There has been a lot of talk recently about having a mature democracy. Najib Tun Razak when he was here in London talked about this, and its refreshing to know that our politicians realise the need to change things (ironic coming from him, since he’s the Chief Whip in BN – refer post below). The obvious thing to do to have a more mature system are things like having more open debate in parliament, not exercising the whip too strictly and allowing MP’s to vote according to conscience (all of which BN is trying so desperately to keep)… stuff like that.
In a democracy, you have an ideology, and you fight for it…
Copy and pasted from wikipedia:
An ideology is an organized collection of ideas. The main purpose behind an ideology is to offer change in society through a normative thought process (what the world ought to be). Ideologies tend to be abstract thoughts applied to reality and, thus, make this concept unique to politics. Typically, each ideology contains certain ideas on what it considers to be the best form of government.
What is UMNO’s ideology? To fight for Malay interest? Is this really a form of ideology? What does UMNO consider to be the best form of government? For there to be more Malays running the country?
Anyone find it weird to have a racial based government? I’m not sure where in the world this still exist, but in the west, in these so called ‘mature’ democracies, having a racially based government is considered blatant institutionalized racism.
I met this UMNO guy back home, and he was proud of being a member. He said UMNO itu Melayu, Melayu itu UMNO. I am Malay, so if his reasoning is right, I am a part of UMNO. So I guess I am not only born into a culture, not only into a religion, but also born into a party…
Maybe this is why UMNO has an overwhelming majority. Because those who don’t support them do not support the Malays. They are basically traitors of their race. And so since I want to be a good Malay, I need to fight for the Malays, and so I guess I need to support UMNO.
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11 comments:
think you sort of got the definition of ideology wrong. having said that, i do know what you're trying to say.
(i have nothing to say about this matter. yet.)
-basil
Najib's not Chief Whip. Its Nazri.
yeah.. thats what i thought also. still nt too sure, but remember reading in Malaysiakini and in wiki that Najib is chief...
see wiki at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Whip_(Malaysia)
Quote wiki : As of 2006, the Chief Whip is Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, and his deputies are Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of Parliamentary Affairs Nazri Aziz, Transport Minister Chan Kong Choy, and Works Minister Samy Vellu.
but if im wrong, thank you for pointing out the mistake.
btw basil, whats your definition of ideology?
Why UMNO, as a racially based party, inhibits democratic growth? It obliges the Malays into supporting this party. It is a cause so untouchable, any opposition of it can and is considered an attack against a racial group. It bars debates etc.
Motion to disband UMNO, MCA, MIC and other racial based political parties, and create parties based on ideology. It doesn’t matter if it ends up being the same group of people. It is the not individuals in question here, but what they stand for… institutionalized racism.
I am not suggesting there should not be any group fighting for Malay interest, or the interest of any race. I am saying that this should not be done though politics, but rather though NGO’s. UMNO was needed to unite the Malays against an oppressor, and unless we consider the other racial groups in Malaysia falling under this category, there is no justification for such a group to exist in out politics.
-parsley
but it is the msian mentality to "join ur own race thing". Gerakan is fundamentally is multiracial but then it ended up being a chinese dominant party.
THe rule is, if you dont based ur party on race, ur party will die off. Msians are groomed to be like dat. Racial polarisation is not something new. It has been there in our minds since young. The NEP and education systems are the main culprits for this, sort of culturing time bomb for something like a racial clash..one day
to say we are groomed to be racially polorised is a strong statement... NEP and stuff like that may contribute to this.
The thing is that so call ideology based parties become racial because thats the political culture we live in...
We will get nowhere unless something drastic is done. We need to ban racial politics. No point waiting for the public to suddenly realise something should be done. Its a vicious circle, and unless we do something, it will be going on and on...
-parsley
don't worry about what it really means. what's important is that we know the point you're articulating, and you've done a good job with it.
-basil
parsley - i felt that msian are groomed to; "not to have good feelings with someone of another race" is due to my experience living in a all chinese community, where many students are denied a place in public university based on race. Most of them have already plan to migrate and move out, which really surprised me, coz, how can u really hate ur country so much till u r actually thinking to move out of the country at the age of 20? dat is why i felt we are living in a time bomb.
Najib is the Chief Whip of BN.
Nazri is the Minister in PM Department in charge of Parliament affairs. His role in the Parliament is representing the government, not BN.
quite confusing actually, especially when everyone in the Parliament is from the same party.
Chicken Rice
Hi!!! Nice forum. This my first post.
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