The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion
The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion |
| Apa pilihan lain selesai isu Syria? Posted: 12 Sep 2013 05:05 PM PDT
Apa sudahnya dengan krisis – perang saudara – Syria yang sudah melewati dua tahun dengan mengorbankan ribuan nyawa, puluh ribu cedera, jutaan rakyat menjadi pelarian di negara jiran? Gara-gara huru-hara itu seluruh rakyat menderita. Berbagai-bagai usaha damai diikhtiarkan, namun tidak nampak ia dapat diredakan. Turki yang rapat dengan Presiden Basher Assad sebelum kebangkitan rakyat habis ikhtiar memujuk diktator Syria itu supaya berundur kerana tiada cara bagi menyelesaikan huru-hara itu selain daripada Basher berundur. Akhirnya Turki terpaksa bersama dunia menentang Basher kerana selagi Basher di situ, bukan saja perang berterusan, bahkan Turki tidak berkesudahan menanggung beban pengungsi dari Syria yang berjuta di wilayahnya. PBB penat. Ia menghantar dua pendamai diplomat yang berpengalaman bermula dengan Kofi Annan, masing-masing balik dengan tangan kosong. Usaha terakhir sekarang ialah resolusi Barrak Obama mahu serangan dilancarkan terhadap kedudukan Basher. Obama muncul sebagai pahlawan anti perang Amerika di Iraq dan Afghanistan. Pada masa dia hampir mengosongkan tenteranya di Iraq dan Afghanistan, dia pula mahu menyerang Syria yang dijangka mengulang tragedi di Iraq dan Afghanistan. Rata-rata dunia termasuk rakyat Amerika sendiri tidak merestui penglibatan tentera Amerika di Syria. Obama seolah-olah keseorangan sekarang. Sebagaimana semua mengutuk campur tangan Amerika di Mesir dan di mana saja di dunia selama ini, maka sentimen sama tentang resolusi Obama itu. Turki yang menentang Amerika masuk Iraq, Afghanistan serta campur tangannya mengguling Mursi adalah bersama Amerika dalam menghadapi isu Syria. Kita di Malaysia sejak pergolakan Syria bermula lebih ramai yang tidak memihak kepada regimnya. Tiada pelajar Malaysia di Syria menyokong Basher. Semuanya mengira Basher kejam. Kejamnya sama seperti bedebah Hosni Mubarak. Bezanya Mubarak menjadi boneka Amerika dan Israel. Basher seteru utama Israel dan Amerika. Sasaran utama Mubarak selain rakyatnya ialah pejuang Ikhwanul Muslimin. Sasaran keluarga Basher ialah majoriti rakyat yang terdiri daripada Islam Sunni. Regim Basher sejak Parti Baath pimpinan bapanya berkuasa disokong oleh manoriti Alawiyah-Syiah yang 20 peratus saja dari rakyat Syria. Golongan Alawiyah inilah yang menguasai semua kedudukan penting pemerintahan baik awam mahupun tentera. Rata-rata Sunni sebagai gorka saja. Rata-rata anti Amerika dan Israel bersama regim Syria kerana ia anti tegar Israel dan Amerika, tetapi layanannya terhadap rakyat Sunni tidak banyak beza Israel dan Amerika terhadap Islam. Apabila rakyat Syria mula bangun, sebelum Amerika menunjukkan sikap bersungguhnya, majoriti umat Islam dunia mengharapkan perubahan di Syria. Sekalipun Turki baik dengan Basher tetapi rakyat Turki adalah bersama majoriti rakyat Syria yang tertindas. Apabila Obama mengugut untuk menyerang kedudukan Basher dunia tidak sekata, bahkan orang Malaysia juga tidak suka campur tangan Amerika itu seperti tidak setuju campur tangan Amerika di mana-mana. Puncak pada krisis itu ialah penggunaan senjata kimia. Tiada yang lebih kejam selian dari menghujankan bumi dengan senjata kimia. Pandangan umum dunia penggunaan senjata beracun itu adalah angkara tentera Basher. Turki sendiri bimbang orang gila yang berkrisis itu akan menggugurkan kimia itu ke buminya. Rakyat Syria yang menderita mengharapkan pembelaan supaya perang itu dihentikan. Tiada yang dapat membantu rayuan rakyat Syria itu. Kita simpati kepada rakyat yang sengsara itu, kita tolak campur tangan asing seperti yang dihendaki Amerika. Tetapi tiada cara perang itu dapat diselesaikan. Sekalian yang sengsara mahu kes mereka diselesaikan. Resolusi yang ada sekarang hanya cadangan Obama. Kita tolak hasrat Obama tetapi tidak tahu bila perang akan selesai. Kita tentang campur tangan asing untuk menghapuskan Ghadafi, tetapi tiada cara lain hal Libya dapat diselesaikan selagi Ghadafi ada. Rakyat Syria melihat Libya mula ada penyelesaian atas campur tangan asing bagi mengakhiri zaman kejam Ghadafi. Apa pilihan rakyat Syria untuk selesai selain dari resolusi Obama? Kita simpati atas nasib rakyat Syria tetapi yang sengsara itu lebih merasa peritnya. – 13 September, 2013. * Ini adalah pendapat peribadi penulis dan tidak semestinya mewakili pandangan The Malaysian Insider. | |
| Learn to swim if you don’t want to sink Posted: 12 Sep 2013 03:58 PM PDT
The Bumiputeras of Malaysia. The princes of the land. The race that has the ruling blood flowing through it's veins. The rightful owner of Malaysia. Or so they say. Before I continue, let me declare that although I know that the term Bumiputera also defines those of the indigenous ethnicities in Malaysia, I am specifically only refering to the Malays in this article. Always behind and always needing help ever since the dawn of Malaysia, it cannot be denied the Malays are a very unique race indeed. For the sake of harmony and equality, affirmative action was put in place in the state system so that the Malays could prosper along with the other races in Malaysia. They were given all kinds of handouts such as land, property, university quotas, corporate quotas and even literally cash (as in the case of Bumiputera handouts). The objective was to give an advantage to the lagging Malays so they could then compete on an equal level with the rest of Malaysia. It's like a handicap in the sport of golf. Someone who isn't as good would have a higher handicap so he or she could compete on an equal footing with someone better and who have a lower handicap. The objective of this affirmative action was to provide the Malays with the essential confidence and know-how to finally compete on equal footing. Like in the sport of golf, the main objective of a player is to finally turn professional and not have a handicap at all. That is when you know you are at par with the best. Now that the country is turning 50 years old, one would wonder how strange it is that this Bumiputera affirmative action plan is stil in place. You mean after 50 years, the Malays still need a handicap? I guess they have gotten accustomed to all the handouts that they are now spoilt and cannot survive without these handouts to help them along. But what else is new in what I am saying? People have been harping on this matter for many years and still nothing is being done about it. The Malays feel like they deserve the sky and the moon, while the other races in Malaysia feel neglected and bertrayed in their own country. You would think that after 50 years have gone by, the Malays, or even Malaysia as a whole, would have progressed and moved on. But no. The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has just declared that to take the place of the old affirmative action bible, he will announce new policies that aims to further help Bumiputeras. According to the Prime Minister, Bumiputera participation in many sectors such as medicine and law have increased and so has it in many corporate sectors as well. However, it can still improve. The new policies have also been mentioned by Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar, as focusing on increasing equity and property ownership among Bumiputeras and human capital development. I am all for this idea, but by having it implemented as a state-sanctioned form of encouragement only means that other races will be sidelined. This is just like how the Chinese community feel. And does it actually mean that all Bumiputeras will benefit or only a certain few will? During the last general election, I spoke to representatives of the taxi driving community and they reminded me that Bumiputera policies have led to several companies benefiting from taxi licenses rather than being more holistic and spreading the wealth amongst individuals. Teraju Stakeholder Management Senior Director, Norizan Sharif, said that policies have meant that Bumiputeras have been successful in Malaysia, but now it has to up the level and make them competitive in the global arena. So what should the Malaysian government do? Create international laws so Bumiputeras can have quotas and subsidies around the world as well, so they have "equal footing"? I strongly believe that if the Bumiputeras were to be given an advantage in any field or sector, the best way is to educate them and make them strong. And to do that is by taking away the crutches that have held them up for so long. Let them learn to fall and fail and rise up to be stronger. If you do not want to sink and drown, then you are forced to learn how to swim, right? - September 13, 2013. * This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider. |
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