1948: The massacre of Kfar Etzion happened a day before Israel declared independence on May 14. The Etzion bloc situated in the Arab state after the partition by UN in 1947 is a strategic location in the southern approach for Jeruselem from Hebron. On May 13 1948, several companies of the Arab League attacked Kfar Etzion with light artillery against the Jews.
On May 13, 1954, Chinese middle school students protested against the British for making it mandatory for young men at the age of 18 to participate in National Service, which led to a riot.
In 1958, a coup d'etat was orchestrated by a group of French military officers to return political power to Charles De Gaulle during the Algerian War of Independence.
In 1998, Indonesia suffered a massive blow from the regional economic crisis causing unemployment to sky rocket, the Rupiah to collapse and students to protest aggressively against President Suharto. On May 12th, 4 university students were shot dead. Business premises owned by ethnic Chinese were destroyed.
In 1969, Gerakan led by Lim Chong Eu demanded stronger Chinese education stream. DAP, an off shoot from PAP with the mantra "Malaysia for Malaysians" wanted to elevate English, Mandarin and Tamil at par with the Malay language as National language. PAS accused UMNO of selling out Malays indigenous rights. After wresting control of 3 states and almost denying the Alliance of its 2/3 majority, both Gerakan and MCA paraded joyously to celebrate the feat, bearing slogans such as "Finish off the Malays". An apology was issued after the rally. Another rally was then organized by the then Selangor Menteri Besar, Dato' Harun Idris. The rally then turned to a racial riot. A state of emergency was declared after the Parliament was dissolved. MAGERAN took over the administration of the country.
May 13 is quite an event for the last few decades. Racial sentiments are boiling close to the point of no return. I know a lot of people in UMNO are working hard to fix this. I also know a lot of people who think that it is mission impossible, that the mindset and cultural sentiments in UMNO members are embedded too deep, it can't be rooted out. I also know a lot of my friends are with the Opposition front because of the stereotypical UMNO image of being interested in only projects and power. What ever positions you take, you're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't. That is the downside of taking a side. Some play safe by just playing up sentiments and sit comfortably on the fence. There are also Malays questioning about Malay rights and the Opposition is accusing UMNO of using this as a unity cause. Lots of blogs are writing about who's right and who's wrong. BAR council is also making hay while the sun is shining.
All I know is this: while we are fighting amongst ourselves, we are being taken advantage of. And that is very obvious. We will become like the Middle East if our leaders of all levels can't stand firm and make smart decisions. And please reject the posers who have reaped so much benefits and at the same time take pot shots. Seperti kacang melupakan kulit.
How will Malaysians look at us 40 years from now.
May 13 is quite an event for the last few decades. Racial sentiments are boiling close to the point of no return. I know a lot of people in UMNO are working hard to fix this. I also know a lot of people who think that it is mission impossible, that the mindset and cultural sentiments in UMNO members are embedded too deep, it can't be rooted out. I also know a lot of my friends are with the Opposition front because of the stereotypical UMNO image of being interested in only projects and power. What ever positions you take, you're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't. That is the downside of taking a side. Some play safe by just playing up sentiments and sit comfortably on the fence. There are also Malays questioning about Malay rights and the Opposition is accusing UMNO of using this as a unity cause. Lots of blogs are writing about who's right and who's wrong. BAR council is also making hay while the sun is shining.
All I know is this: while we are fighting amongst ourselves, we are being taken advantage of. And that is very obvious. We will become like the Middle East if our leaders of all levels can't stand firm and make smart decisions. And please reject the posers who have reaped so much benefits and at the same time take pot shots. Seperti kacang melupakan kulit.
How will Malaysians look at us 40 years from now.
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1 comment:
this is good stuff man. good info.
my question is, how important is this racial agenda in the world we live in today? we've muddled religion, politics and race, all into one big imposing beast, which make all these aspects fair game in the current "i'm holier than you because.." scenario. it's a recipe for disaster.
we must leave what is sacred.. well, sacred. it's this bickering.. not wanting to wear songkok, calling each other squatters, it's all this that have weakened some of us and made others stronger.
if i were to lead you into battle, my concern should be getting the best out of you, so we all come out alive. if all i focus on is stealing your senjata while you're sleeping, then f*ck la, tomorrow we all die man! we all just wanna make a living and enjoy our amazing food. if we can't do that, then problem la.
we need a strong leader who will lead. his support crew must always have this country as priority 1, 2 and 3. if a gomen man got business interests he can benefit from, then that's a conflict of interest. that will no doubt make the public spew!
it's perception, in this political game. i can say all the right things in the open, and sell out the country behind closed doors, people will still perceive me as a good guy. i can work like a dog 24x7 to keep this country afloat, and then doze off in public forums, and people will say i'm a nyanyok leader.
kepala kena berani la bai. we've come 50 years down the road, quite decently. it'll be a shame if we turn into a nation of bickering nutbags just cos we now got internet!
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