Written by Mariam Mokhtar
When John Malott’s article ‘The Price of Malaysia’s Racism’ was published in the Asian Wall Street Journal, his piece caused a firestorm in Malaysia.
So was Malott correct in his assessment of Najib’s 1Malaysia? Did he write from the point of view of the non-Malays? Had he ignored the sensitivities and struggles of the Malays?
The reaction from various political figures has been predictable. Deputy Prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin said Malott was entitled to his opinions.
He said, “That’s his personal opinion. Why do you even want to make a big deal out of it? Who is he? He has no status, he is not even president or prime minister. Maybe he is a close friend of [Opposition Leader] Anwar Ibrahim, that is why he is spinning stories.”
Perkasa’s Ibrahim Ali entertained us with his usual twaddle and said that the former US envoy had to ‘have his head checked with a psychiatrist’.
“I think there are Malaysians who have asked for his help. There must be people behind him, asking him to give negative views of our prime minister. I believe Malott is backed by a Malaysian who is facing a political death, but I will not name names.”
The Information, Communication and Culture Minister Rais Yatim prattled on about the ‘dirty politics’ behind Malott’s piece.
He said, “When he was the ambassador in Kuala Lumpur, Malott enjoyed the modernity and progress of our country. Of course, he preferred to associate himself with the opposition. We abhor such an envoy. We have to regard him as a political practitioner who is nothing more or less than (Opposition Leader) Anwar Ibrahim or as one of the members of PKR in Kuala Lumpur.”
He added: “I am amazed that The Asian Wall Street Journal (AWSJ) was willing to publish such an article.”
The politicians above are all Malay and occupy positions of seniority in the Cabinet, except for Ibrahim Ali, who heads the extremist group Perkasa.
It is curious how they all ‘equate’ Malott with Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. That in itself suggests that the Opposition is feared in BN and Perkasa circles.
All of them failed to expand on what Malott had to say about Malaysia’s racism. If they found Malott’s piece objectionable, they didn’t identify which bits they found disagreeable. As always, their arguments were short on substance. All they could conclude was that Malott was Anwar’s stooge.
Perhaps they had to wait for the cue from Prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, who in turn had to await APCO’s detailed instruction.
But Malott’s assessment is correct. For every satisfied tourist who waxes lyrical about our food, our beaches, and our hospitality, another would have discovered the dark side of Malaysia. These are the dirty toilets, poor taxi-service, litter or terrible driving habits.
That is not the end of it, for if this disgruntled foreigner were to scratch the surface a tiny bit more, he would have been horrified at what Malaysians have to endure daily. There is racial and religious intolerance at every stage and station in the life of a Malaysian, Malay and non-Malay.
This is Najib’s ‘OneMalaysia’ which he claims is Malaysia’s “strength and remains our best hope for the future”.
This ‘OneMalaysia’ is what passes off as unity when in fact it is Malaysia’s state-sanctioned racism.
Najib said we had to “preserve and enhance this unity in diversity”. Isn’t this more like an oxymoron?
More importantly, ‘OneMalaysia’ is hypocritical. Mahathir and Najib have for several decades managed to drive a wedge through the various communities, with their race-based policies and kept us apart.
Related Stories: JOHN MALLOT’S WSJ ARTICLE: A RESPONSE
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