Desperate Umno want PAS to hold its hand but is jilted once again

The need for Himpun is one that baffles the Malaysian Christians. Numbering just 10% of the electorate, Christians have become the usual victims for UMNO to scare their own grassroot support into voting them in.

A tactic that has been over-deployed in many an election before, but this time around, educated Malays don't seem to have fallen for it as shown by the 5,000-odd people who turned up at the Shah Alam stadium where the Gathering of One Million Muslims was due to have been held. And even then, one can question the sincerity of the crowd that turned up as some university students have already posted on Facebook that they were told to attend by UMNO advisors. Indeed, for many, it was a case of force-volunteerism. Nothing compared to the overflowing spirit that enveloped the July 9 Bersih rally for election reforms.

Dirty tactics do not jive with Malaysians

So what was the real motive behind Himpun? Apart from politics and a desperate UMNO wanting to shore up its support, this time it seems that Himpun was specially orchestrated to seduce PAS into a marriage with UMNO, with the Christian community the bait or dowry so to speak! But PAS members by and large rejected such an unprincipled action, which is actually contrary to the teachings of Islam. This is why the turnout was poor - the agenda failed to gel with average Malaysians, which Umno appears to have forgotten also includes Malays.

The Himpun rally was also shunned by the Pakatan Rakyat led by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, who had said there was no threat of Christianization in the country, hence, there was no reason to support the demonstration. Other Muslim leaders also warned that the organisers of the gathering may have ulterior motives. They pointed to how the Najib administration had opened the doors wide for Himpun to get a police permit, and sort out all the red-tape involving the various federal government agencies in super-quick time.

After the event, Prime Minister Najib Razak even came out to say that Bersih 2.0 could had been like Himpun, non-violent and non confrontational. What Najib failed to mention was that his administration had gone on a month-long demonisation campaign against the Bersih 2.0 rally and yet could not douse the ardour of Malaysians for change. But Himpun’s fiery intentions that drew anger from Christians across the country were excused away.

Himpun’s assertion that apostasy among Muslims is rampart has also been proven to be false. In fact, Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa from the Islamic Renaissance Front has come forward to say that based on the population census released by Statistics Department, there has not been a single Malay convert or apostate. So where did Himpun pluck the 250,000 apostates number from? Is this not a serious accusation? To many, Himpun like Ibrahim Ali is guilty of sedition, but again Najib would close an eye.

Muslims themselves cannot be converted, but they can convert other faiths to Islam

Many non-Muslims say it should be the other religions that should rally against the conversion of their kin towards Islam, but we see few displays of public and uncontrolled emotionalism from them. Muslims in Malaysia are already protected by the law of the land and the federal constitution. They are safe-guarded against any attempt of conversion by other religions, but the other religions are not. So there is absolutely no basis for Himpun’s call or rally, other than mischief and political skullduggery.

The more the chain of events is examined and scrutinised - from the undisciplined and sudden raid by Jais into the premises of the Damasara Utama Methodist Church to the vague accusations of proselytization and the lack of clear evidence despite the raid being videotaped - reeks of a 'gameplan'. The PAS assertion that Himpun was merely to force them into an un-holy matrimony of sorts with UMNO certainly holds water.

Until when will UMNO play the religious card in order to win over votes? Do they not realise that it is a dangerous game to pit Malaysian against Malaysian - to generate hatred towards a fellow citizen on the basis of differences in religion? Is UMNO thinking of pitting Muslims against the majority Christians residing in Sarawak and Sabah too?

Christians watch the Umno antics but they are not amused

Christians in Sabah and Sarawak can only shake their heads in disbelief at the idiotic idea that Muslims can be pitted against them. For East Malaysians, religion is a personal matter best resolved between the individual and his Creator.

Politics is a human invention and generally does not aspire to the noble concepts of religion. In fact, it is the tenets of religion that should drive the conduct of politics. The call for understanding, tolerance, mercy, love and brotherhood are universal to any religion. Yet, why do we not see this in the groups controlled and manipulated by Umno in the Semenanjung or peninsula?

Has politics in Malaysia and especially UMNO been driven to the point of desperation that they are willing to sacrifice the nation's peace and harmony just to remain in government? Is this what Najib meant when he called on UMNO to defend its position at all costs? If this is the notion and idea within the UMNO ranks, then it is high time Malaysians themselves rally to insist on being allowed to be Malaysian and to denounce any attempt at segregation along religious or racial lines.

Malaysia Chronicle