Nagarakuku... the Good and the Bad

Reluctantly, we decided to post a link to the Negarakuku video on YouTube. This is for fear of further aggrivating the situation with the small readership of this blog. But this one has a translation that is probably worthwhile reading. From there, you can decide whether to believe what the government has said about the video. The translation is hard to follow, so you may want to keep your cursor on the pause/play button.

Reading the responses to the numerous Negarakuku videos on YouTube, you can tell that the Malay viewers are certainly upset.

However, reflective of the majority of the Malay responses that cursed the Chinese and threatened to hunt Chinese down and all that, it reflects how easily agitated they are and the self centredness of only thinking about the insults made against them, rather than trying to understand why this came about and whether there is any truth to it.

Here is one viewer who responded, we are assuming he's Malay...

"http://www.youtube.com/user/Azizulb

kita Melayu rasa prihatin sama u punye perasaan, kita sudah lama mengongkong u punye talent/skill & kebebasan! Jadi, asalkan tak terlambat, pemimpin negara mesti merancang untuk melepaskan hak keistimewaan kami untuk kebahagiaan bersama, tanpa mengira isu perkauman, kerana kita sudah 50 tahun merdeka!! Merdeka!! Binalah Malaysia ikut CLASS bukan ikut KAUM!Kita tak mau Melayu kaya yang tiada CLASS! Kekayaan itu bukan milik sesuatu kaum, ia milik orang2 yang pandai & tekun! "

At least this guy seems to see the light. Actually, apart from all the negative references namewee has made on the situation in the country, the fact is many non-Malays (Indians and Others included) have been thinking and feeling this, but never daring to say for reasons and presence of ISA, Sedition Act and basic morality.

We don't think that the Negarakuku video should be supported, because it does have the potential to incite racial disharmony, and we really don't want another May 13th to come about with the Malays going around abusing the Chinese and raping Chinese women, as they did during the emergency.

But the question now is, what is the government going to do about this? Are they going to be embroiled in the gut-wrenching statements Namewee has made? Or are they going to assess whether there is any truth to the feelings on the ground? Will the government we voted in take a fair assessment of this or will they continue harping on how this person has "insulted Islam" and the "Agong"? (although I don't see where the insult is to the King).

The fact is, many Chinese and Indians feel poorly about the way minority races are being treated and they want something done. They are tired of the arrogant UMNO elected officials enacting laws and making false declarations. Will the government do something about this?

The only thing the minorities can be thankful to Namewee for is that he has said what nobody else has dared say. And hopefully some attention will be given to it. If not, there will rise another Namewee and again there will be a public outcry over such "abuse of internet freedom" and so on.

Frankly in reference to insulting Islam, we believe that the initial statement made by Syed Hamid Albar was a reflection of a Malay over-reaction. There was only one statement made in his song about Islam that could be deemed as derogatory, and that is in reference to the call for prayer and associating that to a rooster crowing. That is disrespectful.

But really, in this one instance of the Muslim call for prayer, one must understand where the dispise comes from. Think about how many Mosques there are, all located in multi-racial housing areas, no matter how rich or poor. All sanctioned to be built by the Federal and State government for the benefit of Muslims. Good and fair. But everybody pays for the Mosque through their taxes - everybody. Also fine. But the government doesn't contribute to building Churches or Temples. People dislike this, but never say anything. Then, 5 times a day, there is a call for prayer, blairing on loadspeakers mounted on the exterior of the Mosque. Regardless, whether it's 5am or 10pm, 5 times a day, everyday. But even then, people try to learn to live with it, in their hearts they are saying "shut-up!".

What is most unfair is that many years ago, the government disallowed Churches from tolling their bells as a call for prayer and weddings and so on. They passed this along to other places of worship as well. However, the mosques are allowed to continue. Isn't that discrimanatory?

Better still, these days, even if you have the money, in the recent cases of the Catholic Church in Shah Alam and the Ma Tzu Statue in Sabah, even if you have the money, getting an approval to build your non-Muslim place of worship can is most likely to be denied. There are many more unpublished cases such as these.

The injustice to all the other races and religions in Malaysia is too much to bear. Hence, you must understand where these negative feelings come from. When you do, you'll see that there is some truth, no matter how wrongly stated (in the song) to what is being said.

Here's a Taiwanese news clip from YouTube interviewing Name Wee...