Politics 101 Malaysia

I’m not the least worried with PJU’s outgoing Chew Mei Fun’s “If there is insufficient Chinese representation in the Barisan Nasional, it is not a good thing, the Chinese community cannot afford another May 13 incident.”

Poor sod wasn’t using a seatbelt when her official car flipped and she was thrown out.

I think it’s the fairies in her head that’s doing the talking la.

I’ve finally got my hands on Dr Kua’s almighty’s revelation, the MAY 13: Declassified Documents on the Malaysian Riots of 1969

The friend who gifted it to me said looking for the book was like looking for drugs.

She finally ended up in Popular, PJ. Look left, look right, no see book on display. She then approached the counter and asked for it. The person at the counter whispered for her to go to the cashier’s counter. She made her way there and, the book was pulled out from under the counter and straight into a bag.

Nice practice for scoring a bong if she ever needed one.

• To save the legwork, readers can order the book at Kinibooks.

Commentary by Dr Collin Abraham, malaysiakini, May 30.

The May 13th race riots cannot be understood as an isolated event but as the cumulative convergence of historically determined disruptive political and social forces that were perpetuated and developed over a period of time.

These involved contributory and precipitating causes that have to do with the acquisition, discrimination and abuse of political power, and which came to a head in the post-independence period.

Indeed, in place of nation-building efforts, there was already the breakdown of law and order in Kuala Lumpur, such that May 13th itself has even been described at least by one observer as a “blessing in disguise” because it finally resulted in the lawless situation in Kuala Lumpur being brought under control. (Raja Petra: Malaysia Today, April 9, 2007).

The contributory causes need to be recognised. First, the root cause can be traced to the Federation of Malaya Agreement itself, the first piece of post-war legislation promulgated by the British colonial government which failed to provide any semblance of political stability because the constitutional status of the different racial groups was not negotiated in consultation with the legitimate representatives of the respective communities.

The innate characteristic of powerlessness was thereby initiated and allowed to be perpetuated right into the post-colonial period.

The two groups most representative of the Malays, the Nationalist Party and the Islamic factions walked out of Umno and the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) which was the only party with predominant Chinese membership (that collaborated with the British in Force 136) was not invited to participate in the negotiations. ”Continued”

Oleh Lee Ban Chen, malaysiakini, May 23.

Kenyataan Kementerian Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (KDN) bahawa kementerian itu tidak berniat untuk mengharamkan buku “May 13 Declassified Documents on the Racial Riots of 1969” tulisan Dr Kua Kia Soong tentulah dialu alukan.

Sebelum ini, tindakan pegawai KDN merampas buku tersebut dari kedai buku dan melarang buku itu dijual, telah membangkitkan bantahan meluas pelbagai pihak khuatir buku itu akan terus diharamkan.

Memang tidak masuk akal jika buku Dr Kua itu diharamkan hanya kerana ia berbeza dengan versi rasmi kerajaan. Versi rasmi itu menganggap provokasi penyokong pembangkang yang merayakan kejayaan mereka dalam pilihanraya umum 1969 merupakan punca utama rusuhan 13 Mei. Maklumlah Perikatan telah mengalami kekalahan teruk dalam pilihanraya umum terbabit.

Perikatan telah hilang majoriti dua pertiga dalam Dewan Rakyat. Di samping itu, Pulau Pinang sudah jatuh ke tangan Parti Gerakan dan Kelantan pula jatuh ke tangan PAS, sedangkan di Perak dan Selangor Perikatan juga gagal memenangi kerusi majoriti.

Dalam buku baru Dr Kua, tesis ‘coup d’etat’ atau rampasan kuasa telah dikemukakan. Mengikut tesis itu, 13 Mei sebenarnya dirancang oleh golongan kapitalis negara/birokrat yang sedang muncul dengan sokongan pasukan bersenjata dan polis terhadap Tunku Abdul Rahman yang mewakili kepentingan aristokrat lama. ”Continued”

by Philip Bowring, Asia Sentinel.

Thirty-eight years on, the traumatic ethnic riots of May 13, 1969 in Malaysia remain as much a subject of official censorship as the events of June 4, 1989 in China.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket Now a new book by a Malaysian Chinese academic is on the point of being officially banned for suggesting that May 13 was the occasion for what amounted to a coup against the independence leader and Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman by his United Malays National Organisation colleagues who were pushing pro-Malay policies.

Officials of Malaysia’s Internal Security Ministry Tuesday confiscated 10 copies of the book from a Kuala Lumpur bookstore, advising the store not to sell it as it may be banned. According to a letter issued by ministry officials, the book is suspected of being an “undesirable publication.”

What happened on May 13 remains highly relevant to UMNO’s position as the leader of the Barisan National, the alliance of race-based parties that has ruled the country since independence 50 years ago. ”Continued”

Special Report in malaysiakini by Fauwaz Abdul Aziz, May 19.

An afternoon chat over teh tarik with some elderly gentlemen in Kuala Lumpur’s Kampung Baru revealed something more than ambivalence among many Malays regarding the May 13 racial riots in 1969.

Many residents of Kampung Baru - when asked regarding their views of May 13 and whether the episode should be re-examined by the government and re-debated by the public - said the episode was a “dark spot” in the communal history of Malaysia and urged for “the past to remain in the past.”

Resurrecting May 13, they said, would be like digging up the graves of the tragedy. Official records claim the two-day riots - which saw the worst destruction in Kampung Baru - led to the death of 137, 342 injured, 109 vehicles burned, 118 buildings destroyed and 2,912 persons arrested.

“What we should be doing is talk of more pressing current issues, such as the price hike of basic goods,” said one 51-year old resident, who wanted to be identified only as Abdul Rahman.

“I bought a glass of coffee this morning and was charged as much as RM1.70! Why rationalise May 13 any further? The fear that it conjures is enough,” he added. ”Continued”

“We can finish reading the [May 13] book in a day and decide whether it should be banned. However, it will take us two to three days to write a report to the minister or his deputy who will then sign the (ban) order and gazette it (the decision, if any),” Che Din Yusof, secretary of the publications and al-Quran texts control department at the Internal Security Ministry, told malaysiakinitoday.

Instead of reading free books, Che Din should read up the laws covering procedures. It is misleading to say the Minister or deputy will sign a ban order on the advise of the thought control department because the Minister has the power to veto such recommendations.

The Internal Security Ministry confiscated 10 copies of a potential bestseller with new claims on the May 13 racial riots from a major bookstore in the Midvalley shopping centre Tuesday.

The publishers of ‘May 13: Declassified Documents on the Malaysian Riots of 1969‘, say a team of three ministry officers visited the MPH bookstore and advised the shop not to sell the book as it may be banned.

In the Dewan Negara on Monday, three Umno senators have called for the book to be banned. ”Continued”

by Bede Hong, malaysiakini, May 14.

Politician Dr Syed Husin Ali has given a different perspective to Dr Kua Kia Soong’s new book, May 13: Declassified Documents on the Malaysian Riots of 1969. He disagreed on the root cause of the Kuala Lumpur race riots, which Dr Kua attributed to a conspiracy by the “ascendant Malay state capitalist class” to overthrow the government.

“I beg to differ slightly with Kua on the nature and root of the May 13 incident. Kua seems to regard it as planned coup d’etat by state capitalists, presumably led by Razak to overthrow the feudal or aristocratic rule,” said Syed Husin, who is the deputy president of Parti Keadilan Rakyat.

The former Universiti Malaya sociology and anthropology professor said it was most likely a combination of events which Umno leaders took advantage to specifically oust Tunku Abdul Rahman from the premiership.

“There was certainly a stroke or blow against Tunku which ultimately resulted in his removal from power. It was successful, but certainly not a sudden move.” ”Continued”