A voice in the wilderness

Thank you Zaid Ibrahim, for exposing the political hypocrisy of our PM and other Umno leaders.

COMMENT

By Koon Yew Yin

The latest assault on DAP and PKR, from the Prime Minister (PM) himself, concerns their “loyalty” to the Sultan of Selangor.

This cheap political trick to question the loyalty of opposition parties should not come from a PM. In a democracy anyone who has a public duty has to be accountable for his actions.

Instead of talking to the people about the complexities of democracy and how constitutional monarchs and political leaders should conduct themselves, the PM took the lazy route of inflaming the feelings of the Malays by suggesting PKR and DAP would not protect the Malay rulers and their religion.

For a man who talks about the great transformation of the country, this was irresponsible and most disappointing.

My concern is that this anti-DAP feeling will spin out of control into anti-Chinese sentiment, that in turn has the potential to become anti-Malay and, ultimately, anti-Muslim.

Hatred will then consume the nation. Then what? Racial clashes? Innocent lives will be lost, both Chinese and Malays, and the country will grind to a halt. Wealthy leaders will flee and the so-called defenders of the Malay race will run off to London or Argentina.

Ordinary people who just want to live in peace will have to start over.

Speaking as a non-Malay Malaysian, I wish to express my deep appreciation to Zaid Ibrahim for exposing the political hypocrisy of our PM and for spelling out, in easily understood terms, the looming scenario of violence should racial hatred and anti-opposition bashing continue unabated.

Unfortunately it is not the PM alone who engages in this duplicitous double talk. The Deputy PM, the Home Affairs Minister, the Minister in the PM’s Department in charge of Islamic affairs, even the most junior Umno deputy ministers and parliamentary secretaries do it.

Where’s the political moderation?

Speeches at an international level show political moderation, while back home it’s a different story.

When speaking to Chinese, Indians or East Malaysians, a moderate slant is adopted. When speaking to Malays, a hard line and racially or religiously ultra-nationalist slant is taken, urging Malays to defend Malay royalty, the Malay race and Umno, their saviour against rampaging and disloyal and traitorous non-Malays.

Where the rot started

Many attribute this radicalisation of Umno politics to opportunistic leadership, with the rot starting with Mahathir Mohamad’s prime ministership.

Others have argued that this is due to the fear of loss of power, wealth and status, should BN and Umno’s rule come to an end.

Whatever the reasons, the reality is that we have today Umno as a party that is committed to moderation on paper but in reality is the breeding ground of intolerance and bigotry, which will bring about the destruction of our country as we know it.

What is the solution?

Zaid has proposed to his non-Malay readers to “interact with them … so that they see that you are not the enemy.”

He notes that in Kelantan, Malay and non-Malay relationships are excellent, and it is the same in many other places. He also makes the important point that the people are tired of these leaders’ defeatist mantras but that “since they have a monopoly over TV stations and newspapers, they will keep working to get (ordinary Malaysians) to believe that the threat truly comes from within.”

This is sound advice aimed at the grassroots. But time is needed to build up these interracial and interreligious relationships and time is not on our side. More rapid responses are needed to fight this mother of all battles to ensure a peaceful, democratic, pluralistic and progressive nation.

Perhaps the most urgently needed of these rapid responses is for similar voices of sanity and moderation to come from within the ranks of Umno.

Zaid has long been a voice of common sense, even from the days when he was part of the ruling party. He has championed the case for greater freedom and basic liberties and is now taking up the cudgels to fight political and racial extremism.

Another is the former Deputy Minister of Higher Education and now CEO of the Global Movement of Moderates Foundation, Saifuddin Abdullah, who has a track record of advocacy for democratic reform and has championed youth empowerment. He has also refused to play the race card, despite his long time membership in Umno.

Are there other moderate and progressive Umno leaders out there who can rise above racially laced platforms and rhetoric now deemed de rigueur for any aspiring Malay with ambitions to rise to political prominence in the country. Or is this a no-brainer?

The PM himself should lead the way and not smear the opposition governments of Penang, Selangor and Kelantan as enemies or traitors to the Malay cause.

The answer to this question, I believe, holds the key to the kind of future facing the Malays and all other Malaysians.