Of course he will. But let's just hope that these changes are for the benefit of all. To be honest, I feel glad that Obama was chosen, and I'm sure many people feel the same way. Everyone's tired of the needless wars and attacks by the arrogant Bush administration.
However, 8 years ago, with my young mind being influenced by the local Malaysian media saying that Al Gore is ntahpape because he supported Anwar's reformasi, I was hoping Bush would win. Well, not exactly Bush, but the guy who was running against Al Gore, whoever he was. Look at how that turned out. And during those 8 years, Al Gore has made a reputation of being someone who truly cares about the environment while Bush, well, you know what he's done.
I'm just saying that in reality, after a candidate is elected, he/she doesn't always do what they say in the campaigns. Maybe it's because they are blatant liars, but usually it's due to the constraints of the real world, like bureaucracy etc. They can't just do whatever they like. Well, maybe that Texan cowboy was a special case, selamba badak je attack Iraq without the UN's approval. Heh.
In America, they have proved that race is not the issue. I wonder, when will that kind of mentality be the norm in Malaysia? There was a comic that I read showing some Malaysians cheering when the news on TV showed Obama the black candidate winning the US election, but the same people were then angry when a Chinese was elected a head of a certain body instead of a Malay. The sad thing is, many people behave the same way. When will Malaysia be mature enough to accept all Malaysians no matter what religion or race they are? When will all of us accept that jobs should be based on merit, not on race? I truly hope that there will come a day when these types of questions are no longer equired to be asked.
Anyway, I hope Obama really does bring great changes not only to the US, but also to the world. Yes he can!
i think we malaysians have seen how difficult it is to initiate and sustain the idealism of change once the dust over the election victory has settled.
ReplyDeletehaving said that, i think we need to be reminded that obama's victory represents an *opportunity* for change, through which other lasting improvements could be made.
our journey is far from over; it has only just begun. may Allah bless us all ;-)
Great. now that he won, lets start a conspiracy theory:
ReplyDeleteWhat if Obama is merely a dummy, nurtured by some dark organization within the US, that the whole election thing was all staged, and to make the people believe they have intelligently elected the right president of hope?
naaahh... hehhehe
takleh main game (red ring), esok kene gi offshore. bye.
i sincerely hope that you will not be heading offshore under that state of mind bro! haha...
ReplyDelete'i sincerely hope that you will not be heading offshore under that state of mind bro!'
ReplyDeletei don't get it. kenapa?
I'm afraid I'm going to have to quote you.
ReplyDelete"...the same people were then angry when a Chinese was elected a head of a certain body instead of a Malay. The sad thing is, many people behave the same way. When will Malaysia be mature enough to accept all Malaysians no matter what religion or race they are? When will all of us accept that jobs should be based on merit, not on race?"
The very people in the US of A who may be supporting McCain because he's white, could very well be why people here support Malays instead of Chinese. Some of us have a constant fear that our own country, our very own so-called "Tanah Melayu", will be governed, and eventually overpopulated, by races other than Malay.
It is my humble opinion(and purely mine only) that one should rather be questioning when the time will come for Malays to win back their true dignity, respect and rightful position amongst every race in Malaysia, instead of when people will start accepting other races into the constitution.
My two cents. Thanks.
Abg Ammir if youre reading this. Don't kill me for having an opinion!
"Some of us have a constant fear that our own country, our very own so-called "Tanah Melayu", will be governed, and eventually overpopulated, by races other than Malay."
ReplyDeleteI think we have to be honest enough with ourselves and with the socio-political realities of the country to ask whether such fears are justified.
It is a poor excuse to base our judgements and plans for the future on our fears, much less on one that are often promulgated by the ruling elite.
Personally, I find the idea of the Malays being overuled or outmanouevered by other races in their own country perplexing at best, insulting at worst, especially
when symbols of Malay identity (language, religion and monarchy) have been enshrined in the founding document of the country and given the broad provisions made for the special positions of the Bumiputras in the Constitution.
Furthermore, the Malay character and identity has been firmly institutionalized in all levels of government, so much so that the civil service has come to be recognized as the bastion of Malay dominance.
And finally, it is useful to remember that the Bumiputras still outnumber the non-Bumiputras combined and there is something to be said about having strengths in numbers.
Therefore, I think it is high time that we discard this myth that if we the Malays are to "let our guard down", then the country will be overrun by other races.
Such a zero-sum game approach to politics have absoluately no place in a country as rich, as complex and as diverse as Malaysia.
To pursue it will only hasten our own demise.
It would be near irrefutable based on your argument, but debatable in a few ways. Try telling what you just mentioned to the few thousand or so elderly more conservative people of our nation, and you'd get a minority who will express outrage.
ReplyDeleteIt's no wonder, after all, that Obama gets more support from the younger and more in-the-know community. They either don't have a bad past(in war, riots, etc.) or are smart/mature enough to have put it beyond them.
A majority alone is nothing without substance, and it is this substance that we still need more of.
"Try telling what you just mentioned to the few thousand or so elderly more conservative people of our nation, and you'd get a minority who will express outrage."
ReplyDeleteThe term "conservative" here could refer to so many things - conservative with respect to what? conservative in the social, economic or religious sense? what makes one a conservative? is it necessarily a bad thing?
I think the elderly would have a keener and more nuanced historical understanding of the racial make-up of our country and how it came to be.
The fact that the May 13 riots only occured in the major cities in the west coast of Penisular Malaysia means that the resentments between the different races have an urban flavour to it and that it stems from wide economic disparity between the Chinese and Malays as observed in these cities.
That we do not see similar riots spreading to remote villages filled with "elderly and conservative peoples" weakens the so-called notion that "conservative" peoples in the villages could not be made to understand the realities and challenges facing our country and the urgent need to overcome them by putting aside our differences.
I would think that they accepted the fact that they had to accommodate other races, other cultures, other religion, given the historical circumstances of our country.
Its true that they would hold on to certain stereotypes about the other races; indeed, their social identification would proceed along racial lines.
But I believe it is naive to assume that bigotry or racial-mongering to be afflictions exclusive only to the "elderly and conservative peoples"; I know several youths or young adults who subscribe to a narrow, right-wing and exclusivist brand of politics.
It has less to do with age but more with the ability to be honest with the realities of our country and with ourselves.
After all, ignorance and arrogance do not discriminate between the young or old, rich or poor, educated or not.
In any case, I think there is nothing amoral or unethical about racial identification, especially in a country like Malaysia where race has been embedded as part of our psyche.
What is objectionable though is racial-baiting, attaching potentiality to a particular race (i.e. because you are a Malay, therefore you can only proceed so far in your life, because you are a Chinese, you can achieve so much in your life), and fear-mongering along racial lines.
What is even more objectionable is to assert that race X cannot improve, cannot develop, cannot advance as long as race Y dominates field A or race Z controls company B.
I personally believe that it is irresponsible to blatantly pin our backwardness, our poverty and our depravity on the fate of other race.
Its always easier to blame others for our misfortunes, but that won't help us move forward much.
That is not to say that all the problems befaling the Malays are not caused by external agents, but at the end of the day, it really depends on how you choose to look at it and what you hope to achieve.
I personally believe that the Malay cause cannot and will not be threatened lest through the folly and weakness of the Malays. Alternatively, we could be destroyed by those who have been entrusted to aid us. Harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi?
thank you very much for your comments and opinions. really appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteanyway, i think i like hyree's conspiracy theory.
naahh (jugak). hehe.
haha believe you me, that's not the only conspiracy theory making rounds on the Net with regards to Obama's victory... ;-)
ReplyDelete