Anwar for Parliament

A letter in Malaysiakini:UiTM: Go for a win-win situation caught my attention, as I have just read An Open Letter to UiTM Vice Chancellor in Lim Kit Siang’s blog as well as Anil Netto’s post Something remarkable happened near the UiTM campus which offers some hope despite the hopeless message conveyed by the banner.

Derek Law’s suggestion is typical of how afraid we are in case we upset the status quo. Excerpt:

“Just say for argument’s sake, the current intake of UiTM is10,000 students per year (of course, the actual intake is much higher). All these 10,000 students are from the Malay/bumiputera community and in UiTM’s own words: ‘UiTM is the last educational bastion for the Malays/ bumiputeras’ Thus, not a single one should be deprived of their ‘rightful’ place.

For a win-win situation, UiTM could take in 1,200 non-Malays/non-bumiputeras and increase their intake of Malays/bumiputera students by an additional 800 students, thus the student intake would be 12,000 students comprising 10,800 Malays/bumiputeras and 1,200 non-Malays/ non- bumiputeras.
The percentage would be 90% Malays/bumiputeras and 10% non-Malays/non-bumiputeras. This would provide some opportunities for the non-Malays/non-bumiputeras without depriving any Malays/bumiputeras of their rightful place in UiTM.

I am certain that the government, with the support of the rakyat, will be able to give sufficient funding for UiTM to increase their intake by 12%. Isn’t this a win-win situation? UiTM can actually increase the intake of Malay/bumiputera students and at the same time provide educational opportunities for the non-Malays/non-bumiputeras.”

To me, we are still in a pathetic democracy.

If the Vice Chancellor and students, as supported by PM, are so insecure, let them keep the status quo.

But, come August 26, we are having a mother of all by-elections where we get to elect someone who offers us hope of some semblance of racial equality where those needy get help instead of a few self-serving leaders and their cronies.

Believe me, even BN life members are disgusted with the antics of the authorities.

I have just received an email with the following true story which reflects how ugly racism can be:

The people around you – a true story

The following event took place during a transatlantic flight on Oct 14, 1998.

A lady was seated next to a black man.

The woman, visibly upset, asked the flight attendant to find another seat for her as she didn’t want to seat next to someone so unpleasant.

The flight attendant told her that the flight was quite full, but that she would check and see if there was room in first class.

The rest of the passengers watched the scene with shock and disgust, not only because this woman was so obnoxious and rude, but for the fact that she would actually be moved to first class.

The poor man felt terribly uncomfortable about this whole scene but was cordial enough not to react.

The climate in the cabin was of complete tension, but the lady seemed pleased and very happy t be moving to first class away from this person.

A few minutes later the flight attendant returned and informed the woman:

“Excuse me, ma’am, the flight is indeed pretty full…
…Fortunately, I found a seat available in first class.”
“It took me a while because in order to make that change I had to get permission from the captain. He told me that we shouldn’t force anyone to have to sit next to someone so unpleasant, and authorised the change right away!”

The other passengers couldn’t believe what they were hearing… and the woman, with a triumphant expression on her face, proceeded to get up from her seat.

Then the flight attendant turned towards the black man and said:

“Sir, would you be so kind as to follow me to your new seat in first class. On behalf of our airline, the captain offers you his apology for the fact that you had to put up with someone so unpleasant sitting next to you.”

All the passengers applauded and gave a standing ovation to the crew for handling the situation so well.

That year, the captain and the flight attendant were awarded for their actions on that flight. Due to this, the company realized they had not placed sufficient priority on customer service training for their employees.

The airline make immediate changes!
Since this event, in all their offices and in clear sight of their personnel, the following message is posted:

“People may forget what you said to them.
People may forget what you do to them.
But they will never forget the way you made them feel.”