YOURSAY ‘What do you mean that 'dignity' of Malays has been challenged?’

DPM: Malays won't remain quiet when dignity is challenged

Speaking Sense: Facts please. Give details of how Malay dignity has been compromised other than by the very leaders in Umno who have brought shame not just to the Malays but the whole country by their corruption, cronyism, oppression and sheer incompetence.

One of the greatest harm PM Najib Razak has done to Malaysia (there are too many to list here) is to have a cabinet of such incompetents and a person like Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as his deputy.

How can we teach our children to respect our leaders when they do not know how to behave.

Kingfisher: It is quite puzzling in the context of the post-independence political and institutional structures that Zahid refers to Malay dignity being challenged after 57 years of uninterrupted Malay rule.

It is equally bewildering that this senior minister has to declare a stand that he will defend his dignity when pushed against the wall.

One is left wandering if he has not built a wall around himself for reasons best known to him and probably not in the national interests considering the current overall sentiments against the state of the economy and politics.

Monty: So Zahid, tell us how are Malays being challenged? By whom?

I follow all the news in the online and mainstream media and can see nobody is challenging the Malays. How can anyone be so stupid to do so?

The country is run by Malays, the police and military are majority Malays and the judiciary and civil service are Malays. The sultans are Malays and much loved by all Malaysians.

Do you have some information that the Malays are going to be toppled? If so, please share this information so we can understand your concerns and fears.

Or else please don't let your imaginations run riot. Just keep silence and maintain the dignity of the office of DPM and home minister.

But if you are referring to PM Najib Razak, who is under siege and being challenged, then you are right.

But he is pressured by almost the entire country, including Malays and even Umno members. Surely you can see the difference.

Onyourtoes: Dignity, what is it? It is self-respect, pride, self-esteem and self-worth. Dignity is not what others bestowed on us. It is how we carry ourselves and how we portray ourselves.

Only we can insult our own dignity, not others. Got it, DPM?

Versey: Regardless of ethnicity, dignified people will hold on to the principles of honesty, politeness, kindness, goodness and integrity - all universally acclaimed virtues.

No dignified beings will resort to hooliganism and hurling incendiary remarks.

It was reported that when journalists asked the red shirts in what way Malay dignity was challenged, instead of answering the question, the protesters resorted to being rude to them.

This shows that either the protesters themselves were blurred and couldn't answer the question or they have mistaken what human dignity is all about. Sigh.

Clever Voter: Why talk about Malay dignity when the entire Najib administration is embroiled in so many financial scandals?

Every single MP in the BN coalition does not even walk the virtues of ethics, respect and integrity. It is no exaggeration to even suggest that these self-serving individuals are the cause of today's problems.

None of them has the guts to stand up and be accountable for the financial woes that have ravaged this country. All except the top 10 percent will see further erosion of their living standards.

If the DPM is concerned about the dignity of his community, he should ask whether he and his colleagues deserve the self-respect for the damage they have inflicted on the society they were elected to serve.

Tan Kim Keong: Zahid, what do you mean that the 'dignity' of the Malays has been challenged? How is this 'dignity' being challenged? Give us the specifics.

Better yet, define 'dignity'. Let us have an understanding of your version of ‘dignity’ and the context from which you understand 'dignity'.

Otherwise you are talking cows and others insects.

Swipenter: Indeed, the Malays should instead turn their fury at Umno and not at others. It is Umno that has enslaved their body and soul despite supporting them for almost six decades.

Umno has stripped them off their competitive spirit and the will to challenge themselves to become better.

What has Umno done for the Malay mass apart from giving them handouts, a feel-good factor plus a bogeyman when Umnoputras, their family members, friends and their cronies accumulate obscene levels of wealth through political patronage and corruption at the expense of all Malaysians under the guise of the New Economic Policy (NEP)?

They are the ones who strip the Malays of their pride and dignity. Others have quietly kept their pride and dignity and do whatever they can to better themselves despite being discriminated at nearly all aspects of their lives for more than four decades.

Pride and dignity cannot be bought, borrowed, given and demanded. Just like respect, it has to be earned.

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