A political debate between Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek (MCA) dan Lim Guan Eng (DAP) will take place tomorrow at about 5pm at
the Berjaya Time Square, K.L. The debate is organized by the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (Asli)on the theme of
'Chinese at the crossroads: Is two-party system becoming a two-race system?
How can the organizer deny that this is not an ethnic issue at all when the title is 'Chinese at the crossroads'? Weird as
it is, it would be interesting to watch. Somehow I wonder whether persons of non-Chinese descent would feel inclusive in such debate. Whatever it is we must admit that ours is a politics of ethnic division, of group ideologies embedded in ethnic
ties, kinship and network. We have come to a point where we are happy to conclude that 'culture' is the problem and therefore almost every political decision we make, we address it in the name of 'culture'.
We categorize people according to cultural stereotypes, beliefs, practices, down to their personal habits in the bathroom. Put them into groups and objectify them for the purpose of political control, thus losing sight of the more substantive issues that we should be focusing, i.e. hospital services, quality of teaching in schools, and other public services. We've become a nation obsessed with blaming. Blame this group for the socio-economic marginalization of this or other group. Blaming the leisure habits of one group for the moral deterioration of another group. To be crude, that's the simplest understanding of Huntington's thesis.
So, denying that there's no ethnic or racial element in this debate is futile. Let's face it, we're no good at being politically correct, so why bother? Why set up debates between two Chinese politicians? Why not make it inter-ethnic?
