Desperate BN recruits SOS groups Perkasa, Pekida and Himpun to help garner votes

Barisan Nasional, the once confident giant of Malaysian politics, seems ready to receive help from all sources to ensure its survival as the government of Malaysia. BN is not shy to enlist the help of the likes of PEKIDA, PERKASA and HIMPUN to herd the Malays into voting for them. And sad to say, herding is the right word to describe the mentality behind these radical groups that are endorsed and mainly made up of UMNO supporters.

PEKIDA’s patron is Tun Abdullah Badawi, PERKASA’s patron is Tun Mahathir Mohamad while HIMPUN managed to rope in the politically confused Hasan Ali. All these groups are placing their bets on UMNO and ready to use strong-arm tactics to ensure the vote of the Malays, who will be deciding the fate of the BN in the coming 13th general election.

PEKIDA which boasts a membership of two million, is standing by its oath that the votes of its members must go to BN. It is PEKIDA’s task to ensure that BN wins the coming election in order to allow for the Malay agenda to continue. PEKIDA went further to say that young voters do not understand about the 'politics of independence' due to being influenced by foreigners, blaming it on many Malays having been educated overseas.

PERKASA's stand is fairly well-known, non-Malays are the scourge that defiles Malaysia and denies the Malays of their rights. Proclaiming themselves the defenders of Malay rights and Islam, PERKASA is not shy on using race and religion to scare Malay voters into submission towards UMNO. Yet, when it comes to real issues affecting Malays and their Rulers, PERKASA is deaf and dumb.

HIMPUN has thrown its weight behind Hasan Ali, asserting that it is time for PAS and UMNO to unite for the sake of Muslim unity. This coming from a group that originally condemned Christians for allegedly systematically turning thousands of Muslims away from their faith.

Shows they carry out UMNO's agenda

The stance taken by these radical groups speaks clearly about their affiliation to UMNO and the UMNO agenda. BN’s success now is dependent on UMNO’s ability to twist over the Malay vote which makes up more than half of the electorate. The non-Malay vote is encamped on the opposition side, but the Malays are now split between BN and Pakatan Rakyat. There is no sure bet for BN, and a mere 5% swing of Malay votes to Pakatan would mean disaster for Prime Minister Najib Razak's government.

Yet, these radical groups coming to the aid of BN may in fact be the very thing that would hasten the coalition's demise. The tendency of PEKIDA, PERKASA and HIMPUN to treat non-Malays as second class citizens is not a good thing in a Malaysia that is already tired of racial and religious-tainted politics.

These radical groups are stuck in last-century politics. It may have worked before, but Najib Razak must understand - the current millennium is an age of convergence and meritocracy. Nobody cares about your background as long as you are able to offer skill-sets and talent that is beneficial for society as a whole.

The assertion that only a particular race or religion should benefit from government is akin to the ideology propagated by Hitler’s Nazi party. Hitler took it one step further by systematically exterminating all ethnic groups deemed worthless.

Silliest logic

This is not the direction that Malaysia should take. The assertion that Malaysia should retain the BN government in order to maintain the Malay’s standing in the nation is silly. Regardless of which government holds court, the Malays are assured of their rights. And the same should apply to all other Malaysians, whose minority rights are also guaranteed under the Federal Constitution.

Instead, what these radical groups should address is the systematic and decremental slide of the Malaysian economy, judiciary and governance.

Not one of these radical groups have organized a drive to objectively address the issue of the poor and side-lined in Malaysia.

Neither have Pekida, Perkasa or Himpun addressed the issue of the lack of basic infrastructure such as electricity and water in rural Malay areas.

None of these radical groups have come out to aid underprivileged or marginalized Malaysians.

None of these radical groups have come forward to help in efforts to get back the billions in public funds that have been “taken” by the BN through corrupt practices and misgovernance.

None of these radical groups is actually helping Malaysia.

Thus, all the talk of gathering their members to ensure that BN get their votes, all the hype of their undying support for the current establishment is sheer stupidity in the face of the mountain of needs that they ignore, and which can truly make the real difference.

Malaysia does not need such groups and we surely do not need them to tell us what to do with our votes. Each vote is a special right given to us as citizens of this country and there is no need for anyone to 'force' us to vote for BN.

Malaysia Chronicle