In my article yesterday, I had predicted that the red shirt rally would be allowed to go on peacefully and without incident, in order for Umno to claim credit for a successful rally.
Bingo! It happened, as planned. As expected, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak would beam a smile and say how touched he was by the rally that went on successfully in support of his premiership.
Never mind about the numbers and by the time this article appears in the morning, the mainstream media would play up the story about a peaceful demonstration.
Objective No 1 achieved
This alone would not suppress Bersih 4 and the Chinese community. What about Objective No 2? I wonder if this was what the chaos at Petaling Street was intended to achieve, when the group tried to break through a police cordon.
They gave the impression that they were not part of the bigger group who had congregated at Padang Merbok.
Does it surprise anyone that Najib is pressing the button now - the law-breakers would have to face the music! Known for his long silence, he is acting like a good prime minister.
I feel sorry for the police who were accused of being ‘Chinese lackeys’ and the thousand over protesters who were being led to think that they were protecting the dignity of the Malays. Looking at the bigger picture, they appear to be the pawns in a chess game.
The mainstream papers, as usual, will be expected to use this incident to play up sentiments against the DAP and the Chinese. The DAP would be blamed for trying to hijack a peaceful rally, but I think the person the police should investigate is one of the red shirt supporters known for causing mischief.
Because of the absence of Chinese participants in the rally, the blame would land squarely on the Malays who are with the DAP or what has become obvious now is from the way one of the rally’s spokespersons, Sungai Besar Umno division leader Mohd Jamal Yunos, had shifted the blame of the chaos on Pakatan Rakyat instead of the DAP.
DAP Malay members will be called all sorts of names such as ‘traitors to the Malays’, and if they are labelled traitors, would the other Malays in Pakatan Rakyat, Group of 25 and Bersih 2.0 steering committee also be called traitors to the country and the race?
Even Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been not been spared the brickbats. This is the time that our Malay brethren would have to remain strong in spirit! As Chinese or Indians, we have to come to their defence as well.
No room for racism
Little did the street protesters realise that behind the police line were the Otai Reformasi and Pro-Rakyat people, who were mainly Malays. In one of my earlier articles, I had predicted that when there is an uprising against the Chinese, it is not the Chinese who will protect the Chinese, but the Malays.
The dynamics in the Malay community are interesting and very unique. If they found a younger brother had created mischief, the elder brother would bash him up. It is this deep sense of justice and fear of Allah that can explain this. This is something that my fellow Chinese have to appreciate of our Malay neighbours.
We have seen this in the case of the senior citizen whose car was rudely smashed up by a younger lady and the great example of the sultan of Johor and his crown prince speaking up against racists in their state, but I never expected that Otai Reformasi and Pro-Rakyat to be so well-organised until they swung into action during the red shirt rally.
My prediction is that if Umno’s whip is not effective in reining in their own members who are out to do mischief, there will be the Otai Reformasi and Pro-Rakyat who will do it. I hope they will use the ‘rod’ on the other races as well, if they are out to do mischief.
Their presence at the rally is sufficient to send a strong message to the troublemakers, without even getting into a fight. It would be disastrous if any political party supporters fight with them, because they represent the people’s whip.
Umno cornered
Now, while the red shirt protesters (read, mainly Umno supporters) rallied at Padang Merbok listening to former chief minister of Malacca Mohd Ali Rustam and Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali, there was a sea of orange in Shah Alam at the launch of Parti Amanah Negara by Mohamad Sabu, who is fondly known as Mat Sabu. Without the need to state the obvious, they are mostly Malays.
(Something about Mat Sabu that I wish to pun on record - simple, logical and down to earth, Mat Sabu is my kind of hero! Incidentally, I took time from my busy schedule to meet Mat Sabu last week, and took a photograph with him. He is about the only politician that I have taken photographs with, even though I had a chance to take photographs with former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and others like Abdullah Badawi when he became prime minister.)
Also, in the midst of the red shirt rally, Marina Mahathir and other fellow Malaysians were having a picnic together at the KLCC Park.
In another report, we read about a survey conducted by Merdeka Centre which revealed that 52 percent Malays did not support the red shirt rally. Dr Mahathir was definitely not there!
In short, the only ones who came to the rally were mainly from a section of Umno who still support Najib and want him to remain in office permanently.
A video clip has gone viral when a ‘citizen journalist’ went to check out the Stadium Bukit Jalil where the buses were supposed to park. There were hardly more than 30 buses, and not as claimed by certain individuals.
This explains why in a video clip which also went viral, a certain lady was trying to drum up support at the eleventh hour, and distributed the leftover the red T-shirts.
Undeniably, the Malay community was lukewarm towards the red shirt rally, because most people realised that the rally had a racial slur to it, and as Dr Mahathir himself said: “What is their objective? Even I don’t know.”
The attempt to play up the May 13 bogeyman has met with indifference from the majority of the people who now know what is happening behind the scene especially after The Wall Street Journal and Sarawak Report exposed the scandal revolving around Najib.
Most people are quite fed up with what they are seeing happening in the country and the way how the people in the corridors of power are abusing their powers to silence the voices of dissent.
I have analysed pictures and video clips since two Bersih rallies ago, but yesterday’s rally did not impress me - in terms of numbers, ethnicity and the agenda.
In most countries, it is the opposition who have to go down to the streets but in yesterday’s rally, it is Umno, a major ruling party, and the agenda, among others, is to protect Malay dignity.
Like Saifuddin Abdullah himself had said: “No one has ever challenged my dignity as a Malay.”
Interestingly, while I was at a mechanic workshop, I was chatting with a Malay gentleman who is from Johor. He asked a very good question: “Are they saying that I don’t have my dignity as a Malay?”
Like it or not, due to the haphazard manner in which the rally was organised, people have already perceived the entire rally to be one same rally, it was Ali Rustam or Jamal, the only intention that is clear is as what Mat Sabu said recently: “It is a rally by kaki bodek (boot lickers)” who want Najib to remain in office for reasons that are obvious to most of us.”
Cornered, it looks like Umno has to go back to the drawing board and stop playing with racial or religious sentiments that can, and will surely backfire. Ask me, and I will tell you that Najib has put everything in place for our society to shift from one that is passive to one that is ready to take Malaysia to the next level.
I welcome a new Malaysia that will be able to make the tiger roar again! - M'kini
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