This is why the Chinese back Pakatan

An article published on the Perkasa website claims that the opposition bloc is willing to strike out Islam as the official religion and do away with the Malay special position.

KUALA LUMPUR: As the clock ticks down to the nation’s most poignant general election, various quarters are scrambling to up the ante with regard to race politics.

An article published on the Perkasa website stirs up such sentiments when purportedly analysing the reasons behind the Malaysian Chinese support for Anwar Ibrahim and Pakatan Rakyat.

The Chinese, it said, were backing the opposition bloc because it was willing to strike out Islam as the official religion and remove the special position of the Malays should it seize federal power.

“Pakatan is also known to be a strong supporter of Christian activities as well as directly or indirectly open to the ‘wayward’ LGBT [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender] group.”

PAS, it stated, had failed to halt the thrust of the liberal forces in Pakatan because the Islamic party’s voice had no impact in the coalition.

“PAS is unable to do anything apart from making oral objections or at most, stepping on DAP flags. This is because PAS is afraid of being booted out from Pakatan.

“So it would not do more than make noise in the papers to give the impression that it would not remain silent when Islam is misrepresented.”

The fact was, stated the article, PAS cannot depend on PKR to defend Islam although the latter was led by Anwar, a Malay-Muslim.

Describing the opposition leader as someone who subscribed to the pluralistic school of thought and possessed a liberal spirit, the article alleged that Anwar was more comfortable with “DAP Christian evangelists than PAS’ Islam Wahhabi-Syiah”.

“The confusion and flip-flop of PAS have destroyed whatever remnants left of its pride since the first time [PAS president] Abdul Hadi Awang hugged [DAP supremo Lim] Kit Siang.”

“In other words, PAS’ existence in Pakatan is merely to contribute manpower for demonstrations and to be embroiled in ‘cock fights’ with Umno; apart from this, its presence is negligible.”

‘Anwar’s secrets in DAP’s grasp’

Therefore, the article said it was no surprise that the Chinese preferred Pakatan and were willing to accept Anwar as prime minister, especially since “all of Anwar’s secrets were in DAP’s grasp”.

“We must question the motive behind their support for Pakatan because we believe that government integrity is not the issue [that has motivated the Chinese].

“If this is the issue, then DAP’s integrity with regard to corruption and vote rigging is even worse, similarly with PKR and PAS.

“The conclusion is that the Chinese choose Pakatan because it is willing to destroy Islam as the official religion and the Malay special position.”

Taking a swipe at the Malays who supported Pakatan, the article claimed that these people were gullible to sweet promises and dreamt about becoming rich without working hard while hiding behind the veil of wanting to eradicate corruption.

These Malays, the article insinuated, were willing to pawn both their religion and race in return for material benefits.

The article, originally posted on the ob21net blog, was based on a survey conducted by Universiti Malaya’s Centre of Democracy and Election Research (UMCEDEL).

The findings revealed that 78% – the majority being Chinese – of the 1,409 respondents had misgivings about Barisan Nasional on issues pertaining to integrity and abuse of power.

It was also stated that NFC, Lynas and Deepak Jaikishan’s revelations were among the major issues of concern.

As for the opposition, the main issue which troubled the respondents happened to be internal squabbles in Pakatan.

Nurul: No room for hate politics

Meanwhile, the article also cast aspersion on the veracity of the findings based on the background of UMCEDEL director Dr Mohammad Redzuan Othman.

The article said he was the former president of the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (Abim), who was still loyal to Anwar and comfortable with liberal ideas.

“It has become the standard strategy of [independent pollster] Merdeka Centre to show a decline in support for BN as the election comes closer to demoralise BN.

“And it has become the ‘duty’ of UMCEDEL to follow suit”.

Commenting on the article, PKR vice-president and Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar described it as the work of desperate people who gained positions by depending on Umno’s patronage.

“As such, they have nothing left to bank on except to rehash such scurrilous allegations,” she told FMT.

She stressed that Pakatan was committed to defending all articles in the Federal Constitution, including the special position of the Malays and Bumiputera as well as Islam being the official religion of the Federation without transgressing on the rights of people of other faiths.

“However Perkasa’s continued practice of racist, hate and bitter politics will not be tolerated and supported [by Pakatan] as it is now being done by the Najib administration,” she added.