THE I.S.A. BECKONS

If ever there was a need for the Internal Security Act to be enforced post 1969 in relation to racial tension, this would be the time.

Multiracial tolerance and National unity is currently at its lowest ebb from my experience. I was too young and was living abroad during the 1969 clashes and was only told of the history much later in life, and in spite of the constant reminders of it during my traditional martial arts lessons, some of my best friends growing up were mainly Chinese and Indians.

Today it pains me to read what is written in the cyber-world about the Malays by those whose forefathers were given a blanket citizenship in exchange for their vows to uphold the Constitution and respect the position of those originating naturally in this land formerly known as Malaya. What aches me even more is that there are hypocritical descendents of the natives who openly question the privileges that come with their birthright, who pretend like they never relied on it at all while excelling in their respective arenas achieving success. This gives rise to the non Malays in justifying their action to press for more equal rights in all avenues that will eventually widen the disparity among us and create social instability in this country.

The Malays are being tested today like they have never been before. I say this because in comparison to the past, the Malays are being stacked against each other and even the presumably more pious of them are willing to be servants of the chauvinists amongst the non Malays, making it easier for us to be brought down if we are not careful.

Worst still, our non Malay allies within the Barisan Nasional are no longer loyal to the Coalition and have on several occasions openly supported the opposition on issues relating to race taking advantage of what they perceive as the weak condition of the Malays who are disunited. Some within the coalition have also taken the responsibility of championing the rights of known crooks just based on the color of their skin, while they remain quiet when others suffer the same fate.

These, coupled with the open challenges aimed at the Institution of the Monarchy, namely in Perak from several non Malays and their loyal Malay servants on top of the vile language used against the former in the blogosphere are making the situation very critical indeed.

The traditional attitude of the Malays in general is to remain calm and patient, at times overbearingly even under extreme circumstances. One will not see their patience run thin. They will just snap and when that occurs, all hell will break loose. That is how the Malay word “amok” arose and is recognized today in the Oxford Dictionary

The Internal Security Act, to my understanding is a preventive law that is to be employed on instigators who threaten National peace, security and social order. My instinct says that if something drastic doesn’t happen in the near future to ease this rising pressure from all sides, we will have a huge problem in our hands that will subsequently lead to serious repercussions. When peace and stability cease to exist, our economy will suffer, and all the good work put in through fine albeit hard leadership in the 22 years before the last 5, will be flushed into the drains of hell.

The government needs to act swiftly and decisively. If they find themselves directionless, they should seek the advice of the former Prime Minister or learn from our neighbor in the South.