NAJIB'S LEGACY: Turning Malaysia into an intolerant & extremist state where groups like Perkasa, Isma call the shots

Long considered by the international community that Malaysia is a breeding ground for Islamic terrorists and militants, it now does not seem to tally, the claim by prime minister Najib Tun Razak that Malaysia is a moderate state.

The unrelenting calls by various Muslim groups spearheaded by Parti PAS for the implementation of hudud laws, the objection towards Christians and non-Muslims using the sacred word in reference to God or “Allah” are among the reasons why Malaysia can hardly be considered a moderate nation.

Not only Malaysians of all walks of life, but the international community at large as well welcomed the bold and powerful statement by prime minister Najib Tun Razak that the nation is in favor of being part and parcel of the Global Movement of Moderates (GMM).

This was a timely initiative by Najib, to assure the silent majority of right thinking Malaysians and the world at large, that Malaysia will not condone any form of extremism in this country and any party to such acts of extremism will be hauled up.

But unfortunately for us Malaysians, the prime minister is well known to be a proponent of double speak and whether he was merely paying lip service to the issue of extremism is hard to gauge but from what is going on in the ground today, extremism does exist in this country.

The existence of lunatic fringe groups like Perkasa and Isma and a host of other gangs of extremists in this country is enough to make any right thinking person shudder. This therefore raises the pertinent question: Is Malaysia really a moderate country?

Understanding moderation

Before any person can accurately and rightly answer the question of whether Malaysia is a moderate country, there needs to be an understanding of what moderation is all about because a major key to moving the nation forward is moderation.

Basically, moderation means to conform to the tenets and obligations of democracy and to allow for any person to freely express themselves within the confines of the law and what constitutes freedom of expression.

There must be a ‘give-and-take’ and allowance made and room given for each individual or organization to express oneself freely without upsetting the apple cart. By going ballistic and extreme, and where there is no restrain and self-control, inevitably there is that venture into the path of the extreme.

Democracy has always been a beautiful ideal but it needs to be salted with a pragmatic and practical approach. This requires from its practitioners a certain amount and level of maturity and human and international understanding.

By what is being witnessed in Malaysia today it seems unlikely that the nation has that level of intellectual and mental and political maturity to be able to qualify to be part of the GMM. In fact, Malaysia is in its infancy and a long way off from subscribing to moderation.

Fake or phony moderation

Ever since moderation became a global watchword, there has in this country the emergence of fake or phony moderation whereby the adherents claim and profess to practice moderation but are actually hypocrites.

This is why, in Malaysia, the moves to claim and champion moderation has become convoluted. Groups have emerged and organizations and individuals have also surfaced on the scene claiming and championing moderation.

But upon hindsight and introspection, these groups and individuals are really not moderate in any way but are essentially and covertly trying to protect their interests and ill gotten gains from the spoils of corruption or the process of abetting corruption, cheating, collusion and cronyism.

This is why Malaysians are being enlightened as to the ‘different approach but same objective’ of fuelling corruption by the elite in this country, only this time using the guise or theme of moderation as a ploy.

More Malaysians are better educated and better informed and can see and know and tell if these groups, organizations and individuals are really rooting for moderation or with an ulterior motive or agenda on their mind.

Believing in seeing

While most Malaysians, who are the silent majority, will agree that there is no concrete evidence from what they see to believe that the nation is moderate, the onus of responsibility or the thrust has to be made by the government to convince everyone that moderation is in full bloom in Malaysia.

This is because, right now and up to this stage of the nation’s evolvement since Independence or “Merdeka” in 1957, only a single political entity has governed this country and it is Barisan Nasional (BN).

But despite nearly 58 years of governing this country, only now is the issue of being moderate rising to the surface, is it because of the fact that the nation faces mounting pressure from within and from the international community to show proof of actually being moderate?

This appears to be the case now. Malaysia and the BN government is being asked to show evidence and proof of how moderate the nation is to the ‘rakyat’ and to the international community as there are grave doubts about Malaysia’s claim to be a moderate nation.

Only if Malaysians and the international community are given and shown irrefutable proof that the nation is actually moderate can Malaysia be safely accepted and welcomed into the GMM. Until then, the work is cut out for the BN government to build up their case to stake a claim into the GMM.

This means the ball is in Najib’s court to show sufficient and ample proof to not only Malaysians but the international community that Malaysia is truly and fully credible as a nation of moderates. - MAILBAG