More On The Utusan Malaysia Question

“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.