YOURSAY 'Rafizi's reaction is symptomatic of many so-called Malay intelligentsia. The moment Islam or Malay is mentioned they become coiled, ready to strike...'

In defence of Dr Lim Teck Ghee

Heavenly King: PKR director of strategy Rafizi Ramli should have just put forth his points in support of Titas (Islamic and Asian Civilisation Studies) without resorting to attacking Lim or any other opponent of the ill-intended course.

He has to bear in mind that he was trained in accounts and has not done anything on social science to be able to understand the aspirations and needs of the people of various communities. Be humble and focus what you do best Rafizi, that is to dig out BN's scandals.

Aries46: Well said S Thayaparan, and it is good that you have defended an intellect of great honour and integrity against the callous rebut of a self-claimed political opportunist whose fame centres on exposes of mostly corrupt practices by his foes.

But I wouldn't be too harsh on Rafizi as he seems oblivious of the category of the person he has taken on. Most of those who have read Lim's commentaries on national issues have had no cause to doubt his factual reasoning, credibility and impartiality racial or otherwise.

Regardless of the non-racialist Pakatan Rakyat stand, Rafizi comes across as mostly a political animal that seems to thrive on political activism, and as Thayaparan rightly ponder, even his popular ‘ubah' war cry could be a ‘glimpse of things to come'.

Jittyjitty: Rafizi's reaction is symptomatic of many so-called Malay intelligentsia. The moment Islam or Malay is mentioned they become coiled, ready to strike at anything, sometimes blindly.

Rafizi has a very, very long way to go in terms of maturing as a true politician. He has come thus far on the wave of disappointment of the people against a government that only looks at milking the other races and leaving them to their own to fend for their future.

The present government is not for all and people like Rafizi think in similar lines when real issues of disunity are methodically planned by the Umno cohorts to serve their own racist agenda.

Apart from PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat, whose wisdom often gives a clear-cut yes or no to such issues and frankly at that, the others go into silent agreement with this deceit for fear of speaking truth.

The Sheikh: I am completely disappointed with Rafizi for the irresponsible statements he has made. He has shown his true colours as a racist and an opportunist.

Onyourtoes: Pakatan is losing Malay support. If Thayaparan understands how the Malay masses think and act, he should understand why and how Rafizi reacted the way he did to Lim's comment.

I know it is difficult to argue when come to principle, truth and morality, especially in absolute terms. But politics is also the art of possibilities. I do not know for sure what the future policies will be when Pakatan comes into power.

I just know I dislike the present policies of BN intensely. Is this sufficient for me to overlook what Rafizi was saying? I don't know. I'll leave it to the intellectuals, both real and pseudo, to figure this out.

Ferdtan: Onyourtoes is right. It was just a pragmatic spin by Rafizi. The intending controversial issue was to pit the majority race against the minority; us and against the rest. It was a trap set up with the ultimate aim to elevate the status of the Umno ultras.

Don't forget the Umno party election is coming and the winning of the hearts and minds of the kampong Malay folks is important as they formed the bulk of the party members. And of course the Umno ultras loved Lim Teck Ghee (a non-Malay) for his criticisms of the contending issue.

This will give followers of Dr Mahathir Mohamad ammunition in the next AGM. They will run riot with the allegation that the minority races are taken over the country.

Cala: The key message from the writer, Thayaparan, is that perhaps Rafizi has misconstrued the good intention of Lim Teck Ghee when the latter requested that the intention of the Umno-led BN regime to implement Titas in private institutions be reviewed.

Lim's caution is deemed prudent by Thayaparan, judging from the former's track record in championing the plight of the Malay peasants.

In effect, both Rafizi and Lim share the same thinking on the issue of the Malay interest. The difference is a matter of approach.

Rafizi excels at rhetorical level, and Lim proves his commitment to the issue in practice. There is another point of departure. Rafizi is conscious of his ethnic background, while Lim is working for a more multiethnic Malaysia which is supposed to be more inclusive. Obviously, in the absence of any consultation in formulating Titas, inclusiveness is not in the mind of the regime.

I feel one does not need to be overly concerned about this particular public debate between Rafizi (a rising star in the Pakatan coalition) and Lim Teck Ghee, a noted authority on ethnic relation and social cohesion.

I suggest more of this kind of debate will do good, hitherto disallowed by the Umno-led BN regime through its stranglehold on the mainstream media. Whether one is an ‘intellectual, both real and pseudo' (re: Onyourtoes) does not matter.

As Lim rightly argued, through debate we learn "to deal with long and contentious issues such as the role of Islam in a multi-religious society and the special position of the Malays", which is part of "the evolution of a peaceful multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society".

Dudeno: I think Rafizi is wrong to fall back on the race card to put down another person when he was on the defensive. It is a knee-jerk reaction and it goes to show that Rafizi still has some growing up to do, despite his talents.

Personally I do not see anything wrong with Titas except it is just a waste of time and money if it isn't delivered well. Do we have a pool of professors in this area to deliver across the country? Probably not.

In fact, it may even be misdelivered by some who seek to forward their own agendas. In that case, this is just a Pandora's box to future squabbling along racial and religious lines again.

Astounded: The racist mentality (and religious bigotry) have been so ingrained into the minds of Malaysians that it will take a few generations for all Malaysians to think themselves as Malaysians first and last.

And we have not even started in that direction because the powers-that-be are obsessed with race and religion to win rural votes.

The other thing to learn from Rafizi's outburst against Lim Teck Ghee is not to jump to conclusions about a person just because of an opinion expressed. That would be a grave injustice.

On the other hand, it looks like Umno is hell bent on keeping to its corrupt and racist ways. The way things are going with the political establishment, the future for Malaysia looks very bleak.

Abasir: Titas is and will continue to be a colossal waste of time and resources. Why? The uncouth and utterly uncivilised behaviour demonstrated by the majority of its proponents is proof that such a programme will, at best, only succeed in creating more like them - narrow minded, 'my-religion-is-better-than-yours' imbeciles.

I remember how these same fools pushed for the learning of Malay using the slogan ‘Bahasa Kebangsaan, Bahasa Perpaduan'. The result of that is all around us - a nation so totally divided and polluted by ethnic considerations in everything said and done.

This prevailing notion that cultured behaviour and national unity may be artificially inseminated while third-rate politicians call for Bible burning, belittle the faiths of minorities and demonstrate stupid, racist, sexist behaviour in and out of Parliament is proof that Malaysia will remain an anachronistic remnant of the Third World for generations to come, Rafizi notwithstanding.

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