Umno Baru insults Muslims

The thinking Malay has discovered that being dependent on Umno Baru restricts ambition, and are thus rejecting the party.

COMMENT

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is the other half of the Mahathir and Muhyiddin pact and today, he has returned with a vengeance. In the run-up to GE13, Muhyiddin was almost forgotten. He suffered the same ignominy as Rosmah Mansor, the silent partner in the Najib and Rosmah partnership.

With Muhyiddin’s sudden appearance, the rakyat will again be sacrificed in the war for political supremacy, in the fight within Umno Baru.

The Umno Baru general assembly is upon us and the Umno Baru warlords and leaders from the two factions – one pro-Najib and the other anti-Najib – are circling each other like wolves waiting to pounce on their prey.

The nation has been paralysed with fear by shootings, non-Muslim Malaysians have been cowed into submission and a diplomatic row with the Vatican envoy loomed in the background.

Despite this, Umno Baru’s president, Najib Tun Razak has remained silent. Neither has he made any comment on issues like deaths in custody, child conversion cases or cheating by the Election Commission (EC).

Najib is preparing for the most important battle of his political life but Muhyiddin, now appears to have seized the initiative, and demonstrated to those in Umno Baru, that he is a serious contender for the crown.

In the Najib and Rosmah partnership, Najib has kept Rosmah out of the picture because he knows that she is loathed within Umno Baru.

In recent weeks, former PM Mahathir Mohamad has made several overtures, to set the tone for the Umno Baru war, but Muhyiddin was largely absent.

The Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee couple, aka Alvivi, stupid as they were in their eagerness to gain cheap publicity for themselves, were caught in the crossfire and inadvertently became cheap political fodder for the raging warlords in Umno Baru.

Alvivi have since apologised for their actions which is more than what Ridhuan Tee, Ibrahim Ali, or Utusan Malaysia, will ever do.

Muhyiddin has accused non-Muslims of insulting Islam. He said that there was no “deep understanding within society” and that “Muslims do not insult the religions of non-Muslims such as Christianity and Hinduism.”

Muhyiddin’s aim is to provoke. He wants to be seen as the defender of Islam. He wants to be seen as the true Malay leader. Muhyiddin cares little for Najib’s “moderate” overtures, despite Najib’s failure to eliminate extremist elements within his party and the country.

Of course, Muhyiddin wants to undermine Najib but we should not forget that Mahathir ordered the attack on Najib.

Political survival

In his rush to create political mileage from the YouTube Hari Raya greeting with three dogs and their handler, Muhyiddin did not check his facts carefully and assumed it was a non-Muslim man who had made the video. It was not. The dog trainer in the video is a Muslim girl who is now being treated like a common criminal.

In recent weeks, the deterioration in community relations has been caused by Umno Baru and organisations aligned with them, like Perkasa and other Malay extremist NGOs.

The use of the word “Allah” by Christians, child conversion, the Alvivi bah kut teh clip, the ban on Malay girls entering beauty contests, the diplomatic row with the Vatican envoy, and the non-Muslims pupils being forced to eat in the shower room at school, have all been used to promote Muhyiddin and Mahathir’s political ambitions.

On the surface, the above incidents may appear to be concerted attacks against Muslims by non-Muslims, but the reverse is probably nearer the truth.

It is Umno Baru which is waging a stealth war against Muslims.

Umno Baru saw a decline in its appeal within the Malay community. After cheating and spending several billions of ringgits in the GE13 war effort, Umno Baru scraped through with a 30% acceptance rating (after factoring in cheating and votes cast by illegal immigrants.)

If this downward trend continues with the Malays, Umno Baru will cease to exist and by GE14, Umno Baru politicians may even lose their deposits if they were to contest in the election.

We see, in the public domain, that Umno Baru is increasing its attacks on the Muslim community but at the same time pretending that Islam is under threat. Islam is being undermined by Umno Baru, and Muslims in Malaysia are being insulted by Umno Baru.

Umno Baru is doing this because they want to ensure their political survival. They know that many Malays are frustrated and are desperate to seek better opportunities. These ordinary Malays know that the NEP only benefits the ultra rich and well connected Malays.

Of what use is a generous housing discount for a new home, when the average Malay cannot even afford the deposit or down-payment for the new house? When private companies refuse to hire the Malay because his English is poor, he starts to despise the poor education he has received.

Modern beauty contests are not just about looks. When the Malay girl wants to pit her beauty and talents against others who are also worthy of the title, religion is used to curb her aspirations.

The threats to Islam

The public opinion of Malays is turning sour; this was caused by Umno Baru. At the same time, the thinking Malay has discovered that being dependent on Umno Baru restricts ambition, and many Malays are rejecting Umno Baru.

The thinking Malay realises that Malay Umno Baru politicians do little work, but reap untold riches.

Why should the ordinary Malay prop-up a lazy and worthless Malay Umno Baru politician?

Umno Baru has sensed the public discord and it fears most the Malay rejection. Many Malays fail to realise that Umno Baru is the force which is insulting the Malays and belittling the religion.

Muslims and Malays must show their support for dog trainer, Maznah Mohd Yusof and the four Muslim girls who were banned from the beauty contest. They have done nothing wrong.

The side-show conducted by Muhyiddin is being stage managed by Mahathir. Islam is not under threat, unlike the survival of Umno Baru.

Muhyiddin is trying to be seen as the defender of Islam, but he is only defending Islam from threats that he creates.

If Muhyiddin and Mahathir are removed, there will no threat to Islam.

Mariam Mokhtar is a FMT columnist.