THE CICAK.com

Invoking the spirit of Dato Onn Jaafar in politics

By CHAN SHIJUN

Even for those who have a minimal interest in politics, a glance at Malaysia’s political scene will tell them that something’s not quite right. For a country that supposedly prides itself for its multiracial make-up, one can be forgiven for feeling quite shocked that the major parties here all consist of race-based parties! For example, in the ruling Barisan Nasional (B.N.) coalition, only the Malays can be members of UMNO, the Chinese in the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), and the Indians in the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC). Doesn’t this situation contradict our national image?

One man wanted an all-inclusive party. He is the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) founder, Dato Onn Jaafar.

He was a visionary leader, who suggested that UMNO open its membership to all races in Malaysia.

Alas, his vision for UMNO was rejected by his party, and Dato Onn subsequently resigned. However, he was still eager to promote the idea of a multiracial party. After Malaya’s independence, he formed the National Party in 1954 in an attempt to achieve his vision. Unfortunately, many Malaysians did not share his enthuiasm, and his party disbanded a few years later.

It’s been 50 years. Has anything changed?

We are still more comfortable voting race-based parties into power. Multiracial parties, such as the Democratic Action Party (DAP), Gerakan, and Parti Keadilan Rakyat/People’s Justice Party (PKR), are all presently struggling to attract votes in every election. Shouldn’t we give our votes to these parties if we really aspire toward a “Bangsa Malaysia” vision for our country?

Sure, a lot of criticism has been directed toward those three parties, and some of them are justified.

DAP, Gerakan and PKR have no restrictions, based on race, on who can join them. These three parties truly promote the concept of “Bangsa Malaysia,” unlike the hypocritical B.N. parties.

Why do I think that race-based parties are undesirable?

Just take a look at United Kingdom’s political scene. Why do political parties exist? They exist to fight for, and to safeguard the welfare of different societal classes. In the United Kingdom, the Labour Party fights for the working class and lower-middle class. Meanwhile, the Conservative Party fights for the upper-class and upper-middle class. These parties occasionally attack other classes to prove to their voters that they are doing their job. In addition, these parties obtain publicity as well. The Labour Party will occasionally shout fiery rhetoric against the perceived rich and heartless employers who allegedly loves exploiting their employees, while the Conservative Party will constantly try to reduce the power and influence of unions.

However, in Malaysia, because parties are divided according to race, each party is obliged to only look after the welfare of a particular race. What’s alarming is that these parties will attack other races to shore support for themselves. How can this lead us to a “Bangsa Malaysia?”

To avoid this ugly style of racial politicking, I feel that we should reject parties that are based on race. As Malaysian voters, we should push all parties to compete against each other for our votes. We should not support those who look at things through racially tinted lenses, and spit out provocative rhetoric based on stereotype and prejudice.

Can we try to achieve Dato Onn Jaafar’s vision?

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CHAN SHIJUN is a contributing writerfor theCICAK.

Shijun is a university student in Sydney, Australia. He loves discussing politics, sci-fi and fantasy novels and ’90s pop music. Visit his site.