Dear all,

Another write up I posted at Tun Mahathir blog for your weekend reading.

Dear Tun Dr Mahathir,

http://chedet.cc/?p=3078. The enemy is microscopic but the effect is massive, more than the wars of the world. The great powers will be helpless before these microscopic creatures. Power no longer belongs to the rich and the developed. All those weapons of mass destruction cannot match the destruction by these microscopic creatures. There is definitely a lesson to be learnt here. What the lesson will be is left to each and everyone of us.

Agreed with Tun, Nouvelle Corona-virus that cause COVID-19 pandemic does not respect boarders, nationalities, ethnicities and religions; nor whether you are Rich or poor or you are Political Elites, Commoners, PM, President, King, Queen & Royal Family. It can infect everyone all the same. But Covid-19 had shown the people on the margins; people with underlying health conditions and older peoples suffer the most (fatality rate); even healthy people in frontline (doctors and nurses) pay with their ultimate sacrifice.

However the pandemic does not levering the playing field, the powerful remains powerful, the rich remains the rich, the poor makes poorer and the salaried-men make less with many business (Hospitality and airlines to name a few) facing shut down and employment lay off if help and economy revival is not forth coming.

The pandemic has brought out the best and the worst of Malaysians:  In one hand we have greedy and unprincipled politicians taking opportunities to grab power ‘Sheraton Move’ resulted in the fall of PH federal government. Human greed knows no bounds and our political frogs have a field day selling their dignity to the highest bidder. Johor, Melaka, Perak and Kedah subsequently fall to PN to the anguish, dismal and frustration of voters that their ‘YB MP and ADUN’ had betrayed people mandate. The business as usual ‘cash is king’ and ‘abuse of power’ which we so despise and voted them out in GE14 has reared its ugly head again. Carrot and stick approach (bribery/threat) are now order of the day to consolidate and strengthen the unholy and fragile PN government.

On the other hand we have frontline healthcare professionals, security and emergency personals manning security and safety, all the workers in essential services and manufacturing and not forgetting the food producers and delivery workers who put their lives on the line in order to serve our fellow Malaysians and our nation. Shame on those greedy politicians and I take my hats off and salute our daily heroes ‘the essential workers’.

In the midst of a pandemic the viral video of African American George Floyd pleads for his life ‘I can’t breathe’ when white police officer kneed on his neck for more than 8 minutes, including 2 minute and 53 second after he became unresponsive (dead). The injustices and cried of ‘I can’t breathe’ stirred up a global outcry and protests over racism and injustices across the world.

And of all the people, Malaysian again makes headline for the wrong reason in lack of understanding, compassion, empathy and foot in the mouth comment:

https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/trending/miss-universe-malaysia-samantha-katie-james-black-people-12795036

{Former Miss Universe Malaysia Samantha Katie James, who won the title in 2017, posted her thoughts on her Instagram Stories on Monday afternoon. She wrote: “I don’t live in America, it has nothing to do with me, but to me, it seems like the ‘whites’ won.”

“If you’re angry, you respond in rage and anguish and that means it has power over you. They have power over you,” she added. “Foolish humans”

She later posted again on her Stories, saying: “To the black people, relax, take it as a challenge, makes you stronger. You chose to be born as a ‘coloured’ person in America for a reason. To learn a certain lesson. Accept it as it is, till now hunger and poverty still exists. It is what it is. It’s inevitable. Best you can do is remain calm, protect heart, don’t allow it to crumble. That’s your responsibility.”

Understandably, social media users were incensed with her remarks, with one user questioning her assertion that black people “chose” to be born so.}

Tun Mahathir, please pardon me to ask what had gone so wrong with Malaysians that we now view and accept racism as normal and those born with wrong color should accept it and take it as a challenge, makes you stronger and learn certain lesson?

I do not choose to be born as Chinese Malaysian and if given a choice many of us would like to be born in Malay Royal House. But as Chinese Malaysian we know no one owes us anything. We do not expect pities nor handout thus we work extra hard to be successful in this life and in return we do our best to raise our children and it is in our culture to push them to do better. Be smarter. Be stronger. Be faster. Be more righteous. Be more pious. Be more innovative. Be more creative. Be everything that they can be in this lifetime. The more successful we are, the more we give back to our community and society as gratitude for the good fortune bestowed on us.

On the brighter side Datuk Seri Nazir Razak hit the right note on his call for Malaysia to examine our own track record with minorities.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/06/03/nazir-razak-says-time-to-deliberate-a-new-platform-for-malaysia

{In posting a message supporting Floyd, Nazir said he was late in doing so because he had been reflecting on how prevalent this problem is in our own society.

"How minorities here face the same challenges every day. How institutionalised measures to redress inequality between races have been abused or become out of date, and need to be overhauled.

"How we don’t even define racism or legislate against it. Our nationhood – what it means to be Malaysian and how our government, economy and society work – needs recalibration," he said. He added that there was need for a platform to deliberate a new model for Malaysia.

"As there was in 1957 and 1970. We must do it before it is too late," the retired banker said in a post on Instagram where he uploaded a blank black picture.

AirAsia Group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes also said that racism has always been one thing he hates most. Coronavirus has showed we are all the same. Any decent human being should be horrified by what happened.

“But racism happens everywhere and in many different forms. I dream of a day......," he said on Instagram where he posted a black picture with the words “Black Lives Matter”, the last part an allusion to US civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr’s “I have a dream” speech.}

No leader worth its salt will say he is his race or religion first and nation second. But in Malaysia, we have leaders who do not try to unite the Malaysia people—do not even pretend to try (yes they do pretend to try when they want your vote during GE) and instead openly divide us with race baiting. For far too long our Malaysia Political sure fire playbook is using racism and religiosity to 'Divide, Indoctrinate and Rule'.

Years of political posturing using religion and race couple with education that indoctrinate rather than open mind have now begun to show its ugly consequences. We have now group of self-serving unprincipled and corrupted politicians that are: rent seekers, bootlickers, backstabbers, political opportunists, political bigots, political hypocrites and political frogs misusing/abusing religion and race to get themselves elected as “YB MP or ADUN” and then instead of serving the people wellbeing, selfless devotion to duty, and complete willingness to dedicate their lives to the causes of nation-building and raising the peoples’ standard of living, unashamedly grab position, business opportunities, APs, scholarships and etc for themselves, their family members, their cronies and willingly selling their dignity to the highest bidder for more money and higher position. It all boils down to “what’s in it for me” where the spirit of service above self by our early founder’s is now a bygone era.

Corruption, Bribery, Racism, Religiosity and Indoctrination had undermined our unity, our nation building and our dream of achieving Tun’s vision 2020. Our nation is at the crossroads. Will right minded and progressive Malaysians stand up and tick off unprincipled and corrupted Politicians who seek to 'Divide, Indoctrinate and Rule' enough is enough, we can’t breathe and that in unity and diversity there is Strength. We must now summon that unity, diversity and strength to surmount this triple whammy covid-19 pandemic, political/economic crisis and racism—with believe and confident that we are better than our politicians.

Please vote out those greedy, unprincipled, dirty and corrupted politicians when GE15 is called so as to reclaim and rebuild our beloved Malaysia. I thank you all.

To my fellow Malaysians, quote “There is definitely a lesson to be learnt here. What the lesson will be is left to each and everyone of us” unquote.

Thank you

Yours truly

SS LEE

PS: It is time now for parents to teach their children early on that there is beauty and strength in diversity and God created us all different for a reason, that we may know each other and come to see, appreciate and embrace the beauty and strength in God created diversity. Let’s us truly embrace and celebrate our diversity where different ethnicity, religions and cultures live in peace and harmony with mutual understanding, respect and acceptance.