Sunday, September 6, 2009

Time to stop being nice on our "serumpun" neighbours

Lately our neighbours across the Melaka straits seems to be suffering from some form of PMS. I remembered vaguely some time ago there was furore over an abuse on one of their kind working here as a maid. Subsequently their authorities banned its citizens from working here for some time, and understandably due to the horrific circumstances surrounding the scandalous abuse case.

Since then our neightbours have started throwing accusations around, starting from allegations that we "stole" their Pendet dance for a "Malaysia Truly Asia" style promotional ad on Discovery Channel which turns out to be a botched attempt which our government has nothing to do with it. Then on Sept 2, their students pelted eggs at our embassy for allegedly copying "Terang Bulan" for our national anthem. Now hundreds of comments are posted on forums and portals in their country screaming "Ganyang Malingsia" and baying for our blood because we've robbed, stolen, mutilated, abused piagiarized etc their heritage, culture and people from Rasa Sayang to oil-rich Ambalat island.

I have no problems for our government and people to take responsibility if indeed their accusations are true and proven. Indeed we should be ashamed Noordin Mat Top set up his base across the straits and bombing innocent citizens to death in his deluded jihad against non-Muslim heathens and infidels, therefore should he be caught here toughest measures should be taken against him including use of ISA. Tough actions should be taken against employers who cheated, mutilated and abuse their citizens who worked here (but then the treatment should not be mutually exclusive but applied to others from Philippines, Myammar etc). And if indeed the Malaysian Royalty is convicted by court and responsible for heinous abuse and treatment to Manohara, special treatment and defense must not be accorded to him.

But here I am going to put on my proverbial redneck cap and call tit-for-tat. Their government recently has the cheek to ask our government to raise the minimal salary for their maids to be raised to RM 800. And as I type, many of their kind over in Borneo is crossing over our borders from Kalimantan and getting their MyKads faster than FRUs arresting Hindraf demonstrators in KL. Plantations and factories are still recruiting their kind, depriving our locals their chance for a livelihood. Whom do we see manning DBKL trucks picking up smelly garbages at our housing estates? Who are the people who are employed to sweep streets and busy highways? You will be surprised Indians are doing the dirty job while our "serumpun" kind are managing stalls in pasar malam and warungs in eateries! Imagine the balls of these people sending back their our cash back home and behind our backs screaming "Ganyang Malingsia!".

And surprisingly the editorials I read in (usual mainstream lah) newspapers calling for tolerance and dialogue with these people. I'm not going to call for a nuke across Melaka straits to shut their pie hole for good but as a letter to Malaysiakini states, the non-Bumi Malaysians never pelted eggs and bayed for blood leaders such as Hishamuddin, Chua Soi Lek, Samy Vellu, despite their blatant tunnel vision and hypocrisy. Surprisingly Utusan Malaysia's venom against our "serumpun" brothers seemed tame compared with their rant against Chinese and Indians. They do not have problem with these pendatang flooding the streets of Chow Kit and KotaRaya while they have issues with their fellow Hindu citizens trying to build a temple near their place.

It would do the government a great deal of good and save them a lot of trouble if they wake up from their slumber and smell the coffee. Ban their bloody people from working here as maids since they complain the pay is too meagre and our people complain in papers that they are getting sloppy in their job. When their kind is unemployed and unable to find jobs back in their homeland, they would be crawling to us on their knees and beg to work in pig abbatoirs for RM 100 a month seven days a week, just you wait! Aren't we afraid of the diseases they may carry to our country in light of H1N1? Stop issuing instant MyKads to the Kalimantan pendatang and start giving more consideration to talented non-Bumi acedemics who are leaving here rapidly for greener pastures in Melbourne, London, New York etc. Weed out the parasites and nurture the real patriots no matter what their race. Show these ill-tempered "guests" that we're not pussies and we mean business.