Outrage over ‘merger’ prediction

One Man's Meat
By PHILIP GOLINGAI

There are Malaysians who have no love lost for Singapore, more so after years of fighting over water, airspace, bridge, sand, rock and chicken rice.

IN Datuk Dr Hasan Ali’s world, if the Opposition won the 13th general election, Malaysia and Singapore would become one.

“Imagine what DAP will do once they take over Putrajaya. They will merge Malaysia with Singapore and join hands with Singapore’s PAP,” the recently expelled PAS member told 1,000 people in Bangi, Selangor, as reported by a news portal.

It was a Tuesday night and Hasan was in his element during his nationwide roadshow after being kicked out of PAS on Jan 8.

To add spice to his prediction, the former Selangor PAS commissioner speculated that the merged entity would be a republic.

DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang struck back.

“One should get outraged and incensed at lies and falsehoods, but when they are so far-fetched, with Hasan talking as if he has got more than a few screws loose in his head, it is impossible to get angry and outraged but only have feelings of great pity at the gibberish pouring out from him,” he said, as reported by the news portal.

“It is clearly an utter waste of time to try to reason with such a deranged person.”

Losing a few screws in his head or not, there is method in Hasan’s madness.

The politician, who will set up a non-governmental organisation called Jati to fight for Islam, Malay rights and the Malay Rulers, was speaking the language of his listeners.

In one breath, he introduces three bogeymen — Singapore, PAP (People’s Action Party) and republic. Scary words if you were his listeners.

Hasan’s fear mongering is preposterous. But, for me, it brought back the romantic notion that Malaysia’s prodigal brother could/would return.

(On Aug 9, 1965, following a union lasting longer than a Kim Kardashian marriage, Malaysia and Singapore went their separate ways.)

Maybe it’s because I’m from Sabah — which together with Malaya, Sarawak and Singapore formed Malaysia in 1963 — that I would like to see the Federation of Malaysia whole again.

So on Wednesday @philipgolingai tweeted: “Interesting. According to Hasan Ali, DAP will make Malaysia whole again. Welcome back Singapore!”

And my timeline on Twitterjaya (the moniker of the Malaysian twittersphere) fired up as if my tweet was a white ang pow. (The white ang pow insult was sparked by another son of Ali, Datuk Ibrahim Ali, the president of Perkasa who is himself — to some — a bogeyman.)

From some of the tweets on my timeline, I sense that there are Malaysians who have no love lost for the red dot called Singapore.

Perhaps after years of fighting over water, airspace, bridge, sand, rock (Batu Puteh or Pedra Branca) and chicken rice, Singapore is the imaginary monster we used to frighten children with.

@KhanOfWar Khan replied: “PAP’s slave?”

And I tweeted: “I think Malaysians smarter in the art of politics. Sure we can turn them and their Singapore dollars into our slave.”

Here are some of my tweets on why I think it would be fun to have Singapore back into the Malaysia family.

> “We get to shop at Orchard Road with our ringgit.”

> “We also get SIA’s Singapore Girls” to which @patricklsk replied: “Most of them are Malaysians anyway” and @razzbuzz tweeted: “And sarong party girls, bugis street girls/guys?”

> “If Hasan Ali’s prediction comes true, Malaysia will host 2 F1 events and have 3 casinos.”

> “If Hasan Ali’s prediction comes true, it will be Chief Minister Datuk Seri Lee Hsien Loong” which drew @hwabeng to reply: “And he reports 2 Putrajaya.”

@hwabeng (former three-term Subang Jaya assemblyman Datuk Lee Hwa Beng) also tweeted: “If Singapore merges with us again, we shall control Singapore due to our bigger population. Tell Hasan Ali not a bad idea.”

@LittleHantu: “MAS/SIA/AirAsia/Firefly/Tiger/Jetstar/ SilkAir will be World’s Largest Carrier too? Dream on, Hasan Ali.”

@DatuWil: “Hasan’s ‘Msia /Spore Merge’ story. Wow, we finally could be first world.”

@aidilarazak: “And we can make them surrender their taxes! A solution to reduce/eliminate deficit?” to which @_Garylim_ replied: “cannot la ... then they ask (for) our oil reserves. How?”

@ismaeltahir: “Oh we will have sentosa as well! N maybe link mrt to kl.”

There were also anti-Hasan tweets.

@DarellLeiking: “This (deleted) never ceases to amaze me .... and just when u tot it was over with the solar-powered talking Bible :)”

@KerrySin: “He should go to the Moon on a 1way ticket? Maybe he might be more successful governing the moon.”

@m_hafifi: “What did he smoke lately?” to which I replied: “He’s been drinking Tongkat Ali.”

My one big worry about the return of our prodigal brother is summed up in a tweet by @macfaisal: “No wonder I woke up feeling kiasu.”