FEBRUARY 6 — Displaying form befitting a philistine Perkasa member rather than a Cabinet Minister, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s recent open call for Malays to band together to boycott Chinese businesses in order to punish them for causing price hikes is ridiculous, to say the least.
It is also apparent that the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister is detached from everyday Malaysian reality, because the last I checked, the rising prices at the local mamak I frequent for my curry fix on cheat days prove that inflation is not coincidental with race.
Racism starts from the top
However, Ismail Sabri’s comments comes as no surprise as it is the modus operandi of Umno leaders to resort to race-baiting and scapegoating rather than confront the truth. In fact, he has since been unapologetic about it.
After all, what reason is there for him to apologise when even the prime minister is content to shrug it off without so much as a reprimand? Taking the cue from their leader, other Umno members and even a former minister have actually come out in support of the statement, proclaiming that “we (they) are all Ismail Sabri”. If by that they mean they are all unintelligent racists, then I fully agree.
In fact, I would add that the only placard that Ismail Sabri deserves is the infamous Jackie Chan “What the eff” meme. Or is it Datuk Jackie now?
A minister should find solutions, not cause problems
Surprisingly, even former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been more level-headed on this issue, stating that instead of playing the race card, Ismail Sabri should find out the real cause of the problem and solve it. This statement was echoed by a group of young Malay activists from the DAP.
The irony is not lost on Malaysians, who are very well aware that this very minister who is attempting to lay the blame for inflation on the Chinese is himself in a position to actually affect government policies that could impact the livelihood of ordinary Malaysians.
If anything, he should be taking the blame for our economic woes as it is the BN’s policies that have created the situation of high debts and low disposable income amongst Malaysians.
Is it the fault of the Chinese that the median wage of Malay workers is RM1,600 a month? How can it be, when even the median wage of Chinese workers does not exceed RM2,000 a month? The sad fact is that more than half of all Malaysian workers of all races are stuck in a low-income trap. And there is no hope to escape as long as cost of living continues to escalate without a corresponding rise in productivity and wages.
But why try to fix real problems when you can simply put the blame on others? Perhaps Ismail Sabri will also find a scapegoat for the GST when its implementation meets with public backlash.
Malaysians stand up for Malaysians
The truth is that there is nothing racial about our economy. We no longer live in 1969 when economic functions are exclusive to racial domains. Today, our economic and social relationships are so intertwined with each other that the boycott of any group would lead to great negative consequences.
However, I take solace in the fact that the reality on the ground is nothing like what is depicted by Ismail Sabri. Here I would like to share my experience during the recent flood relief efforts.
In the first few days of the flood crisis, there was a great need to provide essential supplies for the victims in the East Coast. While going from store to store to purchase goods and supplies, we came across many Chinese shop owners who, upon discovering that we were collecting aid for the flood victims, gave us very generous discounts.
Many of them even sold us goods at cost price, simply because they wanted to contribute to fellow Malaysians in distress, even if the majority of them were Malays.
In fact, many Chinese-based NGOs were not only amongst the first to arrive at the scene with aid, but also the most efficient in assisting the victims on the ground. Thankfully, most Malaysians do not share Ismail Sabri’s point of view. Just imagine, what if these Chinese businesses and volunteers decided to boycott the Malays who were in need?
Good deeds go beyond racial boundaries, as do profiteering and rent-seeking. Hence, it is unwise and even impossible to compartmentalise the economy the way Umno tries to. In this regard, if there is a need to boycott anything, we should boycott racism.
#Boycottracism
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
