Malaysians are split about the way the leadership has managed these catastrophic events - a fissure that mirrors a virtual 50-50 political divide between the government and the opposition.
...This deflection of blame and initial arrogant nature of the Malaysian leadership during the first chaotic days is vexingly reminiscent of the behaviour of the ruling party, UMNO and its coalition flunkeys.
Time and time again the leadership plays the so-called unity card. Malaysia is dominated politically and demographically by ethnic Malays, with
Chinese and Indians making up around 30 percent of the population. It employs the fear of violent disunity among the three races to instil compliance and suppress open debate.
Race and religion are used on a daily basis to rupture the relationships between the three ethnic groups. Today, unlike in the 1970s and 1980s, there is very little intermingling, between Malays, Indians and Chinese. The country now has Malay teachers telling their third, fourth and fifth generation Malaysian-born Chinese and Indian students to go back to where their forefathers came from and as time goes by, the
Chinese and Indians are finding themselves increasingly politically and economically crowded out of their home.
