If we do not end racism and oppression, Malaysia dies. If we end racism and oppression, DAP dies

“Remember, if we do not end racism and oppression, Malaysia dies. If we end racism and oppression, DAP dies”

Azmi Arshad, Shah Alam

A repost from blogger Seademon's blog, reproduced with permission and I urge Malaysians to read:

A Shah Alam Voter versus Lim Guan Eng’s Crocodile Tears

The following was written on Facebook by one Azmi Arshad, a voter from Shah Alam, and has been reproduced here with permission and many thanks:

This is my reply to Lim Guan Eng’s speech/email which was described by his ardent supporters as “touching” and “full of energy”. I’m not sure which parts were touching but my responses aren’t tear-jerkers either. I personally wish for the elections to be behind us so that we can get on withour normal lives again. Until then I feel obliged to respond, when able, to uphold the truth (menegakkan kebenaran) and debunk lies, allegations, deception and half-truths.

My responses are not intended to offend anybody but to rebut LGE’s insinuations, allegations and accusations. And that’s all his “touching” speech was; there was not a single mention about any of the government’s positive achievements. I know, that’s politics. But we the people cannot trust leaders who do not know where to draw the line or do not bother about lines drawn.

I have not removed any part of his speech/email to ensure it remained “touching” and “full of energy” from beginning to end:

LGE said: “Since Merdeka, two million Malaysians have migrated overseas because they do not see a future for themselves and for Malaysia . It is time that we don’t live in our past that is filled with hatred and fear. We should look to the future filled with hope and harmony between all Malaysians.”

There are many different reasons why people migrate. People from different countries migrate to other countries. Not just Malaysia. There are those who prefer the Western lifestyle, there are those who want to earn higher income, there are those who want to make quick money, there are those who enjoy living abroad, there are those who follow their spouses, there are those who look for soul mates, there are those who prefer other education systems, there are those who do it for political reasons, there are those who want to run away from Ah Longs, while some are simply extroverts or wanting a change of scene and there are those who want to capitalise on business opportunities and so on and so forth. (Try googling for reasons). Irregardless, whatever their own personal reasons and preferences it is very sad that you give the impression to your fellow Malaysians as well as foreigners that people leave Malaysia as though it is because they are doomed to perish in their birthplace. That is very misleading and dishonest. Indeed many leave because you have succeedeed in instilling such hatred and fear in them.

LGE said: “To put the past behind us, we must stop the politics of race and religion.”

Yet you, Sir, are the one who re-ignited the kalimah Allah issue after the atmosphere had returned to calm, despite knowing fully well the sensitivities and sentiments of the muslims. Why do you insist on this? Why is it not acceptable to use”tuhan” instead of “Allah” in the malay translation of the bible? Why do you ignore the plea of the muslims? Why do you choose to offend muslims? I find it incredible that you are calling for “a stop on politics of race and religion”, when it is the strategy deployed by none other than your party, after which you then try to point the finger at BN/UMNO when they are compelled to defend against your provocative attacks.

LGE said: “To put the past behind us, we must end corruption.”

I totally agree with you that we must prevent corruption. BN also agrees with you, as declared in their manifesto, and you can see MACC working overtime. Why do you not encourage the government instead of merely condemning and refusing to acknowledge their efforts? And why have you done nothing on the alleged corrupt practices of DAP in Selangor linked to the tragic death of Teoh Beng Hock? Why won’t DAP allow for DNA samples to be obtained from the suspects linked to your party? The government has been investing a lot of time and effort cleaning up and DAP also needs to act on the blatant corruption under its own administration (of which allegations come from its own members against your own high ranked members). I’m sure you have seen the allegation by Tony Tan, who is still waiting for Teresa Kok to sue him for defamation, and the allegations against Ronnie Liu (with documentary evidence at that). I am not saying you personally had anything to do with it but you could not prevent corruption either and furthermore you have subsequently done nothing. While changes are taking effect towards a cleaner and more efficient government, you keep sounding like a broken record.

LGE said: “To put the past behind us, we must abolish the suppression, oppression, repression of our basic human rights and freedoms.”

Are the Opposition’s political leaders in jail? Is there shortage of food? Are people being kidnapped and tortured for opposing the government? What basic rights and freedoms have been violated? Is it because the police had to do their job to stop the rioting by your Bersih hooligans? Is it because the country does not allow same sex marriages? Is it because the government tries to help the poor by giving them some preferential treatment which is contrary to your “equal opportunity” concept? It is very sad that you would blatantly lie about the situation in this peaceful country for the sake of wanting to rule it while Anwar Ibrahim has the audacity to compare himself to Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Ghandi and Martin Luther King. You freely abuse your freedom of speech by spreading lies and deception. On the other hand you suppress the dissenting voices in your own CEC elections and try to distract attention from your unethical practice by trying to blame and demonise the ROS. You are not being truthful to yourself, to your party members and to the people.

LGE said: “To put the past behind us, we must demand good governance and performance from our ministers.”

Yes sir, I agree with you. BN demands the same and is very much ahead of you on this, not least with Idris Jala doing a great job implementing KPI systems for ministers and government.

LGE said: “To attain peace Malaysians must stand united and reject those who wish to divide us by preaching racial and religious hatred.”

Yes sir, I totally agree with you. That is why most of the people are rejecting DAP. You and your party are the true culprit in inciting racial and religious hatred and I had published my views on your mischief well before you gave this “touching” speech.

LGE said: “If we want to benefit from equal opportunities and realize our human potential we must stop extremists from continually degrading others as inferiors so as to uplift ourselves.”

Yes sir, I agree with you to a certain extent. I just do not know what you mean by “equal” because equal does not mean fair. For example, a disabled or poor person may need to be given more help to enhance his chances of survival. “Equal opportunities” is not an end in itself. But it seems “equal opportunities” to you means everybody, rich or poor, malay or chinese or indian, is given equal opportunity and if the result is that wealth is owned 100% by DAP supporters then the result is satisfactory by your definition because everyone was given “equal opportunity” and it’s too bad the others failed. Whereas what we should also be trying to achieve is fair distribution in balance sheet terms. And it goes without saying that it be done according to policies being honestly executed.

LGE said: “Why should Allah not be allowed to be used in the Bible when it is used in the Middle East ?

Sir, have you not been listening to explanations, justifications and arguments of the muslim community and Islamic authorities? Why are you asking this question again? It has been thoroughly explained, which means you have either not bothered to study the evidence or you choose to deliberately ignore it. Among other things, you know very well that the malay translation for god is “tuhan”, not “Allah”. I am very sad and depressed that you antagonise the muslims in this country and even more so in Penang. Before this “touching” speech of yours I made an appeal to our Christian bretheren to please use “tuhan” instead of “Allah”and that had nothing whatsoever to do with politics. Why do you wish to disrupt the peaceful religious harmony in this country and why are you so against the use of “tuhan”? And what does the Middle East have to do with the malay language?

LGE said: “We can only achieve harmony together. Despite our differences and diversity, Malaysians can make our common aspirations of freedom, justice, democracy and truth come true if we remember key values.”

Sir, we will achieve harmony again almost instantly if you would refrain from inciting races against each other. You are exploiting those differences and diversity for your own gain. Evidently you yourself do not hold “key values”. The values of Islam compel us to defend Allah’s name. Do your values, if any, compel you to use “Allah” instead of “tuhan” in the malay language bible? I appeal to you to please abandon your religious incitement. You don’t even have to apologise, just please retract your call and I will thank you sincerely and unconditionally — your previous stand on this matter will be forgotten.

LGE said: “That it is not who we are that is important, but what we are that is important; not the colour of our skin that is important but the content of our character; and not our past ancestry that is important but how we connect with the present and with each other to face the future.”

Yes sir, I agree with you. Islam is colour blind and the Holy Quran and the Prophet (Peace be upon him) are testament to this fact. And please know that muslims love Jesus (Peace be upon him). In the Hereafter we will all be accountable for how we lived our life in this material world. Yet it was your cybertroopers who tried to turn the malays against Tun Mahathir by “exposing” his Indian heritage, hoping the malays would then turn against him. Surely you must agree that kind of behaviour is racist and disgusting? They failed of course because not only Islam is absolutely colour blind but malays too are almost colour blind – that’s why, because of their past heritage, we also have malays who look like chinese (that’s me), indian and even european.

LGE said: “We can only be prosperous together. The time has come to focus on the economy, unemployment, education and business opportunities as the conditions for prosperity. We must build human talent and be performance-based.”

Sir, while I agree that material wealth is important, it would mean nothing and would be the cause of destruction of human values if that is your only measurement for prosperity. Prosperity in material wealth is meaningless if we do not pay alms to the poor, if we do not help others and if we are heedless of God (Tuhan). Please do not be overly obsessed with capitalism. Other than that, yes, we must work hard to earn a good honest living and in accordance with religious values. You will be pleased to know that the government has been focusing on all of the above.

LGE said: “For those who say that PR do not know how to govern, the 4 PR states of Penang, Selangor, Kedah and Kelantan have proven our ability by beating the other 10 BN states by attracting RM25 billion in investments comprising 53% of Malaysia’s total investments of RM47.2 billion in 2010. For the first time in history, Penang is now the new champion of investments in Malaysia , coming out top in 2010 with RM 12.2 billion.”

Sir, if PR has achieved good economic results, or even the best economic results as you proudly say, then I congratulate you. I also congratulate the federal government for making it conducive and attractive for those investments — in the case of Penang some seeds were of course planted by the previous state government before PR took over. It would be nice and sporting of you if you were to give credit where credit is due, instead of boasting as if you did it all on your own from zero, although we know you are sincerely trying hard for Penang to prosper and be independent like Singapore.

LGE said: “To put the past behind us, we must end corruption. Barisan Nasional cannot reform to end corruption. Remember, if we do not end corruption, Malaysia dies. If we end corruption, BN dies. The choice is clear. “

Sir, I understood you the first time. But now you are being deceptive again by trying to make corruption and BN synonymous. Your supporters will cheer and clap but to the rest of us it merely shows your consistency in indulging in character assassination. As a taste of your own medicine, we can not only replace ‘Barisan Nasional’ with ‘DAP’ in your quote but we can also say “Remember, if we do not end racism and oppression, Malaysia dies. If we end racism and oppression, DAP dies”. Not pretty is it? But it’s true. There is nothing I can add which is not already publicly known to show that BN is anti corruption (although your propaganda material shamelessly says BN menghalalkan rasuah), has implemented and enforced laws against it and has been achieving results. It is only that you refuse to acknowledge the achievements and are not capable of “sangka baik” of anyone who could be an obstacle to your quest to rule the country with PAP.

LGE said: “To put the past behind us, we must abolish the suppression, oppression, repression of our basic human rights and freedom. How can we have a clean government when we do not have clean elections?”

Sir, very sadly you repeat in this “touching” speech of yours the baseless accusations of an event that has not yet occured and furthermore after seeing how SPR has implemented so many of DAP’s demands. On the other hand what do you have to say about your own CEC election fiasco? What kind of “clean” and “democratic” process was that? This is unbecoming of a leader. How would you expect the rakyat to trust a leader who does not practise what he preaches? How can we have a clean and honest Opposition when their own elections are a farce and full of dishonesty?

LGE said: “We do not want our children to live in fear of oppressive laws as we have lived. A Pakatan Rakyat government will abolish the UUCA, the Sedition Act and the Printing Presses and Publications Act and restore local government elections.”

Sir, we need laws to maintain social order and social harmony. Isn’t there already enough mudslinging, slandering and disrespectful speech going on in the social and alternative media? Why do you insist on being able to make seditious statements and carry out seditious acts that would cause chaos and social disorder in the country? What is your agenda? (Never mind, we already know your agenda). Aren’t you yourself already getting away with impunity with all your lies, deception, insults and false allegations while your supporters freely spread them? Local government elections will only result in more money and time being wasted in endless campaigning and slandering instead of just getting on with governing. Tolong lah… Enough of people jostling for power and fishing for votes please – this is too disruptive and unproductive. We want peace and quiet, stability and steady progress.

LGE said: “When can we find justice for Teoh Beng Hock, Ahmad Sarbani and A Kugan?”

Sir, as you well know, it was DAP itself that has prevented justice for Teoh Beng Hock by not allowing suspects linked to corruption in DAP to give their DNA samples, while the police and MACC officers (whom DAP accuses of being involved) had given theirs, to establish the two unidentified DNAs found on Teoh Beng Hock. I will put up a separate post on this another time to refresh your memory. While it is believed Teoh Beng Hock was murdered by at least two individuals and covered up by DAP, there was on the other hand clear evidence to show that Ahmad Sabari accidently fell to his death when he tried to jump from the ledge to the roof of the adjacent badminton hall but misjudged the distance. The investigation team even used a stuntman to re-enact what happened. Kugan’s death was also tragic and those involved have been punished, so what further justice are you seeking? I must say that in your insinuation, you were careful in ensuring that all three races are represented for whom to “find justice” so as not to be seen as racist. That’s clever of you and I won’t fault you for that.

LGE said: “When will we have Freedom of Information & Freedom of Speech? When can we have justice that is not only done, but is seen to be done.”

Sir, first of all I am already suffering from information overload of fact and fiction and stinging ears (and eyes) from seditious and obscene speech. I don’t know what more freedom you are seeking on information and speech. But then, you denied crucial information sought by the police when they were investigating Teoh Beng Hock’s death for justice to be done. The police were seen to be trying to have justice done for Teoh Beng Hock and DAP was seen to deny it. It does appear in this case that not enough information was given to the public for them to see the corruption in DAP that led to Teoh Beng Hock’s death. Nonetheless you still have an opportunity to ask their lawyers (Karpal Singh and Gobind) to allow those individuals to give their DNA samples to clear DAP’s involvement. Please come clean on this — you will be respected as a leader.

LGE said: “To put the past behind us, we demand good governance and performance from our ministers.”

Yes sir, I heard you, understood you and agreed with you the first time. My memory is not that short. It is nice to know that you and BN shares the same desire and perhaps you should read BN’s manifesto again.

LGE said: “Malaysia can be an international and intelligent country. We must have digital intelligence with broadband connectivity.”

Yes sir, I agree with you and I am sure BN does too and has evidently already achieved great success. Malaysia having the largest Facebook population is a good indicator of that success although we hope the international community does not use your cybertroopers with multiple fake accounts as a benchmark to measure the country’s intelligence.

LGE said: “We must also have integrity intelligence, so ensure that only honest people are the decision-makers. We must have institutional intelligence under the rule of law.”

Yes sir, I agree with you and I am sure BN does too.

LGE said: “We demand good governance and performance from our ministers.”

Yes sir, I heard you and agreed with you the first time and the second time. And I’ll respond for the third time, BN is all for it too. The difference is the Opposition has not delivered on most of their promises.

LGE said: “Has the Transport Ministry done its duty to run our airports and seaports well? Look at the Penang International Airport whose completion has been delayed more than 3 times. And the Penang Port is to be reduced to be a feeder port and privatized to a 3rd party at the expense of Penangites. Why is there no consultation with the people of Penang to restore the port to its former glory? Instead of looking after airports and ports, the Transport Ministry is more interested in vehicle registration numbers and wants to increase the maximum traffic fines to RM2,000.”

I don’t know sir. But delays in construction projects, especially renovation, are not uncommon. It happens in all countries. Reasons for the delay had already been explained. First you claim that the Transport Ministry is not running the airports and seaports well. Then you complain when the operations of the port is privatised to a licensed operator to improve the services. I suggest you swallow your pride and make an appointment with the ministry to give your views and suggestions to show your sincerity in wanting to “restore the port to its former glory”. If they reject your request, then there may be truth in what you say. I don’t like traffic fines either but aren’t you concerned about the deaths on the road caused by drunk drivers and reckless driving?

LGE said: “Director-General of Tourism is wrongly charged of corruption but the Tourism Minister finds nothing wrong with spending RM1.8 million in doing up her Facebook page, when we all know that it can be done for free.”

First you want the government to fight corruption. Then you say the accused is wrongly charged with corruption. There is just no pleasing you sir. In case you are not aware the DG was acquitted not because he did not receive the gratification but because (i) the prosecution could not prove criminal intent and (ii) the prosecution failed to call in the MACC officer, who was the key complainant. Now do you appreciate how it is not that simple to charge and convict someone for corruption? Would you want the government to lower the standards for conviction so that more can be found guilty and thrown in jail? So here’s the truth: MACC was correct to charge the DG for corruption and the court was also right in acquitting him; there is no need to politicise this. That’s why we have courts of law – someone gets charged and then he is found guilty or acquitted. Errr… Can you please give us the name and phone number of the person who will do Facebook pages for free (and web sites too)? I’d like to use the person’s free services, and I wish you had told us this much earlier.

LGE said: “The Health Ministry wants to privatise healthcare when it should be a public good given as an affordable right to all Malaysians. Why allow the wastage of public funds and affect the quality and affordability of drugs when drugs are bought through a middleman at higher prices when it could be bought cheaper direct from the manufacturers, some of which are operating in Malaysia.”

Let’s wait for the government to show us the pros and cons of the proposed privatisation. I can’t comment until I know the details. Whereas you oppose for the sake of opposing, true to your slogan “Lawan Tetap Lawan”. If privatisation means higher quality and more efficient services then that would be good but at the same time we would have to weigh the benefits against the cost to people. Whatever the decision and outcome, we know the government will look after the lower income group so that they will have access to healthcare in any case.

LGE said: “The Housing and Local Government Ministry opposes local government elections in Penang , denying our fundamental democratic right to elect our councillors and our mayors.”

I have to totally disagree with you. Local government elections are a waste of money, a waste of time and a major distraction from actually governing. Where do you get the idea that it is a fundamental democratic right to elect our councillors and mayors? Just because some countries practise it, it doesn’t mean Malaysia should xerox it. The state government should be given that responsibility and be accountable — just as in a company where shareholders appoint the board of directors who are then responsible for ensuring the company employs a competent CEO and management team instead of delegating those appointments to the employees by voting. The state government, mayor and local councillors should be one cohesive team. As I responded earlier, we want leaders who fear God and respect the people and not, as you believe, those who merely fear the people and job security. The present system is better, leave it be and get on with your job.

LGE said: “We believe that Malaysians deserve better. For the last 50 years, the wealth of the nation has been robbed. Let us protect the future of our children by ensuring we have a people-centric government that protects you instead of harming you, that rewards you instead of stealing from you, that respects you instead of abusing your rights. Let us clean up Malaysia to save our children’s future.”

Sir, I have to be honest that your constant ludicrous accusations and insinuations are tiresome. The corruption and “robbing” topic has already been addressed and rebutted time and time again. Why do you continue flogging a dead horse. The government is already showing that it is a people-centric government – where “Rakyat didahulukan” — and I am grateful and happy that the government has never harmed me, apart from being disgruntled over a few speeding tickets. On the contrary the government has peen protecting us from many threats including the West’s call to allow same sex marriages, riots caused by the Opposition and other external threats such as the Lahad Datu incident. While MACC is busy handling more than 400 cases, please also investigate the alleged stealing in your own party.

LGE said: “We must put the past behind us where profits matters more than our health. Lynas concerns all of us because if Lynas is allowed to operate, Barisan Nasional will proceed with building two nuclear reactors. If we continue to put health above profits, what is the use of having all the money in the world if you cannot enjoy it healthily?”

Since you already acknowledge the immense benefits to the country (i.e. “all the money in the world”), I need not say more on this. However you are still trying to deceive and mislead the public on the safety issue. Until today all the academics, geniuses, scientists, nuclear physicists and intellects (if any) of the Opposition have not produced anything tangible to doubt the safety of the project. The United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has certified that it is safe. Do you doubt them? Were they bribed? Even your most hardcore online news portal FMT admitted to the truth: “We refer to the articles previously published by us which claim that the Lynas plant may be unsafe. We apologise for these publications as such claims do not have a scientific basis. The regulatory review of the Lynas plant has been thorough and diligent”. That’s nothing new is it; that the opposition tends to make allegations without basis. And even Saudara Anwar Ibrahim has changed his position. Your baseless allegation is dishonest and mischievious. I challenge you to issue an official statement that Lynas is unsafe instead of indulging in your usual “baling batu sembunyi tangan” antics. And please do an Anwar Ibrahim on this too i.e. complain to the foreign media.

LGE said: “The next elections shall be fought on the economy. We refuse to allow BN to use race as the issue in the next elections.”

The economy is indeed a major factor in the elections and it is DAP that has been using race as an election issue. However BN inadvertently gets tangled in race issues when they have to defend against your lies and deception to cause racial disharmony. DAP is in fact guilty of what they falsely accuse BN of. We have seen your cybertroopers posting comments saying they cannot understand why non-Malays vote for BN. We have also seen confessions by DAP’s former high ranking members on race-centric strategies. With DAP being hard core racist, this is also hypocrisy at one of its worst.

LGE said: “We need to increase the incomes of our poor or else they will fall victims to the Ah Longs. For example, Bank Negara’s Annual Report 2010 revealed that Malaysia’s household debt at the end of 2010 was RM581 billion or 76 per cent of GDP, thus giving us the dubious honour of having the second-highest level of household debt in Asia . In addition, the Malaysian household debt service ratio stood at 47.8 per cent in 2010, meaning that nearly half of the average family’s income goes to repaying debts. As a rule, banks would not lend money to those whose total servicing of loans exceeded one third of their income. In other words, we are spiralling into an indebted nation.”

Sir, enough facts and statistics have been given to explain the economy, including the national debt and improved poverty levels, but you conveniently choose to ignore them just as you conveniently ignore the facts and arguments of the muslims on the Allah issue. The man on the street is not interested in your macro-economic analysis. He wants to live in a peaceful country with food on the table while having opportunities to indulge in higher pursuits. One of the reasons we have the second-highest level of household debt in Asia is because Malaysia has relatively more property owners per capita compared to other countries. In other words, Malaysians take the opportunity to buy their homes with mortgages (resulting in household debt) compared to those in other countries with less affordable housing whereby they have to rent their accommodation (i.e. no mortgage therefore less household debt). You need to look at both sides of the balance sheet. Incidentally, Penang has performed the worst when it comes to the ratio of house price to household income. It has risen to 8 times since PR took over, compared to the internationally acceptable 3-4 times. Therefore you are in fact primarily responsible for the increase in household debt. Ironic isn’t it? That notwithstanding, facts and figures don’t lie: Malaysia has a strong and sustainable economy except that you try to mislead the public on the national debt while ignoring the fact that external debt has dropped to below RM17 billion. Please study the ETP to understand where our economy is heading and give constructive comments if you are sincere.

LGE said: “According to the New Economic Model documents, the bottom 40% of Malaysian households are living with a monthly average income of RM1,500 (and three-quarters of them are bumiputera) while 60% of the households (of four persons averagely) live with a less than RM3,000 income, which is near subsistence if one lives in the cities.These are families living in fear. We will help them live with dignity and not in fear, by increasing their incomes and cutting down their costs, with a minimum wage, getting rid of monopolies, expanding internet connectivity and encouraging creativity, innovation and productivity.”

Sir, perhaps you would, but the present government is already doing it and has steadily been achieving positive results. Nonetheless, let me introduce you to many malay families in that income group and you may ask them yourself whether they are living in fear and dignity. They do have dignity clinging to religious values but they fear DAP. This is the group who cannot compete under your demand for “equal opportunities” and yet you and your supporters condemn the government when policies are implemented to help them. Malays are not the only ones who need help; we must also help the chinese and indians at a disadvantage. It just so happens that most of the lower income group comprises the malays and DAP then accuses the government of being racist when they are given assistance. Please support the government in helping the poor of all races. At least Hj Abdul Hadi Awang was gracious enough to acknowledge the government’s efforts on 22nd April in front of more than 700 supporters at Kerteh: “Kita tidak nafikan apa yang dilakukan Kerajaan BN untuk kebajikan rakyat”. He then added: “Takkan tadok silap dan saloh selama 50 tahun BN memerintah dan Yang Maha Suci adalah Allah Taala, tetapi kita sebagai manusia tetap ada salah dan silapnya”. This is true. Surely you can also agree?

LGE said: “South Korea is a very good example of a nation that chose democracy, performance and freedom of opportunity to become a developed country. With a population of 48 million, its GDP per capita of USD20,000 is more than double Malaysia’s. But in 1970, South Korea’s per capita GDP was only USD260 compared to Malaysia’s USD380.”

That is interesting Sir, but you know very well that South Korea is an exception. Why don’t you also compare us to other neighbouring countries? How exciting is the GDP per capita when comparing home prices against disposable income? Yes indeed, Malaysia’s ratio is thankfully lower. In any case, I also would not want our country to be like South Korea, beholden to the US (which Tun M saved us from) and with North Korean missiles pointed at them. Please be thankful for what Malaysia is today while we continue to develop, especially now that the ETP is being implemented and showing positive results. Have faith.

LGE said: “We used to regularly beat South Korea at football. And now our children are fans of K-pop culture and their football team are regulars at the World Cup.”

One thing for sure is that all DAP, PAS, PKR and BN supporters will be united in cheering for Malaysia whenever we play football or badminton against South Korea. Even DAP cannot prevent that. Yes, I agree that our footballing standard is terrible and the government has failed miserably here. But please don’t be upset with the government or consider it tragic that we have not developed our own M-pop culture.

LGE said: “Only when we free ourselves of fear of change, can we be free to prosper. BN cannot change. They need to be changed, for BN wants to rule by fear. Thomas Jefferson said “When the governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny”. The choice is yours, my friends. I urge you – Let us change so we can have liberty and live with dignity.”

LGE said: “*LimGuan Eng, DAP Secretary General & MP for Bagan”

Sir, we do not fear change. Indeed we have been going through changes under the present government (who themselves have gone through change), some we don’t like and most of which we embrace for the overall good. The government cannot please everybody all of the time (and neither can the opposition) but they do try to help those who may be adversely affected by policy changes. No sir, you are wrong: you may admire Thomas Jefferson and think that he is right since he was a US Pesident, but we do not want the government to fear the people because that won’t make them sincere. We want government leaders who fear God. We want the government to be sincere with the people, respect the people, listen to the people and make the country conducive for us to live in, having peace, social harmony, good business environment and an honest Opposition. We should also then respect and be loyal to the government and also respect the honest Opposition, whereas you clearly encourage anarchy and rebellion against the government for the sake of power and wealth. We already have liberty and live with dignity and if we do need more of those for greater social order and harmony then I don’t see how DAP can do any better then what the government is already doing. On the contrary DAP and Anwar Ibrahim themselves have acted without dignity in portraying Malaysia as a “suppressed, repressed and oppressed” country with a “sham democracy” where Opposition leaders are “threatened with murder”. Sir, before you demand change, you and your party first need to change. Indeed the reason I now support BN is because they have changed since PRU-12; when will you?

Saudara Lim Guan Eng, semoga mendapat petunjuk dan hidayah.

A. Arshad,voter for Shah Alam

April 2013