It was reported here and here that Wee Meng Chee, the man who parodied Negaraku (which he restyled as Negarakuku), the Malaysian national anthem, in a noxious, Racist pidgin Mandarin-Hokkien rap has been called up by the Cybercrime unit of the Commercial Crimes division of the Federal Police Headquarters at Bukit Aman, presumably to be questioned over his Negarakuku gig. Meng Chee's handywork has been actively distributed on YouTube and other video sharing sites, although he himself has removed it after the initial national furor last year.
As expected, ethnic-Chinese political parties and assorted self-proclaimed rights groups swooped down to defend this "innocent little boy who had some fun on YouTube."
In his song, which actually is quite melodic, Ah Chee started with cryptic Racist-tinged insinuations of corruption by the ethnic-Malay police force, uttering in Mandarin:-
"... we call the police Mata, its because their mata (eyes) are very sharp. They are very hard working when Hari Raya looms, pen in hand but rarely gives out summons. It's because they are thirsty; they want to drink tea, or Kopi O with or without sugar. If you add "sugar," they will smile at you. As you drive off, they will say Tata."
In a display of mind boggling Racism and religious intolerance, Ah Chee launched a blistering attack on the Azan Subuh, the early morning Muslim call to prayer, rapping in Mandarin to a background of mosques and Muslim congregations:-
"... there's a Morning Call asking me to wake up; at times several of them singing at the same time, like the duet of a love song, with High and Low notes like an R&B tune, although sometimes some of them are out of tune, although some of them sing with a croaked voice; there are also voices like a rooster's call, but they wake up earlier than the chickens (... cock-a-doodle-do sound in the background). Like this, we'll know the time to get ready for school and work."
The song proceeded with another vile Racist attack on the Malays:-
"... only non-pampered kids (pic of smiling "pampered" Malay children in the background) will survive. There are those who have not stopped suckling until now (again , with another pic of Malay children and a cartoon of a milk suckling baby in the background)."
The Islamic scarf or Tudung prevalent among Malay Muslim women is not spared by Ah Chee:-
"... those with the tudung cross the road ever so slowly (with pics of tudung-clad Malay women in the background) . You who drive better be careful. As long as they are happy, as long as they are comfortable. Don't be like the Chinese. Everyday busy, burdened with hardships. We must 'admire' their (the Malays') 'spirit.' Because this is their life attitude. Attitude, attitude ..."
Other issues touched by Ah Chee's rap are lazy, kuih-eating Malay civil servants and the problems faced by grads of Chinese schools, saying: "... grads of Chinese schools are ignored by the government; the certs can be dumped in the drain like my case."
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So how do you define Ah Chee's Negarakuku gig? How can this not be construed as a sick, Racist statement tinged with religious intolerance of the highest order? Indeed, almost every sentence uttered by Ah Chee is seditious.
But lo and behold, the very champion of anti-Racism, the purveyors of religious freedom and tolerance, the sponsors of a just society, are now rushing to the bullpen to defend Ah Chee. See the hypocrisy of it all.
Lim Kit Siang in his blog here went as far as proclaiming Ah Chee a true patriot!
Kit Siang said: "... Meng Chee’s rap was his expression of his patriotism and love for the country, to make it a better country for all Malaysians."
Say what? Come again? Is there intelligent life up there?
Let's stop kidding here. Unker Kit Siang is defending Ah Chee for one reason and one reason only. Because Ah Chee is an ethnic-Chinese. Period. As long as the accused, even those as guilty as sin, are of "his kind," Unker Kit Siang will charge down from Ipoh Timur to defend these "hapless, innocent repressed people" with full toy gun blazing, twisting facts, context and issues to confuse a gullible populace and an ignorant foreign media. This is pure, unprincipled Racism of the worst kind.
Among some circles, particularly the young ethnic-Chinese citizens of Malaysia, Ah Chee has become a folk hero, a cult figure, a rallying point ............ a fledgling Nelson Mandela and an embryonic Dalai Lama wrapped in one neat little ta pau package ........... a symbol of ethnic-Chinese resistance to "Malay Rule" in Malaysia (do I sense a tinge of oxymoronism here?).
How long can these types of blatant, unprovoked Racism by segments of the ethnic-Chinese minority be tolerated by the Malays in this country? The Negaraku, the beautiful melodic anthem of our motherland, is sacred. NOBODY should even think of tampering with it, nor with the Jalur Gemilang, national crest, Rukunegara or other icons and instruments of Malaysian nationhood. Our soldiers, warriors and heroes -- of all ethnic groups and religions -- have given their blood and their lives in defending the principles embodied in the Negaraku.
No one should even think of denigrating this symbol of Malaysian sovereignty. No one. Remember, no one. There is zero tolerance on this.
As for Ah Chee, he should pay the appropriate penalty. He must be made an example to other restless, Racist lost souls out there who seemed to thrive on a self-destructive diet of hate and vengeance against the Malay majority, the very people that gave their forefathers citizenship and the right to cari makan in Persekutuan Tanah Melayu 51 years ago.
This Chinese road sign charade in Penang is yet another Race Card being thrown in the face of the Malaysian populace by ethnic-Chinese chauvinists. Not satisfied by the proliferation of road names honouring obscure, long-dead Chinese personalities such as Jalan C.Y. Choy above, Chinese-based political parties in Penang are now locked in a spiralling battle of wanting to appear more Chinese than the other.
The victim: Road Signs! And, of course, the general Malaysian populace.
The Chinese-centric Gerakan party, the big losers in the 12th General Elections, went on this Chinese road sign mania reputedly in order to regain ethnic-Chinese support, as if a precondition of gaining support from the ethnic-Chinese citizens of Malaysia is via the desecration of road signage in Bahasa Malaysia, the National Language, by the National Language of a distant foreign land called China. This is nothing more than blatant, treacherous, provocative Racism.
Would any other country on earth allow unauthorised plantings of supplementary or competing signage in other languages on her streets? Try this stunt in any American, British or Australian city and see what happens. The area residents would tear it to bits in an instant. And the vandals would be beaten to a pulp as a lesson.
Why must Malaysia be different? Why must Malaysians tolerate the desecration of their street names and neighbourhoods by rascals and hoodlums bent on imposing their twisted chauvinistic afflictions on the populace? Where else on earth would a sovereign nation allow her public signage in her national language be challenged by other, foreign languages, least of all by people who claim to be her citizens?
The sole National Language of Malaysia is Bahasa Malaysia. In the Malaysian Constitution, there is no second, third, ancillary, auxiliary or periphery language. None. Hence, ALL official public signage -- including road signs -- must be in Bahasa Malaysia, usually in the Romanised script, or accompanied by its original Jawi script as well. Thats how it is, and that is how it will be as long as this nation of Malaysia exists on the face of this earth.
Back to the Penang story, not wanting to be outdone by the Gerakan party, the ethnic-Chinese centric DAP politicians (current rulers of Penang) have pledged to render Penang road signs in Chinese as well -- to ensure they keep up in this giddy I'm-More-Chinese-Than-Thou spiral of self-destruction. Of course, to camouflage their true intentions and to appease their non-Chinese Pakatan Rakyat bedfellows, a DAP State Exco pledged in The Star that signage in "English ... Tamil, and maybe even Arabic" would be put up as well.
How can you fit 4-5 languages on a road sign? It is not only UGLY, it is STUPID, an insult to Malaysian sensibilities, not to mention a treacherous challenge to Bahasa Malaysia, the SOLE National Language of this blessed land.
Oh yes, if and when patriotic Malaysians react, they would be called "anti-Chinese" and intolerant Racists. God forbid, when the majority Malays react, charges of Racism would rain upon them from the very Racists that started the mess in the first place.
Miss Kok, please explain, what is the drive that compels you and your racist circus to "attack" an inanimate KL road sign with such gusto? Why are you and a Mah Chai (above) pointing at the Jawi writing as if it was some kind of abhorred "plague" that has triggered your alarm and concern?
You were quoted in this report in The Star as saying:-
"It’s a waste to spend money like this. Apparently this was also done in Bandar Tun Razak. It’s a Malay community there so it’s not really an issue but to do this in Taman Seputeh, where most of the residents are Chinese, is certainly a waste of money."
So please tell us now, who drew the Race Card first?
We don't get it. Why must you equate the original Jawi writing of Bahasa Malaysia -- which is the sole OFFICIAL LANGUAGE of Malaysia -- on an OFFICIAL, gazetted local authority road sign as a "Malay" thing and, hence, only applicable in areas with a "Malay community"? And by extension, your argument implies that this country does not need such manifestations of nationhood and national identity in areas "where most of the residents are Chinese."
We are puzzled. Since when did the authorities need the "permission" or "acceptance" of a segment of our society on issues pertaining to official road signs and billboards? Do the 126 ethnic groups in Los Angeles or the myriads of "unwashed masses" in New York City, Melbourne or London ... or for that matter the non-Han Chinese in Shanghai and Beijing ... have a say in the language or script of road signs over there? Why must Malaysia, after 51 years of nationhood, now be a hostage to your twisted ethno-chauvinist inclinations?
Or are you implying that ethnic-Chinese citizens of Malaysia play by different rules, oblivious to their duties as Citizens of this country to not only accept and respect, but to defend with their blood the cardinal manifestations of Malaysian sovereignty, not least Bahasa Malaysia (in BOTH Jawi and Rumi), our language of unity and nationhood?
Ponder the implications of your logic for a while ...
Your charade at the KL street corner unequivocally implies that you do not recognise Bahasa Malaysia (including in its original Jawi script) as THE National Language for ALL Malaysians, which include yourself, your Seputeh constituents and your political party. In effect, you are challenging one of THE cornerstones of Malaysian nationhood, the official language of this country, by your explicit manifestation of utter contempt and disrespect of the original script of the language, by dragging our language of unity into your cesspool of petty communal politics.
Ms. Kok, as a parliamentarian, you of all people should know that Jawi is the original script of Bahasa Malaysia, the sole OFFICIAL LANGUAGE of Malaysia. Are you now questioning the status of Bahasa Malaysia as enshrined in the Federal Constitution?
So, again, what was your complain about? Malaysians just don't get it. Why is this even an issue?
Why must your petty personal parochial sentiment be made into a national issue, which has now inflamed the passion of our fellow citizens?
What is your REAL motivation?
Again, why are you so concerned about this display of national identity on Malaysian sovereign soil?
To further inflame communal passion, Ms. Kok and her DAP cohorts took it upon themselves to break the law and erect illegal competing road signs in six KL locations.
Here's the Taman Seputeh version:-
Ms. Kok then had the audacity to declare to Singapore's my paper tabloid that "the Bahasa Malaysia-Chinese-Tamil road sign makes perfect sense. I call it a road sign towards a more muhibbah Malaysia." What business does this woman have to talk about Malaysian public policy to a Singapore newspaper?
And on the subject of muhibbah (inter-ethnic solidarity), how can the segregation of our society into various subgroups that do not even share a common unifying language and script, and to relegate Bahasa Malaysia, the language of ALL Malaysians, to be at the level of imported foreign languages contribute "towards a more muhibbah Malaysia"? How can you unite the people if you keep on stressing their differences? I don't think Teresa Kok even understand the meaning of "muhibbah."
Also recall that Ms. Kok's opposition to the Jawi script on KL road signs was ostensibly to avoid wastage of public funds. But at the same time, she is advocating new road signs in three different scripts. Imagine how much it would cost DBKL (yes, ultimately KL ratepayers) to replace thousands of KL road signs with the Teresa Kok-approved versions? What happened to the money wastage argument now?
No. This has nothing to do with cost savings. Teresa Kok's real agenda is to challenge the supremacy of Bahasa Malaysia, to push for the adoption of alien foreign languages and scripts, to reinforce the distinction between Malaysia's Malay majority and the immigrant minority groups, to drive a wedge between the various ethnic groups, to pursue a rabidly Racist anti-Malay agenda that boggles the mind of sensible Malaysians. Chauvinism and bigotry do not care about costs, either monetary or social.
Ms. Kok's actions -- her pattern of instigating ethno-social unrest, her unwavering drive to segregate and differentiate Malaysia's ethnic groups, her incessant provocation of the thus far largely patient Malay majority -- have become a threat to our nation's security. And this is no exaggeration. Time will tell as Ms. Kok continues her one-woman crusade to unravel the very fabric of Malaysia's nationhood.
A question to Ms. Kok. Why do you somehow feel insecure, inferior, ruffled and frustrated by the original script of this country's NATIONAL LANGUAGE? What does being a citizen of Malaysia -- having reaped the fruits from this blessed land, having being given the opportunity to partake in the democratic process beyond the wildest dreams of any other group of ethnic-Chinese in the world, having your free say on issues -- really mean to you? Is being a citizen AND at the same time disputing the very tenets of nationhood of your country of citizenship, indeed the Constitution itself, mutually reconcilable? Sorry, but you just cannot have it both ways.
Or do you see yourself as in the vanguard of dissent from among a belligerent minority that has taken upon itself to disavow and challenge every notion, symbol and instrument of Malaysia's nationhood? Is your irrational irritability towards our national Jawi heritage part of your larger goal to bring into disrepute other indisputable manifestations of Malaysian statehood -- the National Language, the Keris, the Songkok, the Baju Melayu? Do you find it fit to utterly abhor and oppose these fundamental pillars of Malaysian pride and identity because in your mind they represent the Malay race that you somehow feel necessary to hate, oppose and ridicule? So this is another Race Thingy then?
Ms. Kok, why do you and your cohorts keep on pulling the Race Card in every conceivable issue in this country? Why do you keep on baiting the Malays to react? Do you construe their tolerance and seeming passivity as a Carte Blanche for your further instigations? And, honestly, you are so naive as to not expect a reaction from Malaysia's majority race? You actually expect others NOT to draw their own Race Cards to counter your blatant racism?
And when they do react, albeit mildly thus far, you opportunistically "Cry Wolf" in a pathetic political pantomime, where you depict yourself as a virginal, innocent little girl being inexplicably harassed and bullied by Racist Malays. And instead of being a reformed, repentant, responsible politician and citizen upon your ISA release, you now portray yourself as some kind of mythical Tang Dynasty heroine, ever ready to take your battle to an even higher level at all costs to this nation. Perhaps you are just a closet Michelle Yeoh-wannabe, waiting for your own little (thus far elusive) Chow Yuen Fatt in matrimony?
And after all the mayhem that YOU YOURSELF have created, you have the audacity to complain about having "only" two boiled eggs and some kuah with your rice meals in the police lock-up. So now this Tang Dynasty heroine is "victimised" by lack of good food while under incarceration in this latest episode of your communal political telenovela? Do you know how many Malaysians in the inner city ghettos and isolated rain forest hamlets go to bed hungry, where even one boiled egg and some kicap, sambal and keropok are deemed luxury cuisine? And for you, Ms. Kok, to dismiss the meals of two boiled eggs and some kuah with rice as "dog food" is an unmitigated INSULT to our less fortunate fellow citizens who consume even less. So now you imply that poor Malaysians are "dogs" eating "dog food"? Sad indeed.
Ms. Kok, again you are baiting for a reaction. You instigate people. And when others react like here, here , here, here and here, you will again cry foul and nag the World to censure these "Racists." Your cycle-of-hate never ends.
Sorry Ms. Kok, double-boiled shark's fin soup, char siu bao and koe loe yok do not figure in the menus of Malaysian police lock-ups. Strangely, you look far from emaciated, in fact, bordering on chubbiness (!) and full of energy in your dramatic post-detention press conference of hate and vengeance. Also, didn't you realised that the people who served you your two boiled eggs and some kuah and rice for your breakfast and lunches have not had any food or drink themselves as they were fasting? Didn't you have an iota of comprehension of the socio-religious norms of this country of your citizenship? Or is disrespect of Ramadan another anti-Malay thing permeating your troubled soul?
How long do you think you and your cohorts can play this game? Do you think another country would tolerate your constant petty instigations and allow your likes to challenge their fundamental pillars of nationhood? Didn't your ethnic-Chinese brethrens tried it in Thailand and Indonesia? Do you know that they were assimilated into oblivion -- Thailand beginning in 1938 and Indonesia since 1965? Do you really think your ethnic-Chinese brethrens are treated as equals in Australia, North America and Western Europe, unless they extinguish their Chinese-ness and masquerade as compliant, smiling, subservient Yellow Bananas bending over backwards to master the language and culture of the host country? Look at the likes of Kylie Kwong, the Aussie Chinese chef on TV. Her Australian accent and mannerisms are so thick and so outbackish -- in other words, so totally assimilated -- perhaps to ensure "acceptance" by the Whites. Well, do you foresee the Kylie Kwongs of this world standing at Sydney, Los Angeles or Paris street corners mocking road signs over there? Why then must you and your cohorts do it in this blessed land called Malaysia?
Please explain all these. Malaysians want to know.
Otherwise, your pathetic time-wasting charade at the KL roadsign is nothing more than a grotesque manifestation of your ingrained, self-destructive RACIST psyche that has corroded your inner being in an intractable coalescence of the destructive forces of hate and vengeance curdling uncontrollably in your restless soul.
