“Apa lagi Cina mahu”? This was the question posed by the pro Government Daily, the Utusan Malaysia, on the heels of the result of the 13th
Malaysian General Election. The result had indicated that most Malaysian
Chinese had voted for the opposition.
The question attracted great attention and comments, probably partly due to its stark rudeness in nature. Looking at that in English, it almost went like “What does the Chinaman want now?”
Of course Utusan Malaysia could have gently put that
question as “Apalagi rakyat Malaysia keturunan Cina hendak lagi?” In English
that would sound close to “What does the Malaysian Chinese want now?” Which is
more diplomatic. Looks like Utusan Malaysia wantonly did that to get the people,
and especially, the Malaysian Chinese to take notice.
And why not? Look at the Malaysian Chinese, now. They
are owners of most of the businesses in Malaysia; shops, factories and business
services of every kind. In fact, they control the Malaysian economy. Every town in
Malaysia is a Chinatown! Of course, this just did not happen out of the air. The
Malaysian Chinese worked hard for it, they being inclined or guided towards business
since very young. All this happened during the past 55 years’ rule of the
ruling party, the Barisan Nasional (initially known as Alliance). Fundamentally,
the Malaysian Chinese are well off.
So, actually, it is not wrong for Utusan Malaysia to ask “Apa lagi rakyat Malaysia keturunan Cina hendak
lagi?” The question arose, probably, due to some rumblings from the Chinese community of malaysia, both before and after the election.