It is easy to criticize, especially when you have a blog handy. But Unspun feels that it is also important to give credit when credit is due.
Prime Minister and Grand Poobah of Umno Abdullah Badawi has led the Umno supreme council in coming to a decision to suspend Ahmad Ismail’s membership for three years and strip him of all his party posts for making racially provocative remarks.
There are some critics who think that this is too little too late (see Kit’s blog) and or just a show. But Unspun thinks that for the soft person he is and the presures from the more garroulous elements within Umno, what ABB did took some courage. He did right and he should be commended for taking a decision that sends a message to other Umno trouble makers.
What now. Some in Malaysia are demanding their pound of flesh of Ahmad Ismail. Some say he needs to be charged under the ISA. Others say sedition. It would be interesting to examine the motives for those who all for such harsh punishments. Are they motivated by a sense of justice? If so how much of this justice resembles the Nietzscherean definantion of justice being the spirit of revenge. revenge for what? Perceptions of being racially slighted and targeted by the government apparatus, is what Unspun thinks.
There has been so much resentment and ill feeling building up among races in Malaysia that it is the natural inclination of many Malaysians to seize the opportunity to get even. Hence the call to savage Ahmad Ismail, or the inability to give credit where credit is due.
This type of outlook is counterproductive. If anything right minded Malaysians should praise and reinforce good behavior in their Prime Minister. That would embolden him to make more right decisions.
Putting the Ahmad Ismail issue aside as something solved would also be a productive move. The man has been rebuked and his career as a politician tarnished. there is no more need to hound the man and make him a martyr among the more extreme racialists. Perversely, there is no bigger insult or damage that can be done to Ahmad Ismail than to ignore him. People like him thrive on the reaction of others. The reaction gives him reknown, even it is in the form of notoriety. Ignore him and he will be shouting in the wilderness.
Move on, Malaysia, move on.
Unspun 
Bro, you have missed the whole scenario on this issue. Now, let le highl\ight to you …
We cannot have two sets of law governing in Malaysia which is being practice now. One for non-Umnoputras and one for the higher class Unmoputras. When they can use ISA to jail Hindraf saying that these are culprits which create racial tension and on the other hand the same is done by a UMNO racist, it is too clear for Malaysian to differenciate how they have the freedom to use these laws on their citizen.
Come on …. look at a wider angle instead a narrow view.
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Hi unspun, i think you should rethink again…
read this…
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/9/12/nation/20080912135857&sec=nation
the government asked the MCMC to reinstate access to Malaysia Today website just to detain RPK under ISA lah…
giving ABB a break? Please have you ever learned enough?
BN/UMNO or AAB for that matter should never be given any chance especially now…
its a clear double standard…the racist Ahmad got 3 year suspension but RPK got ISA?
UMNO/BN never never forgiven becoz they will never learn…
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erm so sorry to have said this…
but i agree with NewsObserver, sometimes u are a bit narrow minded…hehe
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NewsObserver: Good point and Unspun’s always willing to try taking a wider view although these slenty eyes sometimes make it difficult (joke lah, attempt at self deprecating humor – do not read more into this!)
Seriously though, you and kamarul have valid points where justice is concerned: that you cannot have one set of laws for one person and another set for others.
Politically, however, consider hat would happen if the Chinese and others make a cause celebre out of Ahmad Ismail. He was a nobody but because of his racist stand he is now a national figure. His continued defiance seems to suggest that he is continuing to try to seek reknown and reaction.
At some point the more ultra malays would rally to his side, the more ultra Chinese would harden their stance and rhetoric against the Malays and…you get the picture.
But you guys are probably right. ABB probably does not deserve to be commended now that he’s cracked down on RPK. My posting was before his arrest so i guess Unspun lacks foresight.
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Bro, at the moment we don’t really care whether we are Malay, Chinese or Indian races. we just want to be MALAYSIAN and nothing more. Intepretation of Federal Constitution by UMNO is twisted and modified for their own usage. Being Malay is also suffering like other races. Who benefit from the NEP? The corrupted UMNO and their cronies partners only. Real Malays are actually left behind. We can see that if other races are given equal opportunities, Malaysia will florish like Singapore. It is the bloody Mamak who claimed that they are more Muslim Malay than the actual Malay race themselves. Example are mamak Mahathir, Yacoob or the recent Ahmad Ismail.
We rakyat in Malaysia are colour blind now. We just want to get rid of BN and hope soon. BN is beyond redemption.
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Newsobserver: Bro, we want the same thing lah. That’s why it is important for restraint over the likes of Ahmad Ismail. If all the races can leave him be shouting in the wind then the chances of getting rid of BN are greater.
The way things are going now is that BN will lose power unless something like racial strive happens. Now how does one go about creating conditions for racial strive? Get idjits like Ahmad Ismail to play the race card, get those non-Malays with less restraint to react, get those Malays with less restraint to counter-react and you have an escalation of racial tension.
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Hmm Unspun, looking back at May 13, it is somehow now is a very conducive atmosphere for the second May 13 to occur. Political instability + somebody trying to stoke racial tension. Most of us knew that the May 13 itself was politically motivated, where certain party was using racial sentiments to maintain grip on power.
My personal opinion is 1969 and 2008 far differs from each other. Those days ppl were stupid hehe i mean the condition back then so young after independent, too many racial problems, social divide and economic clustering, by which became a very damn good nodus for a racial riot. But now after 51 years, i think majority of malaysians did learned alot from what happened in May 13.
Although, we cannot completely deny the existence of extreme ultra-racist ppl on both sides but im sure they are much less than what we expected. Anyway, most malaysians view that the only way to prevent any escalation on racial tension is to kick these ppl out of office.
Haiya, unspun, still putting hope in UMNO/BN? maybe u have been in indonesia so long that u tends to forget how UMNO/BN treats the ppl. we can already expecting something bad is gonna happen later if the government is doing something good. they treat us like shit and i fully cannot understand why certain ppl still hope that they will change. Its a NO-NO for UMNO/BN…
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Newsobserver: aiyoyo those bloody mamaks…can i add up another one? Chandra Muzaffar…
~erk im not being racist over here~
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Newsobserver: aiyoyo those bloody mamaks…can i add up another one? Chandra Muzaffar…where is he?
~erk im not being racist over here~
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Kamarul, well said …… thanks for inclusive of this idiot I have missed out. Hmmmm …. another mamak.
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All, don’t forget …. “Malaysia is UMNO and UMNO is Malaysia”…
So, they can do everything to you because they are “Master” and “Owner” of your country ……Hahahaha ….
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huh? “Malaysia is UMNO and UMNO is Malaysia”?
erk did u just arrive from the year 1957?
erk welcome, its 2008 now…
hahahaha :))
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