Say NO to the Spectre of May 13

The real story behind May 13, by Tunku Abdul Rahman

June 21, 2008 by noto513

The May 13 incident as personally related by Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first Prime Minister of Malaya/Malaysia and ‘Bapa Merdeka’
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Tags: tunku abdul rahman
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Little enthusiasm for May 13 truth commission

May 19, 2008 by noto513

Malaysiakini

Rahmah Ghazali | May 19, 08 4:00pm

Pakatan Rakyat’s proposal for a truth and reconciliation commission to uncover the facts behind the May 13 racial riots has found no support among older Malaysians.

Deputy premier Najib Abdul Razak said yesterday that this should be left as an episode in history that must not be repeated, and that review of the incident would only create an adverse polemic and benefit no one.
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ULANGTAHUN KE-39 TRAGEDI 13 MEI

May 13, 2008 by noto513

‘KENYATAAN 13 MEI 2008 BERSAMA KETUA PKR, DAP & PAS’
PADA ULANGTAHUN KE-39 TRAGEDI 13 MEI

Hari ini adalah ulangtahun ke-39 peristiwa berdarah 13 Mei dan ia perlu diiktiraf dan diinsafi secara jujur oleh setiap rakyat Malaysia yang mencintai keamanan dan kedamaian, dan bukannya digembar-gemburkan sebagai satu kebanggaan untuk mana-mana kaum. Rusuhan kaum yang mengorbankan banyak nyawa pada tahun 1969 itu sepatutnya menjadi pengajaran kepada setiap rakyat Malaysia untuk menolak sebarang jenis politik perkauman.

Namun 39 tahun selepas kejadian ngeri itu, masih ada pihak yang cuba membangkitkan kemarahan kaum demi kepentingan kuasa politik mereka. Mereka terlupa bahawa dalam ‘tsunami’ politik pada 8 Mac lalu, sebahagian besar rakyat Malaysia termasuk orang Melayu Muslim telah menolak politik perkauman, dan yang bukan Melayu dan bukan Muslim telah menolak politik berunsur ancaman.

Sebaik sahaja DAP, PKR dan PAS – yang kini berjuang bersama dalam PAKATAN RAKYAT – menang lima negeri dan menafikan majoriti 2/3 Barisan Nasional dalam pilihanraya umum yang lalu, telah ada usaha-usaha mengadakan demonstrasi jalanan dan kenyataan-kenyataan yang berasaskan politik perkauman. Namun, kuasa rakyat dan kematangan warga Malaysia yang benci keganasan telah berjaya mengawal keadaan dan mengekalkan ketenteraman situasi.

Sehubungan ini, kami dari Pakatan Rakyat dengan ikhlas dan tegas berjanji untuk mengamalkan dan melaksanakan lima prinsip-prinsip asas ini bagi mengelakkan ulangan tragedi 13 Mei di samping memimpin dan membawa rakyat menuju ke arah politik yang lebih matang dan jujur:

1. Kami menuntut sebuah Suruhanjaya Kebenaran dan Rekonsiliasi untuk mengkaji dan memaklumkan kepada semua fakta-fakta sebenarnya tentang Peristiwa 13 Mei dan menjadikannya satu peninggalan sejarah yang membolehkan kami menumpu perhatian dan menghargai nilai-nilai seperti demokrasi, keadilan dan kebencian terhadap rasuah, dengan tujuan menyatukan semua rakyat Malaysia dalam satu masyarakat majmuk yang boleh digelar bangsa Malaysia.

2. Kami cinta kedamaian serta benci sentimen keganasan kaum di samping mengutuk sebarang tindakan ganas pihak berkuasa yang mengalakkan ketegangan kaum serta melindungi mereka yang mewar-warkan isu-isu ketegangan kaum.

3. Kami menegakkan prinsip ketuanan rakyat Malaysia dan nilai-nilai murni sejagat sebagai asas perpaduan rakyat Malaysia dan menolak tindakan-tindakan bersifat ekstremi atau aspek-aspek agama yang menyemarakkan api kemarahan di kalangan rakyat;

4. Kami mendesak pihak berkuasa supaya bertindak adil dan tidak berat sebelah atau tunduk kepada mana-mana kekuasaan politik dalam menjalankan tugas mereka;

5. Kami menuntut supaya sistem demokrasi dan sistem raja berperlembagaan terus dikekalkan di mana hasrat dan keinginan rakyat didukung dan diperjuangkan tanpa diskriminasi dan penganiayaan, serta sebarang peralihan kuasa mesti dijalankan dengan lancar dan penuh hormat.

Maka kita berikrar, dengan penuh tekad dan iltizam, bahawa Peristiwa 13 Mei tidak akan lagi menghantui pemikiran dan arena politik Malaysia atau diperalatkan oleh mana-mana pihak yang tidak bertanggungjawab. Mulai sekarang, marilah kita raikan 13 Mei dengan aman, damai dan tenteram macam hari-hari biasa.

Tags: dap, pas, pkr
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May 13, 1969: Truth and reconciliation

May 11, 2008 by noto513

©The Sunday Star (Used by permission)
by Martin Vengadesan

• Choosing to live or die together
• One day in 1969
• Driving into trouble
• Helping in the aftermath
• The shot that changed her life

Closure: ‘A bringing to an end; a conclusion… A feeling of finality or resolution, especially after a traumatic experience,’ (Answers.com). Well, May 13, 1969, was truly a traumatic experience for Malaysia. Yet 39 years later, there is still no proper closure. Instead, the incident has haunted the nation these past four decades. Just the mention of ‘May 13’ invokes shudders and nervous glances. It is our national ‘code’ for violent racial meltdown, especially among the older generation. Isn’t it time to finally break the code?

WHEN news of the March 8 general election results broke, Opposition supporters were understandably jubilant at what was their best showing in the nation’s 51-year history. Yet, the sentiment on the ground was very much one of restraint. Supporters were urged not to go out and celebrate, but rather to maintain a low profile.

The reason for such caution: The racial riots of May 13, 1969, of course.
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Symbolic Politics and Ethnic Conflict in Malaysia and the Philippines

April 28, 2008 by noto513

The link was written by Stuart J Kaufman, Satoshi Machida and Yu Wang.

Please click here

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Malay supremacy concept under attack

April 28, 2008 by noto513

April 26, 2008

Resentment by non-Malays and non-elite Malays causing unease

By Carolyn Hong, Malaysia Bureau Chief (The Straits Times)

KUALA LUMPUR, April 26, 2008 – THE once-incontestable notion of Malay supremacy is under siege in the wake of the March 8 polls, and it is stirring up some unease within the community and in Umno.

The charge is led by the Malay-based opposition Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), which has been promoting its new motto of Ketuanan Rakyat (People’s Supremacy) with great effect.

Ketuanan Melayu (Malay Supremacy) has frequently been used as shorthand for Malay economic rights and the unassailable Malay political dominance.
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Tags: abdullah badawi, malay supremacy, parti keadilan rakyat, people's supremacy, tengku razaleigh hamzah
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WHICH WAY FOR UMNO?

April 26, 2008 by noto513

After the Malaysian polls, parties must embrace new competition in policy-making

Ooi Kee Beng

THE remarkable results of the Malaysian general elections of March 8 almost certainly mean that the country’s politics has changed forever.
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Five states are in opposition hands and the government has lost its two-third majority in Parliament.
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At the individual level, a sense of empowerment is widely felt in the northern states that fell to opposition parties.
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