WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2010
Wong Choon Mei, Malaysia Chronicle
The writing is on the wall for MCA president Chua Soi Lek and if party members are smart, they will call another of their famous EGMs and throw him out before he does more damage to their party and the Chinese community, pundits said.
Soi Lek drew unprecedented anger from the community when on Sunday he made another major gaffe by calling popular rapper Namewee vulgar and irresponsible. The torrent of rage that flooded back would have necessitated an immediate apology in many democracies but in Malaysia, where MCA has to toe the political line set by coalition boss Umno, Soi Lek is expected to get off the hook.
In fact many believe he was “under orders” to help Umno – especially the hawks led by Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and former premier Mahathir Mohamad - rally Malay support against the political opposition, in particular the Islamic-based PAS.
But in their haste to chase for fading Malay popularity, the group has also stomped on Prime Minister Najib Razak’s multiracial 1Malaysia plan, underscoring the crossroad that the nation has reached and the crucial direction it must now select.
“After 53 years of independence (from British rule) and nation-building, we still have people who propagate racism. It shows there is still fertile ground in Umno where racism is flourishing,” PKR vice president Lee Boon Chye told Malaysia Chronicle.
“If Umno continues to rule Malaysia, this is the path of destruction that the nation will be pushed into. Malaysians must make a stand – is this the sort of leadership they want? Is a closed-door racist Malaysia the sort of country they want to live in because this is what will happen? Malaysia will be shunned by the world as an apartheid nation if it doesn’t come to its senses and stop the rot.”
A coward and a hypocrite
Namewee, whose full name is Wee Meng Chee, had lambasted a school principal Siti Inshah for hurling racist remarks at her non-Malay pupils. She had allegedly told the Chinese students to return to China and likened the Indian ones to dogs. Siti Inshah was not the only one, her colleague in Kedah was also said to have made similarly racist remarks a few days after her.
However, Namewee’s tape which contained the foul language of his generation of rap musicians drew the attention of a 'hungry' Umno leadership. With the help of their media, Namewee's tape was sensationalized and he was hauled up by the police to have his statement recorded on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Umno has been careful not to act against the two school principals, both of whom are Malay. The predominantly Malay teaching community is one of the party’s traditional electorate and Umno leaders do not want to offend it.
“Vulgar not, it is pop music and a lot of it is subjective. Many parents may not like and it should be considered X-rated or PG material but it is not seditious. Now, that is political. Why should the state take such heavy-handed action against Namewee and what is the reason for the double-standards in not going after the principals,” Batu MP Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.
“As for Chua Soi lek, it shows him up as a coward and hypocrite. He did not dare to stand up for Namewee or insist on action to be taken against the racist headmistresses. He also doesn’t dare to speak up against the Umno warlords or antagonize Muhyiddin and Mahathir. His own political survival is at stake and like the MCA presidents before him, he has resorted to pleasing the Umno bosses to keep his hold on power even though he is sacrificing the Chinese community in the process.
Angry outburst
Indeed, the comments that have flooded cyberspace do call for an immediate evaluation of the embattled Soi Lek's tenure as head of the Malaysian Chinese Association. His sex scandal has flared up again amid renewed criticism that his immorality made him an suitable critic for Namewee. Some of the comments that typified the anger that he roused include:
- Some1 featured in a porno video pontificating about some1 else supposedly "vulgar" in another!
- Mr Chua Soi Lek, you have just condemned MCA into "Make Chinese Angry". Well done. No wonder your rating is going down and down.
- In news report on TV tonight; you mentioned Namewee is 'un-cultured' for using vulgar words.....
I want to ask you this; how do you define 'un-cultured'?
- Is it some kind of a joke that CSL is trying to be a person with high morality? All i can say is he is trying too hard.
Which video clip is worse - Soi Lek's or Namewee's
In 2007, Soi Lek had to resign as Health Minister after a DVD showed him having sex with his mistress. The scenes of adultery were widely circulated around cyberspace and at one time, his foes in the BN government even considered prosecuting him for having unnatural sex with his female friend.
“Yes, nobody really wants to rake up the past. But when you try to hit someone else unfairly and just for selfish reasons, then vengeance will follow you. This is truly a case of the pot calling the kettle black,” said Boon Chye.
“Soi Lek has no moral standing to criticize Namewee. No matter how vulgar Namewee was in his expression, it cannot be worse than Soi Lek’s video. Just ask youselves, if our children listened to Namewee’s tape and then watched Soi Lek’s video, which one would be the greater negative influence.”
