Terjemahan artikel Tun Dr Mahathir ‘The Chinese Dilemma’ di NST (26th July 2013) kepada Bahasa Melayu
Konsep ‘Kongsi’: Setiap pihak perlu berkorban sesuatu supaya pihak lain boleh mendapat sesuatu
Tindak balas kepada kemunculan parti politik Melayu, Umno dan kejayaan menolak
ilham British Malayan Union, masyarakat Cina tahun 1940-an melihat
keperluan untuk menubuhkan parti politik mereka sendiri untuk membawa
pandangan mereka kepada kerajaan British.
Oleh itu MCA dilahirkan, dan diketuai oleh Sir Tan Cheng Lock. Walaupun ia
bertujuan untuk melawan pengaruh Umno dan melindungi kepentingan
masyarakat Cina, zaman mengubah strategi dan peranan MCA.
Pada tahun 1952, pemimpin Umno Kuala Lumpur dan pemimpin MCA Kuala Lumpur
memutuskan bahawa di pilihan raya perbandaran Kuala Lumpur, mereka tidak
perlu bertanding menentang satu sama lain, tetapi sebaliknya harus
menyokong calon masing-masing di kawasan masing-masing.
Keputusannya mengejut kerana mereka mengalahkan hampir semua parti bebas kaum.
Menyedari kelebihan politik bekerjasama dengan satu sama lain, Tunku
(Abdul Rahman) dan Sir Tan Cheng Lock, dan pemimpin-pemimpin kanan MCA
dan Umno memutuskan untuk merasmikan kerjasama mereka dengan menubuhkan
Parti Perikatan, gabungan MCA dan Umno.
Asas pakatan ini adalah idea yang menyokong antara satu sama lain dan
berkongsi kuasa. Didorong oleh kejayaan parti Perikatan dalam pilihan
raya 1955, di mana MIC telah menyertai, Tunku kelihatan lebih terbuka
dengan cadangan Sir Tan Cheng Lock bahawa kewarganegaraan hendaklah
berdasarkan jus soli (kewarganegaraan melalui yang dilahirkan di negara
ini) dan tidak jus saguinis (kewarganegaraan berdasarkan kewarganegaraan
bapa atau ibu, iaitu kewarganegaraan berdasarkan hubungan darah).
Tunku tidak begitu setuju tetapi namun dia memutuskan untuk beri satu juta kerakyatan kepada orang Cina dan India yang tidak berkelayakan.
Dengan itu konfrontasi antara Cina dan Melayu berubah menjadi kerjasama yang positif.
Ia merupakan satu kongsi klasik yang telah ditubuhkan. Intipati adalah
suatu aku janji untuk berkongsi. Perkongsian melibatkan perjanjuan
memberi dan mengambil, di mana setiap bahagian terpaksa berkorban
sesuatu supaya yang lain boleh mendapat sesuatu.
Sebab orang Melayu membentuk majoriti rakyat secara semula jadi Melayu
memimpin Parti Perikatan. Tetapi orang Cina dan India juga mendapat
kuasa yang mencukupi. Di mana kuasa politik Melayu dikurangkan untuk
mendapat undi dan kuasa ekonomi Cina dan India.
Tunku melihat manfaat daripada “kongsi” kerana beliau percaya orang Melayu
hanya mahu menjadi kakitangan kerajaan dan orang Cina cuma mahu
berniaga. Tidak akan ada persaingan atau perebutan di antara mereka.
Orang India akan mengisi jawatan profesional. Tunku tidak menjangkakan
apabila kerajaan tidak dapat mewujudkan peluang pekerjaan yang mencukupi
untuk bilangan Melayu yang meningkat secara mendadak.
Perikatan ‘kongsi’ berjalan dengan baik. Tetapi pada tahun 1963 Singapura menyertai Malaysia.
Segera PAP cuba mendapatkan sokongan Cina dengan mengutuk kongsi Perikatan
kerana ia merugikan orang Cina. PAP berkata rakyat Malaysia tidak sama.
Perlu ada Malaysian Malaysia di mana semua faedah perlu berdasarkan
merit semata-mata, dengan yang terbaik mengambil segala-galanya, tanpa
mengira kaum.
Dengan itu, PAP telah membuat kesimpulan bahawa orang Melayu tidak patut ada
hak. Orang terbaik perlu memerintah negara ini. Di mata PAP, Singapura
diperintah oleh orang terbaik dan yang paling layak. Secara kebetulan,
kesemuanya adalah orang Cina.
Dalam pilihan raya 1964, MCA dan Cina Malaysia secara amnya hargai kerjasama
mereka dengan orang Melayu. Mereka menolak PAP dan rayuan cauvinis,
memberikan ia hanya satu kerusi.
Tunku sedar apa PAP sedang lakukan sehingga beliau memutuskan bahawa
Singapura tidak seharusnya menjadi sebahagian daripada Malaysia. Tetapi
PAP itu tidak habis lagi. Sisa parti tersebut di Malaysia menubuhkan DAP
untuk menjalankan formula Malaysian Malaysia untuk melemahkan sokongan
kaum Cina untuk MCA.
Meneruskan serangan terhadap keistimewaan Melayu yang dipanggil tidak adil kepada
orang Cina, DAP perlahan-lahan mengurangkan idea kongsi dalam gabungan
berbilang kaum Barisan Nasional.
Walaupun ia adalah fakta bahawa Barisan Nasional menyokong pendidikan Cina dan
penggunaan bahasa Cina, DAP memberitahu kepada orang Cina bahawa budaya
dan bahasa mereka tidak diberikan keutamaan sewajarnya oleh Barisan
Nasional.
MCA telah diserang kerana tidak melakukan secukupnya untuk orang Cina.
'KONGSI’ CONCEPT' : Each side has to sacrifice something so that the other can gain something
In response to the emergence of a Malay political party; Umno and its success in rejecting the British inspired Malayan Union, the Chinese community of the 1940s saw the need for a political party of their own to present their views to the British government.
Thus was the MCA conceived and born, led by Malacca's Sir Cheng-Lock Tan. Although it was intended to counter the influence of Umno and protect the interests of the Chinese community, events changed the strategy and role of the MCA.
In 1952 the Kuala Lumpur Umno leaders and the Kuala Lumpur MCA branch leaders decided that in the Kuala Lumpur municipal elections, they should not contest against each other, but instead should support each other's candidates in their respective constituencies.
The results startled them as they defeated almost all the non-racial parties. Realising the political advantage of cooperating with each other the Tunku (Abdul Rahman) and Sir Cheng-Lock Tan, and senior leaders of the MCA and Umno decided to formalise their cooperation by setting up the Alliance, a coalition of MCA and Umno.
The basis of this coalition was the idea of supporting each other and sharing the power gained. Buoyed by the success of the Alliance party in the 1955 elections, in which the MIC had joined, the Tunku looked more kindly at the proposal of Sir Cheng-Lock that citizenship should be based on jus soli (citizenship by being born in the country) and not jus saguinis (citizenship based on the Malaysian citizenship of the father or mother, i.e. citizenship based on blood relation).
Tunku did not quite agree but he nevertheless decided to give one million citizenships to unqualified Chinese and Indians.
With that the confrontation between the Chinese and the Malays changed into positive cooperation.
It was a classic kongsi that was set up. The essence is an undertaking to share. Sharing involves a give and take arrangement, in which each side has to sacrifice something so that the other can gain something.
As the Malays made up the majority of the citizens they naturally led the Alliance. But the Chinese and Indians were not without adequate power. In any case Malay political power would be mitigated by Chinese and Indians' voting and economic power.
Tunku saw immediate benefit from the "kongsi" as he believed Malays only wanted to be government employees and the Chinese wanted to be in business. There would be no conflict or tussle between them.
The Indians would fill up the professional posts. He did not foresee the days when government could not create enough jobs for the greatly increased number of Malays.
The kongsi Alliance worked well. But in 1963 Singapore joined Malaysia.
Immediately the PAP tried to gain Chinese support by condemning the Alliance kongsi for being disadvantageous to the Chinese. Malaysians, said the PAP, were not equal. There should be a Malaysian Malaysia where all the benefits should be based on merit alone, with the best taking everything, irrespective of race.
Without saying so in so many words the PAP was inferring that the Malays did not deserve their positions. The best people should rule the country. In the eyes of the PAP, Singapore was ruled by the best qualified people. That they happen to be almost all Chinese is incidental.
In the 1964 elections the MCA and Malaysian Chinese generally valued their cooperation with the Malays. They rejected the PAP and its chauvinistic appeal, giving it only one seat.
Tunku realised what the PAP was up to and decided that Singapore should not be a part of Malaysia. But the PAP was not done. The remnant of the party in Malaysia set up the DAP to carry on the Malaysian Malaysia meritocratic formula for undermining Chinese support for the MCA.
Harping continuously on the so-called Malay privileges and the unfairness to the Chinese, the DAP slowly eroded the idea of kongsi in the multi-racial coalition of the Barisan Nasional.
Despite the fact that the Barisan Nasional supported Chinese education and the use of the Chinese language, the DAP convinced many Chinese that the Chinese, their culture and language are not given proper treatment by the Barisan Nasional coalition.
The MCA was attacked for not doing enough for the Chinese.