Comments for The rebel in Onn Jaafar at http://www.malaysianbar.org.my , comment 0 to 1 out of 1 comments http://www.malaysianbar.org.my Fri, 10 Feb 2012 04:15:19 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/news_features/the_rebel_in_onn_jaafar.html#pc_3107 <p align="justify">Viewed another - and admittedly a much more simplistic - way, the great Dato Onn Jaafar, termed by the then Straits Times as "the stormy petrel of Malayan politics," lost the middle ground of the political spectrum of the then Malaya. He lost this vital ground when he tried to turn the "negative" anti-colonialism movement into a "positive" pro-nationalistic but Malaya-wide one. Dato Onn Jaafar wanted to turn a "protest" movement into a "progressive" one. With the benefit of hindsight, this becomes clear that when tried unsuccessfully to get the Malays at that time to think beyond the kampung, to think of Malaya as their entire kampung. If this view is correct, can we then say that our "national" movement is still in protest mode or have we changed into the progressive gear toward the future? Think about it. It is perhaps an indictment on the values of our forefathers that Dato Onn died, if my memory serves me right, with only 300 Straits dollars in his pocket. Are we in Malaysia still paying for this legacy? Just look around. All things said, the fortunes of Penang-based rubber tycoon Heah Joo Seang waned along with the political fortunes of Johore-based Dato Onn Jaafar. Notably, the loyalty of this Penang MCA founder was so strong that he stayed the course set by Dato Onn, rejoining the MCA many years after the demise of his mentor, by which time - if the book entitled Blood and the Soil by Pamela Ong is right - the opportunity to become the first finance minister of Malaya had effectively passed him by. Stephen Tan Ban Cheng - Stephen Tan Ban Cheng Mon, 18 Jun 2007 21:08:03 +0100