melayu jet-set.

One of the first fingers on the trigger was, of course, Shahidan Kassim Baba O'Riley... and Walski thinks that enough has been said about that ignoramus already, so we'll leave that one alone for now.

Not to be outdone, just about everyone else, and their pet ministers, have come out of the woodworks to lambast the former Law Minister and Senator. A whole heck of a lotta ignoramusings... from a whole lotta pissed off Ketuananistas.

Which is actually not an entirely bad thing, since it lays bare just what these fucktards are made of. And in a nutshell, what they're saying is "Screw the nation... it's the Malay race that's more important".
(ignoramusings analyzed, and more, in the full post)

The good news is, however, that Zaid stands by what he said - that, among other things, the "Malay supremacy concept had failed and distracted from the real issues confronting the country" (via The Star). There were, of course, a lot of other things that Zaid mentioned in the speech, but the Ketuananistas, for some reason, have trained their sights on the Malay Supremacy bit. 

The bad news is that his critics are really baying for his blood. Which, Zaid says, is no big surprise, since it's UMNO silly season. And to Walski, it also goes to underline how little actual nation-building matters to these Ketuananistas.

Like what Malaysia's Most Hated, Home Minister (and failed Svenson spokesmodel) Syed Hamid Albar had to say (via NST), pretty much labelling Zaid as "a traitor to his race", insisting that Zaid should apologize for his remarks. Berita Harian, presumably quoting the minister, had this to say (emphasis and translation by myAsylum).

Katanya, bekas pemimpin Umno itu mesti sedar bahawa beliau tidak boleh menyentuh dan menyinggung perasaan orang Melayu kerana ia akan menimbulkan masalah lain.

He said the former UMNO leader must realize that he cannot touch upon and injure the feelings of the Malays, as it would create other problems.
(source: Berita Harian)

Implying, of course, that the Malays are over-emotional, and irrational. Or is it just the UMNO Malays who exhibit these aberrant characteristics. From the same BH article:

"Oleh itu, adalah wajar beliau mengeluarkan kenyataan bahawa beliau mengakui apa yang dinyatakan sebelum ini melukai dan menyentuh perasaan orang Melayu kerana itu adalah yang terbaik kerana hakikat sejarah tidak sepatutnya dipertikaikan sesiapa pun," katanya.

"Therefore, it would be appropriate that he issue as statement that he admits what he said before this was hurtful, and touched on the Malays' sensitivities, as that would be the best since historical fact should not be disputed by anyone", he said.

The "historical fact" referenced by Syed Hamid is the 'right' of Malay supremacy, enshrined in history. And history, of course, is usually written by the victors. Or in the case of UMNO, sometimes paraphrased to fit their agenda.

And from there, it just simply goes down hill. From the same Berita Harian article:

Ketua Umum, Barisan Bertindak Perpaduan Melayu, Osman Abu Bakar, berkata kenyataan Zaid menunjukkan beliau seorang yang bukan saja tidak berjiwa Melayu tetapi sanggup menghina bangsanya sendiri, dan keadaan itu adalah lebih jahat daripada tindakan penjajah.

"Kami mengutuk keras kenyataannya itu dan akan menulis surat kepada Yang di-Pertuan Agong dan raja-raja Melayu," katanya.

General Head of the Malay Unity Action Front, Osman Abu Bakar, said that Zaid's statement demonstrated that he is someone who not only doesn't have a Malay spirit, but who is also willing to humiliate his own race, and this is worse than what the colonialists did.

"We strongly condemn his statement and will write a letter to the Yang di Pertuan Agung and the Malay rulers," he said.

Good grief... take a chill pill and a dose of perspective, won't ya?

Further clarification about how the mindset of the ignoramus Ketuananista works is later, again in the same article, provided by Datuk Reezal Merican Naina Merican, president of GPMS.

Presiden Gabungan Pelajar Melayu Semenanjung (GPMS), Datuk Reezal Merican Naina Merican, berkata menyatakan ketuanan Melayu sebagai konsep yang gagal adalah juga penafian kepada sumbangan institusi kesultanan dan politik Melayu selama ini.

"Entah kenapa pandangan sedemikian seperti 'dengungan' pandangan liberal parti pembangkang yang terdesak mempamerkan wajah 'sama rata' hingga sanggup mengorbankan kepentingan bangsa," katanya.

President of the Peninsular Malay Students Confederation (GPMS), Datuk Reezal Merican Naina Merican, said that stating Malay supremacy as a failed concept is also a denial of the contribution made by the institution of Malay rulers, and Malay politics, all this while.

"I don't know why, but such views are like an echo of the liberal opposition, desperate to show an 'equality' facade, to the point of sacrificing the interest of [his] race.

Finally, another defender of race (and not nation building) comes out of the woodworks, to provide Zaid some "educational" advice.

Pejuang Bahasa Melayu, Prof Datuk Dr Zainal Kling, berkata kenyataan Zaid menunjukkan kejahilannya terhadap perjuangan bangsanya sendiri.

Justeru, katanya, Umno perlu memberi pemimpin seperti Zaid pendidikan politik supaya faham sejarah dan fakta sebenar kerana perkara yang berhubung kait dengan hak istimewa dan konsep ketuanan Melayu sudah digariskan dalam perlembagaan Persekutuan.

Bahasa Melayu activist, Prof Datuk Dr Zainal Kling, said that Zaid's statement demonstrated the latter's ignorance about the struggles of his own race.

Therefore, he said, UMNO needs to provide leaders like Zaid political education to understand history and true facts, because matters related to special rights and the concept of Malay supremacy have been outlined in the Federal constitution.

Walski wonders if any of these Ketuananistas have actually read the transcript of Zaid's speech in its entirety. Because if they had, they would have realized that Zaid never touched on, much less challenged, the provisions of the Malay rights, nor the position of the Malay rulers. 

And where in the constitution does it outline "Ketuanan Melayu"? Article 152? Article153? Or some imaginary article in the minds of these Ketuananistas?

In fact, it's not just Walski that wonders where and when did this concept of Ketuanan Melayu come about. Or if it even exists, apart from exist in the minds of UMNO die-hards. Articulately argued, blogger Art Harun of Navel Gazing, asks pretty much the same questions: what exactly is this concept of Malay Supremacy, and when did it actually metamorphasize into being...  and do read the posting - it articulates the very same questions Walski asks, but more articulately articulated.

Hence, based on the many objections, from the objectors of questioning things sacrosanct in their less-than-objective minds, Walski can only surmize that if Zaid is on one extreme end of the Ideal Melayu yardstick (or meterstick, for you more metric thinking people), then these objectors must be on the other (hopefully) pointy end. And as such, these Ideal Melayus must therefore exhibit certain qualities, unknown to the Un-Ideal Melayu.

And what are the observed characteristics of the Ideal Melayu, based on the qualities exhibited by the obviously ideal Ketuananistas?

• Emotional, not rational
• Conservative, or at the very least anti-liberal
• Must not see the forest for the trees (i.e. pick on something specific, then blow it out of proportion)
• Believe with your heart and soul that there is no politics, but race-based politics (and make this your mantra)
• Superior, but subsidized and constantly under threat
• When in doubt, drag in the constitution (even if you haven't a clue what it says)
• If still in doubt, accuse others of insulting you and your rulers
• Believes that only the UMNO version of history is true
• Beleives that there are 3 branches of the Malaysian government: UMNO, UMNO and, of course, UMNO
• Nation-building is secondary to Malay interests
• Master of making grandiose, sometimes threatening, but irrelevant, statements
• Believes that equality is an evil colonialist concept
  
• Believes that justice is an equally evil colonialist concept
• Believes that the world owes you a living, and it damn well better deliver 
• Über Alles! Über Alles! UMNO, UMNO über alles! 

Which, of course, makes Zaid Ibrahim immediately the target of these ignoramus Ketuananistas, the ideal Malay specimen, living in the comfort zone of a dying paradigm... 

By the way, Zaid, ain't it time you ditched these fuckers?