WE ALL BLEED THE SAME - MAY 13

David Yeow

I WASN'T born when the phrase "elephant in the room" was coined but if I had been, you can bet that the guy who invented it would be getting a piece of my mind about how illogically absurd that statement really is.

You can't keep silent when an elephant is in the room. It's just humanly impossible.

You either marvel at how a mammoth beast with tusks and a trunk somehow managed to squeeze into the room or you react in disgust because, last time I checked, elephants smell -- really bad.

You know what else is impossible to ignore? May 13.

It has been 40 years since the 1969 race riots. And yet until today the subject is still viewed as taboo, too sensitive and akin to a madness in the family which must not be mentioned.

But just like the elephant, it is impossible to ignore May 13.

Malaysia cannot pride itself on being a unique melting pot of cultures, races and religion, without taking responsibility for the day when everything went wrong.

I was born long after 1969 and like most of my generation, I don't know the exact details of what happened that day. And frankly, I don't think we need to know.

For example, I don't need to know the exact scientific details of how smoking causes cancer; I just need to know that smoking kills.

We don't need to know which race pulled the first punch on May 13, 1969; we just need to know that racism is always ugly and can lead to death.

We don't need to know how many people actually died in the riots; we just need to know that one life lost is more than enough.

We don't need to know if May 13 was a political conspiracy; we just need to conspire so that it never happens again.

How do we do that? By putting down the elephant in the room: racist politicians.

Yes, the vast economic disparity between the Chinese and Malays in 1969 might have been the fuel that aggravated the riot, but it was still the sparks of silver-tongued, wayward politicians that ignited May 13.

It wasn't a full moon that turned Malay and Chinese people against each other in 1969: it was racist leaders.

Racist politicians who played the zero sum game of race and economy.

Racist politicians who saw themselves as gods, manipulating public sentiment.

Racist politicians who until today have yet to take responsibility and apologise for starting the fire of May 13.

Instead, they continue today, threatening that if the public doesn't follow what they say, another May 13 will happen. Harping on racial issues while hypocritically and condescendingly urging the public to remain calm, when it is they themselves who need to be calmed.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia academician Professor Kamaruddin M. Said remembers May 13 well: "That day was just like any other day for me. I was a Form Four student then, studying in Alam Shah High School in Cheras.

"I was there when the now infamous election celebration parade passed me by.

"Not knowing much about politics then, I thought the parade was lively and added much excitement to an otherwise normal day.

"It wasn't until years later that I found out about the bloody result of that parade.

"The next day in school, all the older boys, including myself, were asked to go donate blood at the General Hospital. We were just told a great tragedy had happened, so we gave our blood.

"Thinking back now, my blood probably ended up saving a life that day.

"Chinese or Malay, it didn't matter because we all bleed the same."

Well said. Let us remember Kamaruddin's story the next time anyone tells us that our colour outside is more important than our colour inside.

And, hopefully, 10 years down the road, on the 50th anniversary of May 13, we will see a turning of tables, with racial politicking becoming taboo instead.