NAME: SITI NABILA BINTI MOHD RUS

STUDENT ID: 2012681172

GROUP: GROUP 020P1B (GROUP B)

CODE: TMS 071

LECTURERS NAME: MISS AZYYATI BINTI ZAKARIA

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 6 JULY 2012

TITLE: UNITY IS WORTHY

UNITY IS WORTHY As what I learn from TMS 071, unity is something essential in a country. Without unity we could never in peace. Our life would be miserable and homicides happen everywhere. People would be socializing among their own race and never mix around with people from other race. May 13 incident which happened on the fateful May 13, 1969 is a very important event in history. Referring to the Sunday, May 11 2008s edition of The Star newspaper, an article which entitled May 13, 1969: Truth and reconciliation written by Martin Vengadesan was published. This incident of May 13 happened after the general election in which the Alliance Party had lost Kelantan to the Malayan Islamic Party which is currently known as PAS. Another reason which is believed to cause this incident to happen is the Sino-Malay ethnic riot which had killed about a thousand people. This happened because during that time when Singapore was a part of Malaysia, the population of Chinese people outnumbered the Malays. The new brand of politics that Lee Kuan Yew practiced further frightened the Malays. This situation causes the Malays to feel fear despite being in their homeland. This was the reason of why Tunku Abdul Rahman, the Prime Minister of Malaysia during that time took steps to separate Singapore and Malaysia. Some people believed that the incident was planned as hidden weapons and headbands were distributed by some groups of people but they remain anonymous until today. As they remain as the unknowns, many people have tried to reveal them. In fact, many people have voiced out that this incident should be thoroughly revised by all Malaysians and to be investigated in detail. It is not as to instil the racism sentiments in the heart of every Malaysian, but instead to learn the moral lesson from the story. In my opinion, the May 13 incident means a lot to us Malaysians. Despite the misery and sufferings that it had brought to our grandmothers and grandfathers who have lived during that time, this incident has brought a lot of messages. It has proved that when the political situation of the country is at its stake and is not very strong, irresponsible people will try to take this opportunity to gain profit for themselves. Their mission is accomplished when people are successfully persuaded and provoked to go against the authority. This situation is exactly like the Bersih 3.0 procession which had been held in Kuala Lumpur recently. Even some of my friends support this procession. But most of them do not support the Bersih 3.0 procession as they are aware that it only creates chaos. Even though it has nothing to do with the racism

sentiments, but it has caused difficulties to the people living in the country. Shops are closed and people only stayed at home as they are very sure that the emergency order will be given out by the authority. Thus, in this situation, it is obvious that Malaysians are still haunted by the fear of May 13 incident which had once created a massive havoc in the country. Hence, we should never listen to people who try to make us go against the government by bringing up the issues that will touch the sensitivity of some Malaysians. As our country is ruled by democratic leaders, we can always voice out our suggestions for the improvements of the country by using proper mediums provided by the government. As a Malaysian, we need to respect others living in this harmonious country even though they come from different races. We should never call the Indians and Chinese as immigrants just because that were what their late ancestors used to be in this country. Instead, we should treat them as equally as the way we treat other Malaysians. Nevertheless, we should respect the contents of the Constitution of Malaysia. We cannot just simply question why the Malays and the bumiputeras gain special rights compared to the Chinese and Indians. This is because the articles stated in the constitution had already been agreed by our past leaders and theirs. There had been a win-win situation there where the Malays and the bumiputeras are willing to share their homeland with the immigrants from China and India, as long as their status quo still remains. In conclusion, everyone should be aware that without the unity of people in a country, it would be hard for the peacefulness of the country to be attained and preserved. George Santayana had written a very interesting quote in his work, Life of Reasons which is; Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Surely we do not want such horrible incident like the May 13 to be repeated in our country, do we? By strengthening the relationship ties between people without concerning their races, we could slowly diminish the racism sentiments. As for me, I have to widen my friendship circle by making more good friends from this homelands multiracial community. And thats how they relate to my life experiences.