by Khan Osman Sulaiman
I was upset when the government disguise condescension as affirmative action. I was distraught that my community was taken as a pawn in a political manoeuvring. I was disappointed that I can’t partake in democracy when there’s a walkover.
Now that the charade has completed, I’m apprehensive about the ill effect of such disastrous policy just so that we can have a Malay President.
The feeble justification by the government that we need a Malay President can be felt even by those supporting it. The People’s Action Party (PAP) is trying to paint itself as a champion of minority but we know it is all nothing but just political.
At the top, we are always under-represented. And when they allow one to pass through, it is only because we have ‘progressed’. Not because we are equal in the first place.
It surely rings hollow that the Malay community desire to have a Malay President but other pressing issues are not met with the same vigour the PAP has, to install a Malay president.
What worries me the most is how the ill-effect of this whole episode will affect the community. Especially my community.
Given that we are viewed as getting a back door promotion to hold high office and the non-Malays are denied to participate in the presidential election, it is natural that people would feel upset about it.
There are already fault lines to begin with before the reserved presidential system. With this whole saga playing out, it will only widen the fault lines further and scratch the delicate social fabric we have built on.
It infuriates me that the one responsible for creating this mess playing racial politics to divide and conquer gets away scott-free. These types of policies pit us against one another.
The people have to know that after 50 years of PAP rule, we are treated no more than a pawn in a game of chess. To be sacrificed to protect the queen falling from grace.
The sooner we realise this, the sooner we can change our situation.
