The plot’s the same, just the props and players change

by Haris Ibrahim

Hope my Christian brothers and sisters show the same dignified indifference that our Hindu brothers and sisters displayed a little over 2 years ago at attempts by small-minded but loud-mouthed low-lifes to stir up strife.

What am I on about?

Well, in August, 2009, UMNO lackeys in Shah Alam, holding themselves out as made up of Muslims who cut across all party lines, defiled the head of a cow, allegedly to protest a proposed shift of a Hindu temple from section 19 to section 23 in Shah Alam.

They must have been utterly disappointed that, even as there was all round condemnation of this most disgraceful act that must have deeply hurt every Hindu in the country and beyond, yet there was no reaction from the local Hindu community that might have led to a real heightening of tensions which may well have been the very objective of the staged protest in the first place.

Then in January, last year, following the decision of the KL High Court on the matter of the use of “Allah” by the Christian community, the nation witnessed the arson attacks on several churches, notably, the Metro Tabernacle Church near Taman Melawati in KL, the All Saints Church and the Taiping Catholic Church, both in Taiping, Perak and the Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) church in Negri Sembilan.

Then there followed a spate of desecrations and attempted burnings of mosques and suraus.

To the unsuspecting, it might have seemed like Christians were retaliating with like for like.

I believe that this was the perception that was sought to be created by those who were behind the church burnings.

Again, to create an atmosphere of heightened tensions.

To lend fodder to Utusan to spin for the Malays in the heartlands that Christians were torching and desecrating Muslim houses of worship.

If my suspicions are spot on, then it would seem that things did not pan out as planned.

Small-minded, loud-mouthed low-lifes in our midst are at work again.

ABIM’s Yusri, Perak’s Harussani and the big chief amongst the ulamaks, Azmi, faithfully aided by UMNO’s Utusan, have once again resorted to their usual alarmist tactics, with the Perak mufti making unsubstantiated claims that 250,000 have renounced Islam, a claim the present mufti of Perlis has dismissed as quite incredible.

They are calling on Muslims to rally at Shah Alam this Saturday to press for an anti-apostasy law.

Dubbed Himpunan Sejuta Ummah, the organisers must have surely hoped that this weekend’s gathering would make the BERSIH 2.0 rally on 9th July pale in comparison.

Word has it that a police permit has already been issued to legitimise the event.

Talk about getting help from friends in all the right places!

Yet, I read somewhere that the organisers are now talking down the numbers expected to around 100,000.

And then, 3.04pm yesterday, I received the following sms from a close friend :

“A big rally by the Christians this Saturday at KL n PJ. Wait for more news to come”

Within 1/2 an hour, I received the same message from another friend.

At my request, this second person asked around and came back with the following sms :

“Apparently it is some lunatic fringe group that wants show force. Maybe planted?’

I made calls to some leaders in the Christian community whom I count on as friends.

No such thing was in the pipeline, I was told again and again.

Lunatic fringe group or, as we’ve seen in the past, orchestrated by the same small-minded, loud-mouthed, low-lifes?

Remember how, in the run up to the anti-ISA rally in August, 2009, there sprang to life a pro-ISA group that threatened to take to the streets on the same day, 1st August?

Whereupon, the police ordered both groups to stay off the streets?

And Perkasa’s threat to also rally on 9th July to create the spectre of a potential clash with the BERSIH 2.0 rally?

Again, the order came from the police that both groups should not take to the streets.

Is this latest sms no more than a face-saving move by the organisers of the Himpunan Sejuta Ummah, perhaps now fearing that they may not be able to muster up the numbers to match their earlier boast, to now look to a directive by the police to call off this rally and the ‘phantom’ Christian rally?

More so, given the announcement by PAS that they will not have anything to do with the rally.

Will we then see an announcement to call off the Himpunan Sejuta Ummah in due compliance with the orders of the police?

And Utusan then going to town to harp on how the Christians had planned an aggressive retaliation on the streets to oppose the sought anti-apostasy law?

We will know in the coming days.

Meanwhile, my Christian brothers and sisters, let good sense and wisdom prevail.