YOURSAY | Using Trump’s playbook, Umno and PAS scapegoat DAP

YOURSAY | ‘Trump aims to sow hatred of the minorities so that the majority will vote for him.’

Dr M: DAP ministers used for fear-mongering among Malays

Kim Quek: The strangest phenomenon in Malaysian politics is how the Malay masses could have taken in lock, stock and barrel the absurd lie of DAP being the dominant partner in Pakatan Harapan that would destroy Malay interests.

Racist parties Umno and PAS have succeeded in using such laughable propaganda to turn the Malays against Harapan in a big way.

But the truth is that DAP was not only not a threat to the Malays, but had become too submissive to Dr Mahathir Mohamad to the extent of having forsaken its reform pledges. For such failures, it has already massively alienated the Chinese electorate.

That the Malays should have fallen prey to such incredible propaganda despite the prevalence of social media and instant information demonstrates how deeply ingrained is the racial prejudice in our mind, due no doubt to decades of Umno’s indoctrination.

Needless to say, Harapan will have an enormous task in undoing such damage when it retakes power.

Heron: There is an old adage that states that an ill-intentioned and unscrupulous individual pinches a child in a cot to cry and then sings a lullaby to soothe the child to hide his hypocrisy.

Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak with numerous allegations of misuse of power did venture, some think desperately, to use the DAP as a bogey to remain in power. The people, as is obvious now, were not convinced all the time.

Mahathir has for a long time engaged race, if not DAP, as a significant political strategy to gain power and remain in power for decades. As is obvious now, he too has fallen out into the wilderness.

And as is also obvious now, the nation as a whole has been greatly disadvantaged for decades by these two men’s "miserable" leadership.

Malaysia Bharu: Is this a sign of senility? DAP-bashing and fear-mongering by Umno and PAS to destabilise the government was highest during the Harapan tenure, but Mahathir never rose to its defence then when it really mattered.

Why now when Perikatan Nasional (PN) does not see the need for the DAP bogey anymore?

FellowMalaysian: When his stakes are down as right now, and he needs to shore up his bruised and battered ego as he is virtually 'partyless', Mahathir will sing praises to the Chinese, the DAP and Lim Guan Eng.

JBond: Until and unless racial politics is totally banned in Bolehland starting with the deregistration of all political parties that have a single race as their constitution, there will always be one race pitched against another to gain political mileage.

Such is human nature to exploit the irrational fear of the insecure group of people, in this case, the Malays.

Oriole: The problem is a bit more complex than that. The lack of education, critical thinking skills and a lack of understanding of democracy leads to people seeing powerful, rich men as their feudal lords.

Nothing is questioned and everything is swallowed. But among the educated lot, this is not gullibility: it is opportunism. They have benefited from years of wealth and privilege and they will do anything, including murder, to maintain their privilege.

With these two extremes, the country can never develop a conscience or move forward.

The Wakandan: There is an ingrained prejudice in us that breeds hatred and jealousy against the other race who are perceived as of a different group/gang that is not part of us (orang kita versus orang lain mentality).

This is difficult to eradicate and becomes even more difficult as politicians use them for political purposes.

Anonymous 93887546720228: In the US, President Donald Trump used divide-and-rule to win power. He aims to sow hatred of the minorities so that the white majority will vote for him.

The same is true here in Malaysia. Both Umno and PAS create a siege mentality among the Malays so that they too can win power.

Just A Malaysian: Our political system is in a mess, everybody blaming and angry with each other as our country continues to slide downwards in all aspects. PN is gaining acceptance only by giving freebies and money and increasing Islamisation.

There is nothing smart, creative or game-changing coming from the cabinet. We are faced with a difficult post-Covid era and yet our politicians are still fighting among themselves.

ScarletPanda9731: In this modern age of enlightenment, it is rather strange that politicians think they can still play the race card and gain substantial support.

They will learn the hard way that the train has left the station, carrying educated youths who are usually idealists; and they do not talk about race anymore.

They talk about technology, internet, handphones, etc. They hate racism, and those who advocate racism will be roundly condemned.

Constitutional Supremacy: The constitution protects Malay rights. The Malays are the majority in the population and that gives them double political power. All sultans and the Agong are Malay and will protect Malay interests and legitimate rights of non-Malays.

The police, army, air force and navy are more than 90 percent Malays and have absolute control.

All governments departments have more than 90 percent Malays. All government-linked companies (GLCs) are almost 90 percent Malays. And the list goes on...

Thus, Malay power is absolutely unchallengeable and Malay brothers and sisters should not be gullible to believe otherwise.

Clever Voter: Insecurity and paranoia do not destroy any particular race but self-serving and corrupt politicians do.

DAP has been in existence for as long as one remembers. Its capacity to impose is limited and support is confined mostly to urban constituencies.

But they are easy targets for any other crooked politicians to blame or be used as scapegoats. Sixty-plus years of failed social policies are for everyone to judge. Today's context - the disparity in income has gotten worse within each ethnicity, and literacy levels have got no better.

Corrupt practices are deeply embedded, the feudal system hasn't gone away, and the standards in education are so-so. Worst, we now have the possibility of corrupt politicians returning to Parliament freed from charges of stolen billions. Yet government after government lives in denial.

All of these are not DAP's doing. Its leaders have given more to communities than many others. Mahathir knows this.

He and others will not live to see the end of such an appalling government, and after so many decades, what has happened to the billions of wealth extracted from the ground?

Many remain poor, across all races. It's shameful. Perhaps it's a symptom of an oil-cursed nation. - Mkini