YOURSAY | Harapan’s structural problem in wooing voters

YOURSAY | ‘Race and religion should not be issues after 65 years of independence.’

Championing Malay rights must not be at expense of others, says Anwar

Existential Turd: PKR president Anwar Ibrahim seems to be making the argument that because the minorities are looking down on the Malays, therefore Malays need special rights. That is a strange justification indeed.

Nowhere in this article did he mention the justification for Malay rights. Respect is something you earn by the sweat of your brow, not because of your birth.

Even if we accept his argument for the sake of argument, he still needs to show which is the cause and which is the effect. And I wager, he is confusing the cause for the effect.

Cendol Manis: Anwar is possibly the only Malay leader brave enough to say this to the Malays. That is integrity and courage.

However, many of the comments here do not address the Malay-Muslim propaganda being drummed into the Malay heartland by Umno and Perikatan Nasional (PN).

The liberal views expressed here will not win the hearts and minds of the Malay majority when it comes time for the general election.

The seats in the centre of Selangor will remain Harapan-dominated but that is as far as it can go.

GreenDeer1223: Anwar, you just confirmed you are so outdated. You are not capable of leading Malaysia. You take one step forward and three steps back.

You still want to cling to this wall that old politicians build to divide races on the pretext of protecting the Malays. You have run out of ideas on how to bring Malaysia to new heights.

Malays will find it hard to improve or show their abilities when outdated politicians like you keep playing old records. Just retire and let the more dynamic ones lead.

Milshah: In chess, a true grandmaster would resign in defeat even before his opponent checkmates his king. Why? Because he already read 10 steps ahead and knows the outcome of the game already.

Indeed, Harapan has a structural problem. They have to cater to non-Malays, but non-Malays are only 30 percent of the population.

Even a small attempt to woo the Malays, especially with regard to championing Malay rights in a multiracial society, would invite unhappiness among the non-Malays.

At the other end of the spectrum is Umno - all out for Malay rights come what may. But they are in a comfortable position since they are wooing 70 percent of the population, while Harapan is stuck with 30 percent.

It’s a checkmate, Anwar.

Proof Of Pudding Always In The Eating: When you keep favouring one child over another, do you think the favoured child will get respect from the other?

The Malays form 60 to 70 percent of the population and the ball is in their court when it comes to electing a government. They need to decide whether they want an accountable government or a racist/fascist one.

A wrong choice will lead to a bankrupt country and we are already well on the way there. When that happens, ‘ketuanan Melayu’ and Islam will not save us.

How do you expect non-Malays to respect the Malays when 60 years after Merdeka, the non-Malays are treated as second-class citizens?

Reset123: Race and religion should not be issues after 65 years of independence. A whole generation or two have grown up since then. The world itself is getting smaller and flatter.

Every Malaysian should be allowed to excel. Otherwise, they would just hop on a plane and go somewhere else. It is already happening. No country is so rich that it can allow its bright young people to migrate away.

With 70 percent of the population bumiputeras, their position is secured. All the poor and needy Malaysians must be helped.

Gerard Lourdesamy: After 65 years of independence and 51 years of the NEP (New Economic Policy), the discourse is still about Malay rights. When is it ever going to be about Malaysian rights?

Equality, equal treatment and equal protection. Affirmative action should not be based on considerations of the race, but rather the means.

Despite the Malays dominating the government, public services, GLCs (government-linked companies), public education and universities, public scholarships, public housing, licences, permits and public projects and procurements, the national agenda is still predicated on race and religion.

Frankly, I have given up on this country. I intend to wind up my affairs here and leave for good by the end of 2023.

JAM: This is the only country in the world where the majority race controls all levers of power, owns most key resources and yet cries non-stop that they are victims.

The only fault of the minorities is that they work hard and work smart. And yet they are being demonised. Who is actually bullying who?

Drngsc: Yes, champion Malay rights but also protect the rights of non-Malays. They are also tax-paying Malaysians.

But most important of all, after 50 years, recognise that the affirmative policies have failed. Slowly open up those one-sided policies and help all races, and allow able bumiputeras to compete and get better.

We want them to be better, but affirmative policies have failed to do that. It only enriches the cronies.

YouCannotBeSerious: In all these decades since independence, Malay politicians have refused to accept that taking away the rights of the non-Malays does not improve the lot of the Malays.

It only enriches the privileged Malays.

The Wakandan: It doesn’t matter what others think of you. That’s an exercise in futility, eating into your inner self and stunting your development. Ego destroys. It’s negative.

You cannot change others but you can change yourself. We shouldn’t live for what others think of us but live for what we want to be.

And for that, only we ourselves can decide our destiny. And it does not come freely but through sweat and tears. Nothing is free on this side of heaven.

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