Did a coup happen in Penang instead of Bangkok?

Penang looks a whole lot empty this week.

What a pathetic state.

Penang looks dead.

On a saturday night, the once colorful, bustling road of Jalan Penang (which has had a major makeover) looks deserted.

What happenned?

Am I in twilight zone?

Did a coup happen in Penang instead of Bangkok?

Some say its because of the Ramadhan but one had never seen such passiveness in all the past Ramadhans.

Everyone who cared to express a view or two realised the slowdown in businesses and the dwindling number of  tourists in the state.

Several shops along Penang road have either thrown in the towel or relocated elsewhere.

From tour operators, taxi drivers, hawkers, senior citizens and ordinary folks like me, the common analysis is : there is nothing in Penang, it’s dead, boring and uneventful. 

These are things people should worry about.

But these days, Penangites are caught in an ethnic cross fire which has little to do with them or their ethnic groups.

The truth is the war of words are media gimmicks, most often than not, it happens when the top leadership is in chaos.

Does it really matter who is chief minister of Penang – a Malay or a Chinese?

If state policies on our economic, social, cultural and political rights are bad, we’ll be marginalised anyway, no matter who we are, whatever skin color, or color of hair.

One thing’s for sure – both parties in crime are happy now.

Gerakan gets to keep its chinese voters, and UMNO gets to keep its side of the bargain.

I hope Malaysians will see through these games, and continue to question the state on its policies.

It is pointless to try and prove who is marginalised more than the other.

We may as well have a national survey.

As the top leadership in Gerakan and Umno are at logger heads, Penang continue to slide backwards.

Tourism figures are dropping, businesses suffer, workers pockets are emptying fast.

At the end, nothing is left, but empty stomachs.

Lets’ not get trapped into this racist games where both parties are having a field day.

While one proves it is better than others, policy reform takes a backseat.

What is the point if we were all engulfed in trying to prove that we are more marginalised than the other?

The truth is, the one who is truly marginalised are forgotten.

Who and what are we compared to the poorest lot of Malaysian Indians, migrant workers, and the indigenous groups.

Do we ever spare them a thought while we hanker over who has more house lots than the other?

For some, to have 2 meals a day is a luxury.

For some, they are too hungry to even bother who is ’marginalised’ or not.

For some, there are too busy making a living, just to get through the day, to even care if the chief minister is Chinese or Malay.

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