Recently our Chief Minister of Penang, Lim Guan Eng was being criticized on his Easter Message. The following was the full message:
Easter Message 2011
In this holy Easter celebration to mark the crucification of Jesus Christ and the Lord Jesus resurrection, is also an occasion to to renew Christians’ vows of faith in truth, hope and love.
Christians regardless of skin colour have prayed for peace and prosperity. Christians have also prayed for wisdom and compassion in our leaders. Most important of all Christians pray for truth to guide Malaysians in our daily affairs.
All religions celebrate these common values of truth, unity in diversity, freedom of choice and peace. We must seek truth from facts and not allow sentiments to be ruled by blind emotion.
To all Christians, I wish you a very happy and blessed Easter.
If we are to be one united nation, we must learn to share, we must believe in equality and equal opportunity. We must believe in justice.
Stop the characterization of the Holy Scriptures by the Home Ministry as threats to national security and public order. Stop restrictions on the right of Christians to use any language to worship. Stop the stamping of Malay bibles which is an act of dishonouring the Holy bible.
We need to change. Change for the better. To change is difficult but not to change is fatal. We need a change of mindset of treating every Malaysian as facing common problems and aspirations. We must celebrate our differences and our diversity.
We should move away from the mindtrap of fear based on hate, racism, extremism. We should not be taught to fear diversity. We should not be brainwashed with Hitlerian ideas that one is superior to another merely because of the colour of our skin.
We must have the courage to change.
Malaysians are ready to embrace change; change for the better. Malaysians no longer want to live under a situation where freedom is curtailed, human rights infringed, and abuse of power, corruption and mismanagement are rampant.
In the recent Sarawak state election, Sarawakians have decided that enough is enough. Sarawakians want good governance, end to corruption, empowered by democracy, equal opportunity and justice for all.
Just as Easter signifies a renewal of life, Faith, hope and love can drive home a victory against ignorance, fear and oppression.
Let us fill our hearts with faith, hope and love by discarding those with racial prejudices and hatred or who preach the language of violence and division. Then only can we realise the ideals and aspirations in the Malaysian Constitution of forging one nation.
(source: http://limguaneng.com/index.php/2011/04/24/easter-message-2011/)
As I looked at his message, word by word, I have found no wrong in his message.
Statement of Change to accept Differences and Diversity
The only wrong or mistake, if any, is his mention of "Hitlerian ideas - that one is superior to another merely because of the colour of our skin". That was the wrong highlighted by the blog and Utusan Malaysia.
"We need to change. Change for the better. To change is difficult but not to change is fatal. We need a change of mindset of treating every Malaysian as facing common problems and aspirations. We must celebrate our differences and our diversity.
We should move away from the mindtrap of fear based on hate, racism, extremism. We should not be taught to fear diversity. We should not be brainwashed with Hitlerian ideas that one is superior to another merely because of the colour of our skin.
We must have the courage to change".
If we digest his message word by word, sentence by sentence, and to understand the whole passage on the message he desire to deliver, we will understand what he was talking about. The statement is clear, a message of change; after the message for change, he re-emphasized that, "We should not be taught to fear diversity. We should not be brainwashed with Hitlerian ideas that one is superior to another merely because of the colour of our skin. We must have the courage to change".
Any ordinary person will not see anything wrong with the statement. It was a fair statement. "We should move away from the mindtrap of fear based on hate, racism, extremism"; this is a criteria for a democracy, a foundation for our nation building, we should all against hate, racism and extremism in a multiracial and multi-religion county like Malaysia. It is nothing wrong, unless you do not agree with the statement.
"We should not be taught to fear diversity",this is positive message for country with diversity, Malaysia was found based on diversity, why should we fear? so anyone who taught to fear diversity, is against the spirit of "1 Malaysia" by the Prime Minister. He is against the spirit of nation founding of Malaysia. So, nothing wrong with the sentence.
The critic of his message, focused on the statement; " We should not be brainwashed with Hitlerian ideas that one is superior to another merely because of the colour of our skin". That statement touched the sensitivity of the critic. The name of Adolf Hitler was mentioned, that negative icon of Nazism during the World War 2, the bad man called Adolf Hitler. But if you delete the name of Adolf Hitler, the sentence is ;
"We should move away from the mindtrap of fear based on hate, racism, extremism. We should not be taught to fear diversity. We should not be brainwashed with ideas that one is superior to another merely because of the colour of our skin. "
That is also a fair statement, a statement of fairness promoted by all religion; he ask us to follow our religion that we should be a racist, extremist, and full of hate. No audience will go against this statement, which is positive and a call to move away from extreme. To be aware of the people who are extremist, racist, and full of hate; that is good message.....
There was no sign of race baiting. By the way the term "race baiting" is also used in as a synonym for "playing the race card" in American politics to refer to situations where one politician accuses another of being a racist. Race baiting is any form of speech, actions, or other forms of communication, to anger, intimidate or incite a person or race of other people or in simplicity, the making of verbal attacks against members of a racial group. Did you find any race baiting in Lim Guan Eng's Easter 2011 message?...
But the word "Hitlerian ideas", was treated as ugly by one of the editor of the main stream press, and blogger. Lim Guan Eng was rebuked in a pro-Umno blog Minda Intelek Melayu which accused Lim of claiming that the country adopted and practiced racial supremacy the way Nazi Germany did under Hitler in the 1940s. Utusan Malaysia highlighted it in their editorial column. That was the out cry from some politician...the political games again started, and it was a sign that federal election is coming close.....
What is Hilterian ideas in Lim Guan Eng's mind ?
We cannot speak for Lim Guan Eng, what is Hilterian ideas, as it will be a broad study on philosophy and political ideas of Adolf Hitler. But since he was talking about "Hitlerian ideas - that one is superior to another merely because of the colour of our skin". It must be related to racial issue of Adolf Hitler's ideas. Lim Guan Eng is using the word "Hilterian ideas" to describe and emphasis on the racial fairness and unity in diversity, which is a good and fair statement, and will be acceptable if the message is deliver in any country(democratic country) in the world.....
Wikipedia do have an article on Nazism and race, the extract from the article on the supremacy of Aryan race, as follow;
Nazism developed several theories concerning races. The Nazis claimed to scientifically measure a strict hierarchy among "human race"; at the top was the master race, the "Aryan race", narrowly defined by the Nazis as being identical with the Nordic race, followed by lesser races.
At the bottom of this hierarchy were "parasitic" races (of non-"Aryan" origin) or "Untermenschen" ("sub-humans"), which were perceived to be dangerous to society. In Nazi literature, the term "under man" ('Untermensch') was applied to the Slavs, especially including Russians, Serbs (from South Slavic group), and ethnic Poles.[1] Nazi ideology viewed Slavs as a racially inferior group, who were fit for enslavement, or even extermination.[2] About 2 million non-Jewish ethnic Poles were killed by Nazi Germany.[3][4] Lowest of all in the Nazi racial policy were Gypsies and Jews, who were both eventually deemed to be "Lebensunwertes Leben" ("Life unworthy of life") and to be exterminated during the Holocaust (see Raul Hilberg's description of the various phases of the Holocaust). Not to be forgotten, Hitler did have people of Jewish descent working for him. Coined as mischling (or 'Half-Jews'), they were often employed in the Wehrmacht, although they were not allowed to be soldiers after 1940. One mischling, Werner Goldberg, was even called "The Ideal German Soldier" by German newspapers.
Hitler starting as soon as he took power his program of selection of population — a real biopolitics — with the July 1933 "Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring" and the T-4 Euthanasia Program which would terminate in the Holocaust; and the Marxist line, which transformed the essentialist notion of "race" into the historical concept of class struggle.
(source: Nazism and race, wikipedia)
This article on state racism may also be helpful to understand the issue of race baiting accusation.
State racism is a concept used by French philosopher Michel Foucault to designate the reappropriation of the historical and political discourse of "race struggle", in the late seventeenth century.
It also refers to a type of institutional racism promoted by a government. Examples include Apartheid in South Africa, Jewish-Non-Jewish segregation in Israel, and racial segregation in the United States, as well as any systemic or community-based racism in local, state or federal law enforcement (see also racial profiling).
Affirmative action measures are sometimes accused of being a form of state racism, especially when they favour an ethnic majority.
Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender , or national origin"[1] into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination. The focus of such policies ranges from employment and education to public contracting and health programs
(source: wikipedia)
This was the critic and their responses:
1. Apakah patut Lim Guan Eng menuduh pihak lain menggunakan idea-idea Hitler? Apakah benar negara ini mengamalkan satu lebih unggul dari yang lain kerana warna kulit?
Kenyataan Lim Guan Eng itu ternyata berbau hasutan dan berat sebelah. Adalah tidak masuk akal apabila segala yang terbina dalam negara ini berdasarkan kepada idea-idea Hitler !!
Jika ya, tidak mungkin ada kaum lain yang lebih cemerlang daripada kaum Melayu dan Bumiputera. Tetapi perkara itu tidak pernah terjadi tetapi Lim Guan Eng berfikiran demikian!
Kenapa? Apakah Lim Guan Eng dan DAP masih terperangkap di dalam kepompong rasis dan perkauman beliau? Atau parti DAP cuba sengaja mengapi-apikan perkauman di antara rakyat negara ini?
Dan adalah kurang sopan jika Guan Eng sanggup menuduh pihak lain mengamalkan idea Hitler walau pun ianya jauh sekali daripada benar!
http://novandri.blogspot.com/2011/04/mesti-baca-dap-sangat-melampau-tuduh.html
2. Setiausaha Agung DAP, Lim Guan Eng hari ini dikecam apabila dikatakan cuba menggambarkan seolah-olah negara ini mengamalkan idea Hitler iaitu seseorang itu lebih unggul dari yang lain kerana warna kulit.
Idea berkenaan menurut blog Minda Intelek Melayu (M.i.M), dilontarkan oleh Guan Eng dalam perutusan beliau sempena sambutan Hari Easter 2011 seperti yang disiarkan menerusi laman blognya semalam.
Kenyataan Guan Eng itu, kata blog berkenaan, berbaur hasutan dan berat sebelah kerana adalah tidak masuk akal apabila segala yang terbina dalam negara ini adalah berdasarkan kepada idea-idea Hitler.
''Jika benar, tidak mungkin ada kaum lain yang lebih cemerlang daripada kaum Melayu dan Bumiputera. Perkara itu tidak pernah terjadi tetapi Guan Eng berfikiran sedemikian!," kata blog itu menerusi entri terbaru seperti yang disiarkan di http://novandri.blogspot.com, hari ini.
Now, who is race baiting?.....readers should read the original message, decided on your own. Avoid reading any articles or comments by people with political agenda.
Who is race baiting, who has politicize the simple message?....
Statement of Historical events
Another wrong highlighted by the blog was the statement:
"Stop the characterization of the Holy Scriptures by the Home Ministry as threats to national security and public order. Stop restrictions on the right of Christians to use any language to worship. Stop the stamping of Malay bibles which is an act of dishonoring the Holy bible".
I found nothing wrong with the statement, as it is the statement summarized the events that happen sometime ago. You can said it is a truth story that happen in Malaysia. The summary of events can be extracted from any daily newspaper in Malaysia of all languages. If you do not believe in Malaysian newspapers, then you can find it in all websites of reputable global newspapers. Or may be you do not believe in mass media, then you can always found it in any social media, blogs, or web articles. So, nothing wrong with it, it is a statement to summarize what actually happen. If you find this statement wrong, may be it should not be telling the truth to the people; but people of the group who have suffered from the events will still remember the events.....may be like many things that happen in the past, we should hide inside the carpets and remain silence, pretending nothing happen......
May be Lim Guan Eng is wrong to use the word "Stop", he should be more polite to say " Let us stop" or " Let us plead" or.....but he is a politician and vocal person, it is not political slogan in pre-election political rally, there is no shouting and emotional out pour like Sarawak election. I am sure he know how to respect the religious people in the church, and not shouting like political rally. In this statement, he was actually emphasis and bringing on the past events that happened, which was not good for the sensitivity of the people of the particular faith. He shared with their feeling. There is nothing wrong.
Finally it is message of Change
The core of the message is talking about change and he even mentioned "Malaysians are ready to embrace change; change for the better. Malaysians no longer want to live under a situation where freedom is curtailed, human rights infringed, and abuse of power, corruption and mismanagement are rampant", the statement I am sure is the same outcry of all Malaysian, regardless of race, religion, and political inclination. The Prime Minister also called for Change, the "One Malaysian" concept is the program of change.
A positive message, with or without Adolf Hitler
It is a message of peace,love, and hope...and a message of change for better...
Finally in conclusion, he rightly stated that "Just as Easter signifies a renewal of life, Faith, hope and love can drive home a victory against ignorance, fear and oppression". That is his message of Easter, and nothing wrong.
Anyhow, the statement was addressed to the audience in the church celebrating Easter or readers reading his message in his personal blog. It is a private event,only the audience who come into the church or visit his blog/website, will receive the message. If you feel offense by the statement, as you support the action of the government on the issue, then do not read it. It is freedom of choice and expression. If the statement is criminal or against the national law, then report it to the police or charge him in court. We are living in democratic country, there are always legal procedures for grievances.
Readers should read the comment by Lim Guan Eng himself, and understand what is in his mind; before making any judgmental statement. This blogger do not want to comment on his statement in Guan Eng: Is opposing Hitler wrong?,(http://my.news.yahoo.com/guan-eng-is-opposing-hitler-wrong-044444463.html)to remain in neutrality.Readers can decide for yourself actually what were the issue and agenda of all the fuss on Adolf Hitler.....
In the same spirit by ruling party
For reader's information, the ruling party was once using the name of Adolf Hitler to describe Lim Guan Eng sometime ago....
He(Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Senator Koh Tsu Koon) criticised Guan Eng's approach to the matter as being simplistic, saying that as an accountant, the latter should realise that many factors must be considered before a decision is taken by the government.
“Of course he (Guan Eng) can give speeches like (former Indonesian leader) Sukarno and (German dictator Adolf) Hitler, he is clever to talk. But what is the solution?” he queried.
Former PKR Bayan Baru parliamentarian Zahrain Hashim (right), who has since become independent, had earlier this year called Guan Eng a "dictator, a chauvinist and communist-minded".
(source: Gerakan: Guan Eng a 'Hitler', Kit Siang 'desperate' , by Susan Loone,
Malaysiankini, dated Sep 26, 10 , http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/143660 )
What do you think, are they using the same ugly name? Adolf Hitler must be happy that Malaysia liked his name; or may be like HIM?.....or his ideas..
It is sad, not for Adolf Hitler, as he is dead. It is sad for Malaysian politic for using tactic like Adolf Hitler in the domestic politic, in a democracy country....
Heil Hitler.....Heil Malaysia....the demon has come out of democracy....and we have the crazy politician remain in the country to play the games of Adolf Hitler.... crazy,just crazy....
Sign of coming election
Since the last election campaign, when the opposition make use of IT technology to win their support, ruling parties are now jumping into the wagon. They are now actively using cyber technology and social media. However, the ruling parties have the strategic advantages over opposition, as they have the control over the mass media. They are now doing even better, by using proxy in the social media and publicity campaign. This is the heat of pre-election campaign for coming federal election, and the ruling party have being heated up immediately after Sarawak state election. The politician are using racial sentiments, the popular tools to gain support.....I just ponder who is race baiting?.....
For general public, please use our common sense and not to fall into the traps of the political games. Cyber political games are on, Heil Hitler.....Heil Malaysia....
The games of proxies has begin.....
Related articles/websites:
1. Gerakan: Guan Eng a 'Hitler', Kit Siang 'desperate'; http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/143660
2. Easter Message 2011,http://limguaneng.com/index.php/2011/04/24/easter-message-2011/
3. Guan Eng: Is opposing Hitler wrong?, http://my.news.yahoo.com/guan-eng-is-opposing-hitler-wrong-044444463.html
4. MESTI BACA ! Heil Hitler - DAP Meroyan Tahap Malu Dek Pendedahan MiM !!, http://novandri.blogspot.com/2011/04/mesti-baca-heil-hitler-dap-meroyan.html(The blog may delete article)
5. Malaysia amal idea Hitler? Utusan Malaysia online; http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2011&dt=0426&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Dalam_Negeri&pg=dn_16.htm
6. Lim Guan Eng's Remarks not based on Reality, http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=582092
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