BN hands Shah Alam Malays ‘Chinese control Malaysia’ pamphlets

Photos of the four-page pamphlet (top and bottom) which bears the DAP logo distributed to a largely Malay audience last night.SHAH ALAM, May 2 — Propaganda pamphlets titled “Malaysia A Chinese Country” were handed out by several Barisan Nasional (BN) workers to the largely Malay audience who turned up for Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s event in Selangor’s capital city last night, where the former prime minister batted for Datuk Zulkifli Noordin ahead of Sunday’s polls.

The Malaysian Insider too was given a copy of the four-page pamphlet bearing rival DAP’s logo, which published an alleged account of a Chinese meeting in Ipoh on May 15, 1978.

 “Let us together unite for self-profit and the business livelihood of the noble Chinese,” the pamphlet said in Malay, padded with reference to several Malay proverbs.

“First we topple the country, then we subject through refined and effective means all our leaders who especially have this goal. Perhaps in 2 or 3 more elections we will gain power and split apart the Malay leadership,” it added.

“I and the DAP leaders very much hope for all of us to unite to GRAB MALAY RIGHTS for the Chinese rights [sic], HELP our race by whatever methods. This success rests on the co-operation and understanding or our astute and noble race.”

An addendum on the last page of the pamphlet claimed the account was translated from Chinese by a Chinese-looking Malay.

The anonymous translator also reminded the Malays to be wary of the threat to their position by the Chinese.

The pamphlet concluded by saying: “Are you willing to let this cursed race (Chinese) gain control arbitrarily; rouse the spirit to fight the infidels for the sake of our holy religion of Islam.”

The secular DAP is one of the three parties, together with PKR and Islamist PAS, that make up the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) pact, which is going toe-to-toe against the BN in Sunday’s polls.

The federal opposition party had recently taken up advertisements in several Chinese-language papers in a tit-for-tat response to paint its foe MCA — Umno’s Chinese partner in the BN coalition — as backing Malay and Islamic extremists, saying a vote for the MCA is a vote for Perkasa, a right-wing group whose president Datuk Ibrahim Ali and vice-president Datuk Zulkifli Noordin are running for election.

Dr Mahathir had taken to the stump in Shah Alam last night to rev up support for Zulkifli, the BN’s man for the predominantly Malay federal seat, who is up against the PAS incumbent, Khalid Samad.

In his speech, the country’s longest-serving prime minister of 22 years dubbed the DAP’s Gelang Patah hopeful Lim Kit Siang a racist, and accused the veteran opposition politician of “poisoning” Chinese minds in the polls campaign by telling them the community are victims of discrimination by a Malay government.

“I will say it out as vocal as possible. Lim Kit Siang is a racist. Lim Kit Siang is a racist. Lim Kit Siang is an extremist racist,” Dr Mahathir told a crowd of about 3,000 adoring BN supporters.

As the clock counts down to the May 5 polls, political parties and their backers appear to have unsheathed their claws in an all-out bid to get votes.

Pictures of provocative election campaign billboards painting churches as usurpers of “Allah” have also spread online and sparked a storm among Christians.

The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) issued a strongly-worded statement yesterday, recording its outrage at what it calls a “despicable and heinous” anti-Christian message on election campaign boards and demanded the Election Commission act swiftly to douse the sparks of such religious fear-mongering from catching fire once more.

BN secretary-general and Putrajaya incumbent MP Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor has reportedly denied the coalition was behind any extremist posters, buntings and billboards.

Some 13.3 million Malaysians qualify to vote this Sunday for the 222 parliamentary and 505 state seats that has put the BN on the defensive as the PR pact mounts a concerted challenge to take national power.