Tomorrow is May 13. Most of our people have no idea of the significance of this date because they were born way after 1969. Which may not be a bad thing.
Farish Noor has a take on it which is not about using May 13 to scare us all here.
And Anas Zubedy wants to reclaim May 13 as something positive and unifying. See what he says here.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
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26 comments:
hi, Aunty.
here's wishing you and your readers a Happy May 13th! let's celebrate NOT making stupid mistakes again!
salud!
This should be a day for reflections and NOT celebration , I would think.
Marina, How about the politicians, community leaders and opinion shapers like yourself propose that May 13 becomes a public holiday in Malaysia, called Unity Day, a special day that celebrates all things Malaysian. A day of celebration of Malaysian culture, innovations, talks by Malaysian experts, concerts, moviemakers, exhibitions, food fairs, etc. A day for Malaysians to reaffirm its commitment to 1Malaysia. A day for reflection on the lessons of history so that we can move forward together as one. A day for all Malaysians to mingle, interact and celebrate our unique cultural diversity. It could even become a tourist attraction like Oktoberfest in Germany! I hope that I will live long enough to see Unity Day take place in Malaysia.
Marina, how about the politicians, community leaders and opinion shapers like yourself propose that May 13 becomes a public holiday in Malaysia, called Unity Day, a special day that celebrates all things Malaysian. A day of celebration of Malaysian culture, innovations, talks by Malaysian experts, concerts, movies, exhibitions, food fairs, etc. A day for Malaysians to reaffirm its commitment to 1Malaysia. A day for reflection on the lessons of history so that we can move forward together as one. A day for all Malaysians to mingle, interact and celebrate our unique cultural diversity. It could even become a tourist attraction like Oktoberfest in Germany! I hope that I will live long enough to see Unity Day take place in Malaysia.
Happy May 13!
P.S. Studies show that racial discrimination is largely caused by lack of education and lack of interaction between people of different racial and cultural backgrounds. Studies show that people with neighbours of a different race and culture are much less likely to be racists.
natives,
perhaps. but there are some like myself [we may be a minority, indeed] who are really tired of reflection, analysis and the general bogeyman-dom of May 13th. we'd rather celebrate the togetherness we've had since and the lessons learned.
prayers for those whose lives were sacrificed on this day in 69.
Seriously. The government needs to come clean on May 13. There is so little discourse and information available on it. This just breeds fear, uncertainty and doubt.
Dr. Farish Noor may certainly be an intellect. However, his writings may not be understood let alone be comprehended by the majority of ordinary Malaysians like me. I for one got lost a few times between the bombastic words and long winded sentences. Fact of the matter is, he could have easily put the message across in possibly ten sentences or less. He however chose to mesmerize us with his superior vocabulary of 23 paragraphs and 1,041 words.
Anas Zubedy is somewhat an idealist, very much like yourself. It's easy to be so when you don't have to worry about where your next meal is going to come from.
Ah...I too have a posting on this same matter today giving it my perspective.
What we should celebrate today is the death of the lie that May 13 stood for and conjured up in our collective minds to instill fear and to impose submission! Everything and whatever May 13 stood for is dead. UMNO leaders cannot use this "very useful" tool to continue keeping us in check.
SPEAK UP, I think that's a great idea. Maybe for next year (though this year is 40 years so would have been a great day to start that. Ah well...)
Ashe, I think Farish, unlike many politicians, assumes we are intelligent enough to understand what he is saying. But for the benefit of others, could you please list out the 10 sentences that would have easily gotten his message across?
As for Anas, yes he is an idealist but society always needs idealists, especially those, like Anas, who actually walks his talk.
MM,
As I said, I got lost and not being the intellectual that he is, I couldn't possibly do that. However, I believe Old Fart has summarized it quite well in just about 15 short and easily comprehended sentences under "The May 13 Bogey" in his blog.
As for being an idealist, it is easy being one when your bank balance is equivalent to what so many others couldn't possibly earn in a lifetime. Us on the lower rungs of the ladder are more preoccupied with making sure we have food on the table tonight.
juanajaffar ;
I wouldn't celebrate on this bloodied day.
One doesn't celebrate the "Rape of Nanking" by the Japanese or the Bombing of Hiroshima , do we ?
There is no cause for celebration.
"Studies show that racial discrimination is largely caused by lack of education and lack of interaction between people of different racial and cultural backgrounds. Studies show that people with neighbours of a different race and culture are much less likely to be racists" unquote.?????
Speakup , you honestly believe those studies were the cause of May 13th ??? ....
Do read Walski's post http://asylum60.blogspot.com/2009/05/breaking-orbit.html
Natives,
You're frikkin correct.
May 13 is not a celebration.
That would be an insult to people who had died on that day.
And having multi-racial neighbourhood does not prevent racism.
Marina,
You should have a write up on this May 13 topic. I think everyone is interested to hear from your perspective.
natives,
you're comparing May 13th to war between states? right ... okaaay ...
i'm going to try see it more like a --- Merdeka thing. not something that gags us, rather an incident that sets us free. especially now, 40 years later.
my friends and i have decided we're not going to be consumed by anymore negativity or threats related to May 13th. if you want to carry on piggybacking that baggage and passing it down to your kids, suit your self :]
peace out.
I did read some accounts of what happened on May 13, 1969, some time ago in a library in the US. Of course here in Malaysia you don't get access to such material. Dr Koh's book only pales in comparison. We just don't have the TRUTH in hand for those people who want to learn a lesson or two from this tragic incident. So, in my view there is no real lesson to be learned for the younger generations here in Malaysia. We can just forget it for the moment! And, too many people here also think it's better to let bygones be bygones!
My heart wept when I recalled the accounts that I read in the library. But when I read that some people here proposed to turn this day into some kind of celebration, even though I understand that they're full of good intentions, my heart could'n help but began to bleed.
When you go to a funeral of someone, is it appropriate to celebrate your birthday there and sing 'Happy Birthday' there even though we all know it's not sung for the deceased?
To me, it's injustice and disrespect done to those who lost their lives on May 13, 1969. Doing nothing is even better than that.
Fuller and more accurate accounts of the true happenings will never be erased from our universe. At least I know they are well preserved in many good libraries in many parts of the world.
But frankly, recalling them is a painful experience for me. I'd rather hope it'd been submerged in the mud of history.
juanajaafar;
i think you've got me all wrong ... I'm just saying I wouldn't celebrate May 13 for what May 13 was . That's why I said it should be a day for REFLECTIONS .
And what's with the baggages and passing down to my kids ????
I remember May 13th 1969 rather vaguely as I had just started schooling then. My mother, brothers and me were in Penang with my father who was on a working trip. At about noon, we were all bundled up into the car. My father had apparently been called back to KL. There were hardly and cars on the road and we came across many roadblocks manned by the army. My father had to time and time again identify himself as a Government Official heading back to KL in the call of duty.
Somewhere along the way, we joined a convoy comprising of several other cars, an army truck filled with armed soldiers heading the convoy and what I remember now to be an APC (armored personnel carrier) at the tail end of the convoy. Along the way, we passed through several "confrontation areas". I remembered seeing several cars on fire and others smashed up with what seemed to be dead bodies scattered around them. In another place, we actually saw 'parang' wielding Malay civilians in the streets. We never saw a single Chinese and the only Indians we saw was that of a group being chased by the 'parang' wielding Malays. Whatever became of them, we'll never know. Army presence was evident in the areas affected.
I broke the silence, which had prevailed all along the journey, asking my father what was happening. He only replied that the Chinese were killing the Malays. I then asked him why, because I noticed that the bodies we saw earlier were Chinese. I never got a reply to that question.
We finally reached home, it was dark and I assumed it was late as I had fallen asleep after we passed Ipoh (I think). The next day, an army truck came to pick my father up for 'work' and also delivered some supplies. We were not allowed to watch TV, instructions from my father. I couldn't remember if it was a semester break but we didn't go to school. For how long, I couldn't recall.
I asked my mother what was happening and why we couldn't go to school. She told us that the Chinese had killed a pregnant woman somewhere in the vicinity of the Rex cinema. They even removed the 'unborn baby' from her tummy. As a result of that, the Malays 'mengamuk'. I didn't want to hear anymore after that. After some time, everything seemed normal again. Except we went to and came home from school in an army truck for about a week.
What I remember most during that time, there was no segregation of the races. We all lived in areas and went to schools where you could find a good mix of Malays, Chinese an Indians (in PJ at least). I remember school being a mixing pot of all the races as brothers. My best friends were a Chinese and an Indian. We all spoke one language, friendship. There was no creed (there were no private schools for the rich then) nor color. In my class of about 45, we had about 10 Indians, 15 Chinese and the rest Malays. We had teachers from all races. At break time, we all sat together never bothering whether we were Chinese, Indians or Malays. Believe me, we even shared drinks, from the same cup. Very much unlike today where you will find an almost total segregation of the races. Depending on where you go, you will find a majority of only one race. If you don't believe me, just go to Shah Alam and see for yourself.
Only later in life did I understand and believe that May 13th, 1969 would not have happened if it were not for the powers that be, instigating it. I was convinced that it was not because the Chinese or the Indians were being oppressed nor was it because some Chinese had killed a pregnant woman. It was because the Malay ruling party thought that it was losing grip and control when it fared badly in the recently concluded elections then. It had to somehow create a situation to empower the Malay ruling coalition.
Food for thought, butter cake maybe?
Dr Farish Noor should spend more time talking to kampung folk. Then he'll change his writing style.
Nearly all our relatives in kampungs do not know what's happening in Perak, what's the judiciary about, what's the big deal about human rights, etc. To them it's "harga naik". They only vote for 2 parties & the reasons they do so have nothing to do with human rights, human dignity, etc. They vote PAS because they are the ones true to Islam. They vote UMNO because UMNO will "take care" of their livelihood & their special rights. Period.
That's why I've repeatedly encouraged people like MM to write in Malay. People who read Khir Toyo's blog & Harian Metro should read Rantings.
Maybe the way our education system is going is to deliberately keep them ignorant.........
Bravo Buyung Ali, exactly my sentiments...
Buyung Adil, I know you keep saying this many times. Farish actually writes in Malay beautifully.(Mine is still quite stilted.)
But more importantly, we don't get the avenues to write our stuff. My column appears in Nanyang Siang Pau but no Malay paper has ever asked to reproduce it.Both Farish and I are regarded as 'liberal', 'Westernised' and even 'murtad' (Farish has had death threats even).People who read Toyo or Harian Metro are not inclined to read me or Farish not so much because of the language or the way we write but because of what we write about. Unfortunately those audiences don't seem to want to hear about equality and justice, at least not according to the editors of Utusan. Or our idea of equality is a bit too equal for some.
But I agree with your basic point which is about communicating.And also that one about keeping people ignorant;I think the Bahasa papers are doing a good job of that.
I think May 13 is way behind us. Let bygone be bygone and we don't dig up a can of worm just to analyse how it gets into that state and do nothing after that (like what happens now). Rather, I think we should start anew and work for a united & better future :-) anyway, if we can learn from history, then only I think it's necessary to dig up that can after all, to prevent another can from rotting til worm-borne.. anyway, I don't quite like canned food.
Hi Kak Marina, thanks for response.
The internet opens up new avenues if traditional avenues are closed. As to how we market & brand our blog so that it reaches a wider audience - well, for the sake of the nation, we may have to think hard & be creative.
Anyway, thanks for being you. Also thank you Anas, Karim Raslan & many others (not 'many' enough though) like you.
Salam.
Hi MM,
It comforts me that both by pre and post 513 Malaysians are able to freely discuss and debate the events of 513.
This is a good way forward if we truly want to resurrect our confidence as a nation no matter how tragic our historical circumstances.
May 13th 1969 is to be remembered, not celebrated, in the same way there is Remembrance Day for WW2.
May 13th 1969 is a watershed event in our common-era History and the events and the lessons to be learnt therefrom should not be glossed over.
It will serve as a lesson that no one should play the racial card in M'sian politics lest we ignite the tinders of racial riots and strife again!
http://donplaypuks.blogspot.com
Since Marina touched on it, I think it might be worthwhile to share with you guys what I know.
Yes, Marina's essays make regular appearances in Chinese papers. So do Farish Noor's and Karim Raslan's. Not to mention Paul Krugman's, Thomas Friedman's and the likes. Of cause, all translated. And a whole host of contributers from mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong which do not need translation.
In comparison, our Bahasa papers do appear a bit 'skimpy'- in terms of substance, and 'parochial' in terms of outlook.
Since newspapers, besides radios and TVs, serve as the main and economical means to transmit news and to impart new knowledge to the kampung folk, it seems a good opportunity for progress( in the area of mentality) has been missed out! Can the internet make up for the loss?
(Above is just my personal observation and opinion, so, I may be wrong.)
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