Yen Yen and BN doing the wrong things: Hard to convince foreigners Malaysia is peaceful and stable

As reported, Tourism Minister Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen said, “The difficulty in convincing foreigners that Malaysia is a peaceful and stable country is the key barrier to them joining the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme. Street demonstrations have negative impact on promotional efforts undertaken by the ministry.”  She should blame UMNO for the country’s misfortune and those who have gone to the streets as rabble-rousers, but not those peaceful street protestors who have demonstrated for a good cause.

Blaming a few peaceful street demonstrations in the country is not the reason as to why foreigners are giving a cold shoulder to this country. Most foreigners – including investors – do not perceive Malaysia as a peaceful country though. They are essentially disturbed by the way UMNO-led government handle most of these peaceful demonstrations and shut their eyes to those street demonstrations that are tempered with racial and religious overtones.

The unnecessary political intervention, blockades, the use of water cannons and tear gas by the police to disperse the crowd had made most peaceful demonstrations become muddled and chaotic and this has given bad publicity to the country by the foreign media. But when this happens, UMNO is always quick to blame the Opposition and the NGOs.

If street demonstrations with noble intentions were allowed to go on serenely, no untoward incidents would have occurred in the country. But misguided UMNO prefers a haughty way to stop these peaceful demonstrations. UMNO uses this means as a propaganda tool to demonise those people who have legitimate causes to air. The mainstream media are exploited to the hilt to denounce the street protesters by describing them as ‘traitors’, ‘racists’ and even ‘terrorists’. Even profane words and racial slurs were reportedly used to describe the leaders of these protests. There were even reports of threats of violence on the protestors. All this backfired when the foreign media flashed the many peaceful street protests in the country that became awry to portray the UMNO-led government adversely.

Street demonstrations are rare in Malaysia, but the public has become more vocal when the government does not allow the renascent Opposition and some NGOs the opportunity to air their grievances democratically. No healthy public debate between politicians is welcomed in the country. The government-controlled media are at best used to undermine the Opposition and those against the government with contorted views to influence the rural voters that make up of the majority of voters. Abuse of power, corruption and scandals in the government do not get reported in the mainstream media, as this is to create a “feel good” ambiance for the people. Even with the rise of alternative media the Opposition are still at a disadvantage as they cannot reach the rural voters effectively to deliver their views. When the government ignore their plights and grouses they go to the streets. And the government has used heavy police presence to block these rallies as well as arrest protest leaders to deter ‘illegal’ public protests.

The abhorrent cow-head incident

The minister must have ignored the fact that street demonstrations have also become the practice among those who support the UMNO-led government. On 28 August 2009, a group of 50 or so Malaysian Muslims marched from the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Mosque to the Selangor state government headquarters at the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Building with the head of a cow which they later desecrated – an animal deemed sacred in Hinduism – and ‘stomped on the head and spat on it before leaving the site’. The protest leaders were also reported of saying “there would be blood if a temple was constructed in Shah Alam”. This street demonstration against the construction of a Hindu temple using a severed cow's head was highlighted negatively by international news reports continuously for many months.

Unfortunately, as reported a government minister defended that incident by saying, “The people should be allowed space to voice their opinions.” Many foreign media also criticised the response of the police who were seen to just been standing by the side and allowing the protesters to stomp and spit on the head of the cow. The minority Hindus did not respond to this incident but the whole incident depicts to the world of a very low religious tolerance in the country.

The Hindraf 2007 peaceful street rally

In the 2007 peaceful Hindraf (Hindu Rights Action Force) street demonstration it ended up becoming a ‘brutal’ affair. Riot police dispatched to the scene used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the crowds. This nauseating news was splashed throughout the world. Al-Jazeera's coverage of the 2007 Hindraf rally showed police officers using tear gas to disperse the protesters in spite of the civil and courteous nature of the rally with participants carrying portraits of Queen Elizabeth II and Mahatma Gandhi, to indicate the non-violent nature of their protest.  240 people were arrested during the furore.

When nearly 100,000 Indians and non-Indians converged peacefully in Kuala Lumpur for the Hindraf peaceful rally, not a single racist comment was made against any race. They did not carry any weapon. The marginalised Indians only wanted a better treatment from the UMNO-led government. What the poor Indians were asking was for the government to uphold their rights to worship freely and for equal employment, educational and business opportunities as enshrined in the Federal Constitution.

The peaceful Bersih 2.0 rally

The first peaceful Bersih (The Coalition for Free and Fair Elections) rally on 10 November 2007 drew over 60,000 people. It was dispersed by police using tear gas and chemical-laced water cannons. The peaceful Bersih 2.0 rally – the Walk for Democracy – was held in Kuala Lumpur on 9 July 2011 and this event drew over 100,000 people despite all the negative propaganda by the mainstream media against the rally. The 2011 rally's reasonable demands were for the government to come up with a clean electoral roll, reform postal voting, the use of indelible ink, a minimum campaign period of 21 days, free and fair access to mainstream media, strengthen public institutions, stop corruption and stop dirty politics.

After consultations with the King, Bersih decided to hold the rally in a stadium instead. However, their request to use Merdeka Stadium was rejected by the police. Bersih accused the government of reneging on a previous offer to let them rally in a stadium instead of the streets.

The clamp down on this peaceful rally using the police, tear gas and water cannons was unanimously criticised internationally. Negative news against the UMNO-led government was splashed over major international media such as the Wall Street Journal, ABC Radio, the Jakarta Post, Al Jazeera, Bloomberg and the Economist, among others They all described the rally as “part of the rising call for political change in Asia” that play a decisive role in foreign investment to Asian countries.  The consensus seems to be that Malaysia has suffered a knock-back to its international reputation as a moderate, democratic country.

The peaceful Anti-Lynas rally

It was reported that a group of about 50 unruly pro-UMNO thugs some carrying UMNO flags tried to disrupt the anti-Lynas solidarity gathering at Speakers’ Square in Penang on February 26. The provocation by the thugs made headlines in many major newspapers overseas. Fights broke out. Media people were beaten up by the unruly thugs. Some even went to the crowd to threaten them. The thugs were shouting profanity and imprudent remarks about 1Malaysia and they also hurled abuse at the crowd. It was reported that two journalists were struck with crash helmets.

On February 26 Reuters and other international media also reported the Lynas protest in Kuantan. Thousands rallied in the Malaysian state of Pahang on Sunday, calling on the government to overturn its approval for Australian miner Lynas Corp to operate a rare earths processing plant located in Prime Minister Najib Razak's base.

The rally – led by environmental activists and opposition politicians – attracted more than 60,000 people to Pahang's state capital of Kuantan wearing green T-shirts and chanting slogans alleging the Lynas plant could leach radioactive waste into the environment. This demonstration went on peacefully though, despite all the negative news aired the anti-Lynas leaders by the pro-government media. When the foreign media praised the peaceful event the local mainstream media took an opposite stance by disparaging it.

The unnecessary provocation by Perkasa and Pekida

Apparently, both Perkasa (Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa Malaysia – a non-governmental Malay Supremacy) and Pekida (Pertubuhan Dakwah Kebajikan Islam Malaysia) held a few street demonstrations in the past championing Malay rights and Islam.  They were never dispersed horridly in the manner other Opposition groups or NGOs were treated despite some of the demonstrators coming up with provocative and incendiary racist threats. Ill-advisedly, the Najib administration has been so silent on the many racist threats made by these ‘extremist’ Malay groups. The perception of foreigners is that these groups enjoy ‘immunity’ for their ‘seditious’ utterances. The horde of racist comments on Pekida's website has never been probed by the government.

The superfluous pig-head issue and religious intolerance

On Jan 26, 2010 Reuters reported that Malaysian police said two pigs’ heads were found at a Malaysian mosque close to a neighbourhood previously hit by an ethnic clash following a series of arson and firebomb attacks on churches.

It was reported that “the discovery of the pig heads – an animal considered offensive to Muslims and whose consumption is prohibited – could further inflame tensions in the mainly Muslim country, prompting police to issue a stern warning against stirring up emotions”.

It was also reported that “eleven churches, a Catholic school, a Sikh temple, two mosques and two Muslim prayer rooms so far have been hit by arson and vandalism attacks in recent weeks over the use of the word ‘Allah’ by Christians. The row stemmed from a court ruling on December 31 2009 allowing a Catholic newspaper to use ‘Allah’ in its Malay-language editions of the Bible.

Racial and economic woes

The foreign media have been chock-full with reports on racial and economic woes in Malaysia even when Malaysia’s national tourism agency is promoting the country as “a bubbling, bustling melting pot of races and religions where Malays, Indians, Chinese and many other ethnic groups live together in peace and harmony.” Despite the government’s much-hyped 1Malaysia slogan, racial and religious tensions in the country are deteriorating. This is due to the disturbing fact that the country’s leadership is tolerating, and in some cases subtly inciting ethnic factionalism to consolidate their power within the political party.

This unceasing erosion of tolerance is more than a political challenge for the country. The economy is affected as well. Malaysia’s economy has terribly floundered for the past decade. Malaysia needs to grow by 8 per cent per year during this decade to achieve developed status by 2020. This level of growth will require major private investment from both domestic and foreign sources. But the worsening racial and religious tensions have deterred investors from investing in Malaysia also causing a big capital outflow.

Crime rates are escalating

In the last few years, the foreign media, especially the press, have also been replete with reports of crime and violence in Malaysia. This involves traditional crimes, syndicated crimes and borderless (global) crimes like money laundering, drug and human trafficking.

There have been many reports of snatch thefts, rapes and other sexual crimes, assaults and murders, child abuse and ill-treatment of foreign maids, hold-ups and thefts, kidnappings, not to mention numerous fatal road accidents. With this barrage of foreign media reporting, there is an air of anxiety and fear as to what the future will hold for the Malaysian society and subsequent quality of life. It has also been described that Malaysia has become a heaven for illegal immigrants from neighbouring and many far away countries. It has been noted to have become a transit point for drug and human trafficking. Politics and corruption have made the influx of illegals into the country just irrepressible despite frequent reports on this by the foreign media and other social agencies.

In one local study on crime, it was reported that only 11 per cent or a ratio of one in ten of the respondents were not worried about crimes. The “victims of crime survey” and the “worries about occurrence of crime survey” showed that of the respondents surveyed almost 20 per cent reported they had been victims of crime. The survey also found that almost 90 per cent of the respondents were “worried” to “extremely worried” about the occurrence of crime in their neighbourhood. The Increase in crime rates stands at about 3 per cent a year. And the projected property and violent crimes for 2010-2015 is over 200,000 to 250,000 cases. This trend is deterring the foreigners as much as the locals from making the country a safe haven for them.

Altantuya who was murdered

Altantuya was murdered in October 2006. It was extensively reported by the international media that the murder has been tied closely to the US$1 billion acquisition of French submarines by the Malaysian ministry of defence.  Altantuya supposedly acted as a translator on the transaction, which netted the company of Najib’s close aide a €114 million "commission" on the purchase.  Purportedly, she had been offered US$500,000 for her part in the translating and transaction.  After she was jilted, she futilely demanded payment. She was later hideously murdered and the body destroyed with explosives in a secluded place in Malaysia. This became hot and juicy news for the media and was widely reported by the major newspapers throughout the world, sullying Malaysia further.

And it is UMNO-led Barisan Nasional that has to be blamed for all the predicaments the country is facing, not those innocent citizens who go to the street to protest in a peaceful manner for a justifiable cause. But this government lacks the political will to curb the many issues facing the country for fear that they may lose power. Instead of barking at the wrong trees, the Tourism Minister should come up with plans to clean up the mess created by the UMNO-led government before it could convince the foreigners to love Malaysia as a stable, peaceful, crime- and corrupt-free country.

Malaysia Chronicle