cakap cakap...new-money and old-money,class and trash and politics.

Selamat Pagi Malaysia.

For the Chinese who begrudge the Malays who are now wealthy from the ill-gotten proceeds of politics, let me remind them that there are wealthy Malaysian Chinese families whose patriarchs became wealthy from the proceeds of crime - triads, gambling, smuggling, opium, and prostitution.

With their wealth, over generations, the Chinese went into trading, real estate, shipping, and banking and worked their way up into the ranks of respectability. Today they dominate the economy of our nation...and deservedly so!

The new-money, wealthy Malay families also now dominate the economy of our nation. Where the wealth of the Chinese was more entrepreneurial, the acquired wealth of the Malay families of today have relied almost exclusively on all things political. All the wealth was gained within one generation, with little time to gain the 'respectability' that the Chinese families, with old money and education, have acquired over two or three generations.

The class and respectability that old money confers on wealthy Chinese families are glaringly lacking among the wealthy Malay families of today. While the Chinese have had time to settle comfortably into their wealth, the Malays, have been in the enviable situation, some may say unenviable situation, of having much too much money for their own good.

For the new-money wealthy Malay families, another reality has to be dealt with - the question of holding on to the source of their wealth...political power.

The gap between the haves and the have-nots among the Malays threatens to upset the delicate political balance not only among the Malays but also between the other races as the political realities within Malaysia have radically changed within the last decade with the emergence of a credible alternative, Pakatan Harapan, to the once-dominant Umno/BN. For these new-money Malays, their source of wealth will be threatened if they lose political power.

From these new political realities have emerged politicians who seek to profit politically from the racial, social, and economic tensions in Malaysia today.

Instead of offering solutions to the problems that are now besetting our nations, these politicians are feeding off the toxic mix of race, religion, and the gap between the wealthy and the low-income, to hold on to political power...hold on to the source of their wealth, mindful that it is the increasingly vocal and politically savvy low-income Malaysians who will decide who shall govern Malaysian in PRU15.

Where do YOU stand on these issues?

Look at your own family, your relatives, friends, acquaintances, and others around you. Think, ponder, and ask what is happening to the Malaysia that you once knew, to the Malaysia that you are now living in, and ask yourself what Malaysia will be like for your children and the future generations to come.

Nothing can be gained by doing nothing. Take back our nation from the hands of corrupt politicians before they once again plunge our nation into the toxic and destroying mix of race and religion. There are good politicians in Umno as there are good politicians in PKR, DAP, and in Sabah, and Sarawak. Your responsibility and mine, are to ensure that these good people are elected to political office. Enough said.