polytikus, no, i don’t know any orang asli so personally as to know whether they want to migrate or not, but i know that even if they did want to, they don’t have the means to.

as you mentioned, they are the most downtrodden group in Malaysia. their average lifespan is just 50-something. high poverty level, high school dropout rate, poor access to healthcare, piped water and electricity and so on. they are worse off than other malaysians in every respect. i think that these are things that you are already aware of.

so, it is obvious to me that even if they do want to migrate to another country, they don’t have the money or education or good health to apply for it. the barriers for them to migrate are too high, and no country would take them in.

on another topic, for this blog, i can’t keep track of new comments posted after me because there’s no email notification when new comments are added. so i won’t know if there are any comments which are addressed to me. if you would like a response from me in future, an email to me would be helpful.

cheers,
adriene

You’ve hit some salient points, there. There are many amongst us who do nothing better than complain about things, without taking that extra step towards doing something about it. I’m not ashamed to say that I’m one of them.

But seriously, just complaining about things isn’t going to change anything.

KLConfidential and I used to lament about the need for the opposition to form a shadow cabinet, and at times, we still do. We want the opposition to stand together, or better yet, a completely new party that can cater for each and every one of our needs and wants.

If it happens, great. But if not, then we have to face reality, and use the tools given to us. For once, KLConfidential and I have registered to vote. For once, KLConfidential and I are trying to become polling agents.

Who are we going to vote for, well, we might not vote for the same party, but it sure as heck isn’t going to be the so called ruling coalition.

Do I agree with the opposition? Well, not on all issues, but I sure do have a lot of respect for them. DAP, PKR, and yes, even (surprise, surprise) PAS! The moral worth of some of these fellows are incredible, and I needn’t agree with them on all issues to respect them for their views and stand.

Keep it up, Polytikus! If there’s ever a rant that KLConfidential and I can agree with, it’s this one!

hey but do vote for sivarasa. he is a cool dude.

btw, you vote by putting an ‘X’ next to the candidate you are voting FOR. (i felt a sudden compulsion to explain that to you)

http://kickdefella.wordpress.com/2008/01/11/as-murky-as-it-can-be/#comments

Search for the word “visitor”, he has two comments which relate to your question.

The word ‘evil’ is a little strong…

What i meant to say is that I’m not sure that the opp has enough political will to right the wrongs of the current gov. If not to right, at least to start anew.

Will they tread lightly and gently to avoid hurting so and so’s feelings?
Or can they do more toe treading and get the action that we want?

A sorta example is that currently, there are many active groups out there, concerned about their neighbourhoods and have the will to take action against the developer or city hall when their neighbourhood is threatened.
They’re still small groups, and sometimes they lose the fight. If only these groups could get together and unite, a larger group would have a bigger voice to be listened to.

Another thing is that Malaysians still think in term of race. As long as that persists, there cannot be a true political party that represents the Malaysian of our time.
I’m not even sure if that mentality can ever change.

What I meant was that I’m not sure whether the opposition has enough co-operation and political will to make the changes everyone wants.

Will the opposition tread softly and gently or can they tread on a lot of toes to make the change, cos that’s what they’ve gotta do.

Sure there are pockets of good political will here and there, but even they have some difficulty getting together to form one united front - maybe when these small pockets come together - there’s enough will in there to push the main opp groups to unite in some way.

A good example is the collective neighbourhood groups have to resort to their own action to get something done. Perhaps throw in the name of some political figure to get a little media coverage - but in the end these small groups make the change because they have enough will to force the hand of a property developer/city hall etc. Now, if only these groups were united to make sure that their common interests for their neighbourhoods are represented by a united front - because this may sound cliche, but more heads are better than one.

Additionally, Malaysians still think in terms of race. When that mentality persists, there can be no true political party that represents a Malaysian of our time.

I say this because Malaysians living outside of Malaysia still state their race/religion during a conversation, regardless that they have lived for more than 5 years overseas. They follow the Malaysian news closely, and yet still form opinions about bettering the cause of their race.

Scary.