Racial discord rages on but where is the Prime Minister of Malaysia?

As Malaysia walks into a firestorm of racial tensions caused by the likes of Ibrahim Ali and bloggers like “Panglima Perang Cyber” who imply that the Indonesian race riots of 1998 could happen here, we are left wondering - where is the Prime Minister of Malaysia?

Where is the commander in chief at this time when a voice of authority is needed?

Najib Razak is busy attending the 9th Langkawi International Dialogue where he is entertaining the likes of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and a host of leaders from Africa.

Najib Razak is too busy selling his brand of moderate governance to African leaders while the party he leads - UMNO and its sister organization Perkasa kicks up a fit of extreme behavior, threatening violence against the Chinese community in Malaysia. Just a month ago, Perkasa also threatened a holy war against the Christians.

Misplaced priorities

In a clear case of misplaced priorities, Najib took to task the 114 signatory nations of the Statute of Rome Treaty by defending and justifying the government’s invitation to both Robert Mugabe and Omar al-Bashir the President of Sudan.

Bashir has an arrest warrant issued against him by The International Criminal Court (ICC) in July 2008 for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide for his role in the Darfur conflict, which saw an estimated 300,000 killed by civil unrest and 2.7 million others displaced.

The ICC does not have a police force of its own and depends on the signatory nations of the Statute of Rome Treaty to execute its orders and warrants. Malaysia is not a signatory to the statute but has shown interest to be one in March of 2011.

And though Najib’s actions have raised some eyebrows in the international scene with his invites to both Bashir and Mugabe, it is his silence in handling the raging storm on the local scene that is bound to pull the world attention to the un-authoritative nature of his premiership.

Organised Chinese bashing

Here is a Prime Minister who welcomes war criminals and dictators and silently allows racist bigots like Ibrahim Ali to spew his poison across the land.

Here is a Prime Minister who preaches moderation to the African leaders yet allows people like Ibrahim Ali and PERKASA to vent their extreme and racist rants.

Here is a Prime Minister who has not come to the defence of the Chinese, clearly threatened by Perkasa and who have also been made the scapegoat for UMNO’s own perceived fear of a political tsunami.

Here is a Prime Minister that has failed the citizens of Malaysia.

It is sickening that since the lost of urban seats in the recent Sarawak Election, the Chinese have been the focus of blame and contempt by the BN government.

Even for the July 9 Bersih rally for electoral reforms, the UMNO elite worry it might spell the end of their long-held hold on power.

MCA itself has been a hollow voice in countering the rants of Perkasa and Ibrahim Ali. More muted still were the voices of those of its reps in Parliament. Save for those from the opposition, there has not been any sign of protest to the growing racial extremism from those in the BN fold.

On July 9, where will Najib be?

All that negative energy and hatred just because the Chinese exercised their right to vote for those who gained their confidence. And in Sarawak it was not just the Chinese who voted against the BN but also the Iban, Bidayuh, Orang Ulu, Melanau and Malays.

It was a collective effort in exercising the right to representation.

And this is what is really at stake. Malaysians have the right to choose whoever they believe can represent them the best in Parliament.

In a nutshell, the controversial Bersih July 9 rally is a call to have a process where one is not intimidated by the ruling government into only choosing their brand. The rally is a call to have transparent practices that ensure the votes of Malaysian voters count and are not tampered with to fit a predetermined result.

This is what Bersih is all about. And it is clear Najib Razak has forgotten that when he came into power in 2009. He has forgotted in his opening speech he promised reforms.

So come 9th July, where will the Prime Minister be? Standing alongside civil Malaysians or behind racist bigots like Perkasa?

- Malaysia Chronicle