Khairy's 'Chinese' Remarks: Be Cautious MCA Youth.
MCA Youth wants Umno deputy Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin to apologise for his remark that Barisan component parties would take advantage of a weak Umno. Fine, he should do that.
MCA Youth delegate from Negri Sembilan, Siow Koi Voon, said that Khairy has not only hurt the MCA's feelings but also that of the Chinese community adding that he must also personally explain to MCA and the community his intention when he made his remark. Upto this point what has been demanded is fair and Khairy must respond favorably.
However MCA Youth or any similar grouping within MCA or Gerakan must exercise restraint and not indulge in sabre rattling or give in to excessive display of parochial histrionics, to the extent of giving the impression of humiliating Khairy. That may have the adverse effect of a backlash from Umno which no one really wants.
Once the lynch mob mentality sets in the tendency to go overboard in our statements is great. The same way that Khairy gave in to his emotions is not the path that MCA Youth and the others should follow. Be magnanimous now and confine your criticism to the contents of his speech and don't descend to the level of an eye for an eye kind of confrontation. It benefits no one. I'm not saying don't do anything. By all means record your displeasure but don't go overboard.
Ethnic politics is a strange 'animal'. If you keep your actions and words within an accepted limit everything will be fine but exceed it and things can go rapidly spiralling downwards. For the MCA Youth, to cross this limit is to make a hero out of Khairy in the eyes of his 'people'. So now that you have made your unhappiness known just wait for his response, and don't up the ante for the heck of it.
Finally in Malaysia, politicians of all parties, both oppositon and BN, are equally guilty as Khairy in speaking in racist tones. Fortunately or unfortunately Khairy got caught and his speech was publicised. If we were to apply the principle of 'let him who has not sinned cast the first stone,' I'm sure there will be be very few takers.
MCA Youth delegate from Negri Sembilan, Siow Koi Voon, said that Khairy has not only hurt the MCA's feelings but also that of the Chinese community adding that he must also personally explain to MCA and the community his intention when he made his remark. Upto this point what has been demanded is fair and Khairy must respond favorably.
However MCA Youth or any similar grouping within MCA or Gerakan must exercise restraint and not indulge in sabre rattling or give in to excessive display of parochial histrionics, to the extent of giving the impression of humiliating Khairy. That may have the adverse effect of a backlash from Umno which no one really wants.
Once the lynch mob mentality sets in the tendency to go overboard in our statements is great. The same way that Khairy gave in to his emotions is not the path that MCA Youth and the others should follow. Be magnanimous now and confine your criticism to the contents of his speech and don't descend to the level of an eye for an eye kind of confrontation. It benefits no one. I'm not saying don't do anything. By all means record your displeasure but don't go overboard.
Ethnic politics is a strange 'animal'. If you keep your actions and words within an accepted limit everything will be fine but exceed it and things can go rapidly spiralling downwards. For the MCA Youth, to cross this limit is to make a hero out of Khairy in the eyes of his 'people'. So now that you have made your unhappiness known just wait for his response, and don't up the ante for the heck of it.
Finally in Malaysia, politicians of all parties, both oppositon and BN, are equally guilty as Khairy in speaking in racist tones. Fortunately or unfortunately Khairy got caught and his speech was publicised. If we were to apply the principle of 'let him who has not sinned cast the first stone,' I'm sure there will be be very few takers.
posted by The Malaysian. at 8/26/2006 09:02:00 PM
1 Comments:
i've commented on someone else's blog that if khairy was misunderstood, then, there are a lot of people out there with that wrong understanding of what he meant.
he needs to get his buddies (if you can call them that. heard that it may be more likely be a master-servant relationship) at the press to clarify what he meant.
else there will be a lot of people out there bearing resentment on the chinese who neither had the thought or intent to take advantage of the situation.
kj - you need to do more than just apologise. you need to get the message out, esp to those who do not read the english and chinese press, that the chinese weren't even thinking of doing what you said they might do.
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