Chinese lack multiracial spirit, historian tells Utusan
By Boo Su-Lyn
KUALA LUMPUR, May 10 — Umno’s Utusan Malaysia quoted a historian today as saying that the Chinese do not understand the importance of unity as their racial sentiments still burn strong since the community first came to Malaya.
The Malay daily’s front page was headlined “Suara tokoh Cina” and historian Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Khoo Kay Kim was quoted as saying that Chinese voters do not have the multiracial spirit that national leaders have always tried to push forth.
“Many among them do not think of Malaysia as their own country; instead they always feel like they are being colonised,” Khoo (picture) was quoted by Utusan Malaysia as saying.
“That’s why their racial sentiments are still very strong. What we worry is that if disasters happen, the country will be forced to face loss of revenue when investors stop coming here. This will affect the country’s development,” he added.
The Umno-owned broadsheet has been running reports that appear to blame the Chinese for Barisan Nasional’s (BN) historic losses in Election 2013 after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak dubbed the May 5 general election a “Chinese tsunami”.
Utusan Malaysia has also attacked the DAP, saying that the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) component party’s alleged campaign to sow hatred against BN justified the newspaper’s incendiary headline on Tuesday, “Apa lagi Cina mahu? (What more do the Chinese want?)”.
Malay literature professor Dr Lim Swee Tin was reported today as saying that the Chinese community could not afford to split from the Malays and the Indians because the country’s administration required national unity.
He was also quoted as saying that the Chinese would not be able to fight off the “evil intentions” of certain parties either from outside or within Malaysia on their own.
“I’m very confident with Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s ability to fix this situation through national reconciliation,” said Lim.
Universiti Malaya Tionghua Studies Department senior lecturer Dr Thock Ker Pong was quoted as saying that the Chinese swung against BN merely because of PR’s promises.
He also noted that Chinese voters acknowledged the benefits of BN’s transformation programmes, but remained doubtful because they perceived the coalition as being disunited due to its race-based component parties.
“I also feel that BN failed to look at the importance of prioritising the middle class. This is why the middle-class Chinese did not feel anything from the transformation,” added Thock.
Analysts have noted that BN’s lacklustre performance in Election 2013 was not simply the result of a Chinese swing towards PR, but also because of a middle-class and urban exodus from the coalition that further widened the urban-rural rift.
Najib had alluded to a “Chinese tsunami” in an immediate speech just after midnight on Sunday when the Election Commission announced BN as winners by a simple majority.
BN took a severe beating this round and bled more seats at both the federal and state levels compared to 2008, leaving it with only 133 federal seats and 275 out of the 505 total state seats, despite wresting back Kedah from PR.
