Koon Yew Yin

Two years ago I wrote a piece titled “Dissecting Tunku Abdul Aziz” in which I wrote that Tunku Aziz was a conservative and pro-establishment figure right from his early days. Also contrary to the public persona that he was trying to cultivate that he has always been an independent and neutral public figure, he was in fact an insider in the corporate world who had benefited from opportunistic moves in advancing his career. It was not ideals that motivated the man but really his super-sized ego and concern for status.

Thus it was was not surprising to me that after a short stint in the opposition, he quickly moved back to the political center right where he has always belonged. My conclusion after his futile attempt to repair his damaged image was as follows:

But what I and most Malaysians find completely unacceptable, objectionable and disgusting is Tunku Aziz’s transformation from being the vice chairman of the largest opposition party to being Prime Minister Najib Razak’s cheerleader.

He has now gone on record to say: “What the prime minister has done now is the right thing and we need to support him”.

He has also said that Najib’s transformation process for change and improving the democratic process would certainly take time.

Earlier, Tunku Aziz was one of those who said that more than enough time had already been given to BN and Najib in ruling the country. Now, he has changed his tune.

To my mind this political somersault is unprecedented in the annals of Malaysian political history....It is tantamount to saying “Vote for the BN” despite all the corruption and abuses of human rights and democracy from someone who claimed that he was anti-Barisan.

No wonder Najib, Muhyiddin Yassin and Dr Mahathir Mohamad are praising him to the sky and using him as part of their anti-DAP and anti-Chinese rhetoric.

However, given that these same BN leaders and media have condemned him so strongly in the past, Malaysians can see through the double talk and hypocrisy of the BN and Tunku Aziz.

It is time for everyone to move on. Tunku Aziz can tend to his ornamental fish. And the Malaysian public should focus on the many serious problems that plague our society and which in my opinion. Tunku Aziz warrants only a small footnote at most when the final report comes in.

Cynical Old Man Vs Young Idealist

Many Malaysians, including myself, had thought that we had heard the last of this sorry character whose political integrity has been in tatters. We were wrong.

Tunku Aziz has now emerged from his ornamental fish pond to denounce Dyna Sofya who recently stood as the DAP candidate in the recent Teluk Intan by election. He is, of course, not the first Malay critic of Dyna whose entry into the political world has electrified the Malay community. Is there any thing new or original in what Tunku Aziz has to say of a young Malay who has made the momentous decision - as he did some years ago - to join the opposition instead of taking the easy route to political leadership by jumping on the bandwagon of the ruling coalition?

Basically nothing as he is simply repeating the same line of racist attack used by UMNO leaders and other right wing Malay leaders. However, in doing so and in attacking Dyna for suggesting that the university she graduated from – UITM – be opened to young Malaysians of all races instead of making it an exclusive Malay and Bumiputra enclave, he is showing the racist side of his character, previously cleverly concealed beneath his facade of superficial cosmopolitanism.

Those who knew Tungku Aziz previously have always known that his Malay supremacy mindset is not very much different from that of Perkasa's. Now it is out in the open for all Malaysians to view.

Dyna's Response to Tunku Aziz

The emperor has paraded again without his clothes; and who better to expose him than Dyna herself, the present source of his nightmares. In her response titled “You are wrong, Tunku Aziz” she acknowledges that she is young but as she puts it “I know who are the hypocrites, who are racists”.

In her own words on why she joined the opposition and the DAP, she writes

“I understand and admire the struggle of its leaders, and its principle of multi-culturalism. I appreciate its consistency in standing up for all Malaysians, regardless of race and religion. I believe in its principle of doing what is right, despite the risks and repercussions.

I joined without the intention of being appointed into any position. I simply wanted to be with like-minded people, sharing a vision and mission, and partake in the struggle for a better Malaysia.”

On Tunku Aziz's attempt to question her Malayness, Dyna had this to say.

“I am proud to be Malay. I am proud of my roots and heritage. However, I don’t believe in abusing it at the expense of other Malaysians.”

And in a reversal of role, like a mother lecturing to a young son, she chided someone three times her age (though her junior in wisdom!) in the following fashion.

“I have never felt truly Malaysian until after I joined DAP. Perhaps if Tunku Aziz spent more time with us in the grassroots, he would have agreed too. We might have our differences, but that doesn’t mean one should leave the family every time disagreements emerge. Unlike some, I have far more conviction than to simply quit because I failed to get elected, or appointed, or because of dissatisfaction over a wedding kenduri.”

Tunku Aziz: A Lost Cause

Unfortunately, Tunku Aziz is a lost cause. Unlike Dyna and her friends, he does not “share the same love for our nation, vision, mission, principles, and understanding” Unlike her, he is not able to see that “if all Malaysians focused on our similarities rather than our differences, then we could all see the world the same way Standard 1 kids do – skin colour blind.”

He is a frog whose whole world revolves around his Barisan well. Except for that brief span of time he spent away from it, he has lived in it all his life and cannot think of a world without the hypocrisy and racism that is synonymous with the BN.