Saturday, October 07, 2006

Irony of cross-strait politics

Cross-talk - http://www.hhmi.org/Khairy Jamaluddin, erstwhile son-in-law of PM AA Badawi, has been shooting off his mouth about many things of late. Now he is alleged to have said that non-Malays will take advantage of a weak UMNO. If that isn't race politics, I don't know what is. MCA has duly made it known that the non-Malays' feelings are hurt. Khairy cannot say things like this (which reminds me that PM AA Badawi also said something like this about some hurtful comments made by someone down south recently), especially when he represents UMNO's Youth wing as deputy chief and is the incumbent PM's son-in-law to booth. Does UMNO Youth subscribe to this view? Is it an official position of UMNO Youth? What has Hishamuddin Tun Hussein, as UMNO Youth Chief, have to say about it?

It is doubly ironic as his father-in-law (and all of Malay Malaysia, I would suppose) expressed great displeasure over remarks made by Mr Lee Kuan Yew about how the non-Malays have been systematically marginalised over the years in Malaysia. It would seem that Mr Jamaluddin and Mr Lee Kuan Yew share something in common - the ability to say things that may be hidden in the sub-consciousness of a nation and its peoples.

Well, AA Badawi has graciously acknowledged SM Lee's apology and closed the matter. I doubt it would be forgotten though. But it would seem that Malaysia still has to contend with its own pretender in the years to come, unless somebody stops him, or his mouth or both.

Image source: http://www.hhmi.org/