“The command of the old despotisms was ‘Thou shalt not’. The command of the totalitarians was ‘Thou shalt’. Our command is ‘Thou are’.”

– George Orwell, "1984"

COMMENT | I sincerely hope there were no non-Malay students in the “class decoration and performance” event at that school in Putrajaya.

When someone shouts “Hidup Umno”, they are calling for Malay and Islamic supremacy in its purest form. A non-Malay child forced to express such nonsense seems cruel in ways that the systemic discrimination in this country does not. I suppose this type of oppression goes on in myriad ways in government schools all across the country, and the fewer non-Malays there are, the more virulent the Umno propaganda is in those schools.

This, of course, makes you wonder what is going on in all those religious schools that are apparently safety hazards. If Umno is pushing the race and religion card in public institutions that are supposed to be non-political and multiracial, I cannot help but think of the kind of propaganda that is going on in those religious schools, where young children are taught that their religion is superior to everything else.

If folks wonder why Muslims youths are being radicalised, it is because of events like these. I wrote about this before -

“When you:

“1) Vilify political opponents as anti-Islam.

“2) Persecute other Muslims and label them deviant.

“3) Carry out propaganda programmes that claim that the Malay/Muslim community is under siege from religious and economic agendas supported by non-Muslim Malaysians.

“4) Maintain that by virtue of race, you are superior to other Malaysians.

“When you do all of the above in an effort to define what it means to be ‘Malay’, then do not act surprised that young Malays gravitate to similar ideologies that make them the centre of the universe, and violence an acceptable means to achieve hegemony.”

People dismiss this school event as just another embarrassment for the ruling party, but this in reality was another blatant Umno display of hostility towards the democratic process, the constitution and civil discourse.

The next time some establishment apologist talks about creating unity through national schools, I hope rational Malaysians will consider that sending their young to any place but these fetid breeding grounds of hate and discrimination is better than allowing them to chant “Hidup Umno” while young teachers are invited to join Umno with promises of positions of influence.

I would even argue that home schooling is better than allowing your children to be exposed to this kind of horse manure. At least then the only time they would witness such state propaganda is when they read about it in comment pieces like this, mocking the state and its minions for carrying out such...