Umno oppresses the Malays to stay in power

Kelantan Mentri Besar, Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat attacked former Prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad for accusing him of “dividing” the Malays and Muslims.

The PAS spiritual leader had earlier criticised Umno for continually oppressing the Malays with its undemocratic, unIslamic and secular nationalist principles.

He said, “Initially, we see Tun Mahathir as a person who loves Malay unity. Does Tun Mahathir realise that Umno has been the one oppressing the Malays?

“I want to ask Tun Mahathir, what is the basis of Umno’s struggles? Has Umno in any way put Islam as the basis of its struggles ahead of national struggles? Can Umno even call themselves pious?”

Nik Aziz questioned if Umno had even cared about the rights of the Malays or Islam and used various examples to illustrate his point.

He cited the federal government’s now-aborted plans to award gambling licences, the government’s abolishment of the Jawi script in schools (1968) and the reduction of national funds for Islamic schools during the Mahathir administration.

Nik Aziz also accused Umno of using undemocratic means to stay in power, claiming that Umno had “kidnapped” PAS assemblymen and MPs back in 1961 just to trounce PAS at the polls in Terengganu and Kelantan.

According to Nik Aziz, Umno had ordered the mass killings of Malay followers of Ibrahim Libya in Memali.

He said, “Till this day Umno continues its undemocratic practices. In Perak, they topple the government from behind. In Selangor, they appoint the state secretary without any prior discussion with the mentri besar. Strangely, it is this same ‘ketuanan Melayu’ party which had opposed an amendment to return the powers of the Selangor Sultan.

“In Kelantan, they (Umno) deny us oil royalty rights and instead set up a federal development department (JPP). This is not democracy, federalism and a far cry from being Islamic.”

In his blog, Mahathir called Nik Aziz an opportunist who was willing to forsake his Islamic beliefs for political mileage.

“It is because of Malay nationalists our country is now governed by Malay-Muslim leaders. These leaders instil Islamic practices in the government administration and build mosques and banned the national lottery... how bad can these nationalists be?”

Mahathir then blamed both Nik Aziz and PAS for shattering hopes of a Malay unity because the Malays split into three splinter groups.

Mahathir said, “This is Nik Aziz’s contribution... He ignored one of the most important Islamic concepts, that is brotherhood among Muslims”.

Nik Aziz brushed aside Dr Mahathir’s remarks and said that he was suffering from the “Melayu mudah lupa” (Malays easily forget) syndrome.

He said, “Tun Mahathir labels me and PAS as the reason for the division among the Malays. Perhaps it is me then who caused Umno to be banned in 1987 which lead to the formation of Semangat 46. Perhaps it is me who caused the deputy president of Umno to be sacked in 1999 and eventually formed PKR.

“I am worried... Tun Mahathir has already contracted the ‘Melayu mudah lupa’ disease which he talked about some time back.”

For 22 years, Dr. Mahathir’s divisive policies helped deepen the racial divide in Malaysia so that he and Umno would retain power with absolute control over the Malay community, the largest voter base in the country.

Dr Mahathir sought to portray the Chinese, principally the DAP, as the enemy in a dubious attempt to unite the Malays.

During his rule, corruption thrived whereas various institutions, which were once the pride of the region, such as the judiciary, the police force, the civil service, the teachers, the universities, the Family Planning Unit, all disintegrated into mediocrity or chaos.

Mahathir’s race based policies have been used by successive governments to keep the Malays in check and is just short of causing the downfall of the Malays. The majority of the Malays are poor, apart from a tiny fraction which is closely linked to the top of Umno. They are super-rich.

Mahathir has denied the ordinary Malay the chance to excel, be disciplined, stretch himself, shake off his provincial thinking, be rewarded by hard work, be proud of his own achievements and realise that fear of failure is only in the mind.

For as long as Umno is in power, the Malays will never be liberated from oppression. - Malaysia Chronicle