Bukan Melayu Pun Nak Jadi Obama Malaysia?

DARI :http://theproletariat.blog.friendster.com/2008/11/bukan-melayu-pun-nak-jadi-obama-malaysia/.... KATANYA:
Bukan Melayu Pun Nak Jadi Obama Malaysia?

Siapa Nak Jadi Ketua Negara Macam Obama Angkat Tangan!

Nampaknya Obama sudah menang besar dalam pilihanraya Amerika. Ramailah yang memuji-muji pilihan rakyat Amerika, ramai juga yang memasang harapan dapat melihat “Amerika Baru” menjelang pelantikan rasmi Obama Januari depan. Dalam pada masa yang sama ramai juga rakyat Malaysia yang mengambil simbolik kemenangan Obama sebagai petanda baik: di abad ke 21 ini pemilihan pemimpin tidak sepatutnya berlandaskan bangsa.

Pak Lah sendiri keluarkan kenyataan “Tidak mustahil bagi sesiapapun dari kaum minoriti menjadi pemimpin mana-mana bangsa (The Star, 6hb Nov 2008).” Bagi kaum bukan Melayu di Malaysia yang mendengarnya, wah wah! Hebat ‘kan kalau apa yang didambakan politikus bukan Melayu juga jadi kenyataan? Bayangkan, Perdana Menteri Malaysia berbangsa Tionghua! (Secara teknikal, kaum Cina yang memegang peratus terbesar ekonomi Malaysia tak patut dikira sebagai minoriti, tapi kalau sahabat-sahabat kita ni tetap juga nak merendah diri atau merasa terpinggir, apa nak buat. Kita tak boleh halang perasaan orang.)

Kalau nak diikutkan tak salah juga berangan. Kita pun tau dari kalangan bukan Melayu, ramai yang bijak pandai, selayaknyalah kalau nak jadi PM tu. Walau bagaimanapun, suka saya nak ingatkan sahabat-sahabat bukan Melayu kita, bukan kepandaian saja yang jadi penyebab seseorang naik jadi pemimpin tertinggi. (Sebab kalau kita tengok rekod kelakuan pemimpin kita, pasti dapat buktikan yang kepandaian bukan faktor dapat masuk Parlimen :p). Pemimpin juga seharusnya berjiwa rakyat dan meresapi identiti kebangsaan negara tersebut.

Kalau sahabat-sahabat bukan Melayu mau ikut contoh Obama, apa kata kita ikut sepenuhnya? Cuda lihat keperibadian dan karakter Obama. Walaupun beliau bukan kulit putih, namun bila kita teliti beliau memang seorang rakyat Amerika seratus peratus. Walaupun keturunannya berasal dari Kenya, tapi beliau dan keluarganya tidak membawa Kenya ke Amerika. Sebaik berpindah ke Amerika, beliau menjalani kehidupan seperti majoriti rakyat Amerika yang lain. Beliau beragama Kristian, mendapat pendidikan kebangsaan (ikut piawai Amerika) dan berbahasa Inggeris di rumah (bukan bahasa Kenya!). Bila dekati peribadi beliau, kita akan dapati beliau juga meminati filem dan artis Hollywood yang menjadi tontonan rakyat Amerika (tidak nonton filem dari Kenya ya!) serta banyak membaca tulisan-tulisan bahasa Inggeris (bukan novel-novel import dari Afrika!). Beliau juga membaca akhbar tempatan (dalam bahasa tempatan, bukan bahasa Kenya!) dan bila berpidato tidak ada pelat Kenya di lidahnya. Malah penguasaan bahasa Inggerisnya lebih fasih dari kebanyakan rakyat Amerika multi-generasi.

Bak kata seorang penulis Malaysiakini, jika kita sediakan analogi untuk seorang Obama di Malaysia, Obama Malaysia adalah seorang rakyat yang ayahnya berbangsa Cina/India tetapi ibunya Melayu, mendapat pendidikan kebangsaan, berbahasa Melayu di rumah (petah pulak tu dan seharusnya berbangga dengan kepetahannya), beragama Islam, menghayati karya-karya Melayu dan membawa identiti yang sama seperti majoriti penduduk Malaysia. Di Amerika sudah ramai rakyat bukan kulit putih yang menjiwai idealisme yang sama dengan kumpulan majoriti (kulit putih).

Bagaimana di Malaysia, sudah wujudkah Obama Malaysia ni?

Sahabat-sahabat boleh cermin diri sendiri. Pada sahabat-sahabat bukan Melayu yang kepingin sangat mahukan kesamarataan dan peluang memegang tampuk negara, kamu boleh mulakan dengan berbahasa Melayu dengan fasih. Tanah Melayu bukan lagi jajahan Inggeris, dan Tanah Melayu tak pernah jadi Tanah Besar China!

~ingat-ingat sayang dari budak Melayu Malaysia,
Maej Masnora~



* * * * *

On Accepting a Non-Malay Prime Minister Of Malaysia

Well, well… looks like Obama won the presidential election by a landslide victory. Many have expressed delight over America’s now President-Elect, and many are hoping for the birth of “New America” come his stepping into the White House this January. At the same time, some in Malaysia see his victory as heralding a new era where a nation’s leader should not be chosen based on race or skin color.

Even our PM is quoted as saying “It is possible for anyone from a minority group to be a nation’s leader (The Star, Nov 6 2008) .” Happy news for non-Malays in Malaysia! Imagine, a Chinese Prime Minister! (Well technically the Chinese, who own a large slice of our economy, does not deserve the term ‘minority’, but if our dear friends insist on feeling insecure and marginalized, we can’t tell them not to. People are entitled to feel what they feel, innit?)

Back to our story. What’s wrong with entertaining a conjecture? We are more than positive that there are many non-Malay intellectuals out there, and certainly we have been made aware of their capability to govern a country. However, our dear friends might want to remember that intellect alone does not guarantee political supremacy. (If we venture to browse through our politicians’ records I’m sure many will concede that intelligence is not a prerequisite to become an MP :p). A nation’s leader must also embody the national identity.

If I may highlight the examples of Obama to our friends. Look at his life, his personality, and character. Though he is black, he is by no means “un-white”. In fact when we come right down to it, he is an American through and through. Even though he celebrates his Kenyan ancestry, among others, he and his family did not bring Kenya to America. Upon coming to America, he leads a life that many Americans lead. He is Christian, went to a national school (well, according to American standard that is) and speaks American English at home (not his ancestors’ dialect!). If you care to find out about his likes and dislikes, you will read somewhere that he likes certain Hollywood movies and American actors (he doesn’t watch African movies exclusively!), and reads a lot of English titles (not imported books in Afrikaans, for example!). He also reads local newspapers in the national language (which is American English, not some African dialect!) and when he speaks you hear no trace of an African accent. In fact, his eloquence and mastery of the (American) English language are exemplary.

To quote an article in Malaysiakini, if we were to characterize a Malaysian Obama, he would be the son of a Chinese/Indian father and a Malay lady, and he would have attended a national school, and would speak Malay at home (and very much at ease with the language too! And proud of the fact, of course), practices Islam, appreciates or at least respects the Malay culture in every sense and does not differentiate himself from the Malaysian majority, plus minus a point or two. In America many non-whites have assimilated themselves and became Americans in spirit and in practice. They embraced the American ideals, of coming to the land of opportunity thus becoming one of the… err, opportunists? I digress.

Anyway, about Malaysia; do we have a Malaysian Obama?

I trust my dear non-Malay friends are more than capable of evaluating themselves. To our non-Malay friends who are losing sleep over the suspicion that they will never be embraced as true Malaysians and subsequently never be able to run for PM-ship, I suggest you start with accepting Malaysia with your heart and soul. You can start with speaking our national language more often and with pride. There’s a bloody sound reason why Tanah Melayu is named as such!

~from a Malay Malaysian girl with love,
Maej Masnora~