Bangsa Malaysia only way to unite the ummah, not a ‘grand coalition’

 

Ummah is an Arabic word which means a community. But over time, the word has now become a synonym for the Islamic community in general. In the Malaysian context, it had always referred to the Malay/Muslim community.

As a far as I can remember, Malay-based parties Umno and PAS were always calling for the unity of the ummah, meaning Malays and Muslims. It was accepted that the other races were not in this equation and no one complained.

Similarly, another oft-used phrase by the leaders that had always bothered me was agama, bangsa and negara (religion, race and nation) to marshal all Malaysians. I always wondered if it encompassed all races and religions or was it only used to rally Malays and Muslims.

After losing power in the 2018 general election; which saw a government with a better racial balance in power, Umno and PAS decided to use the “Penyatuan Ummah” (Uniting the Community) theme to tell the Malay-Muslim community that if they did not unite, they will lose the political power that they had been enjoying. Obviously they knew it would work, and work it did.

From then on, we saw racial and religious ties on a downward slide, with some leaders within Pakatan Harapan (PH) itself attending cloak and dagger meetings to whip up the ummah sentiments that finally led to the infamous Sheraton Move. As we know, some turncoats caused PH to be robbed of its electoral mandate. Again, they openly declared it was done in the name of uniting the ummah.

So, when Barisan Nasional secretary-general Annuar Musa proposed a grand coalition to unite the ummah to settle what he termed as Malaysia’s political paralysis by making overtures to Malay and multi-racial parties, some felt it merited attention. They were those who said it was just a moot point.

Annuar did single out Malay and Bumiputera parties like Pejuang, the youth party Muda and multiracial Warisan to join Perikatan Nasional (PN) to form this coalition. He also included non-Malay and non-Muslim political parties like the Indian Progressive Front, Makkal Sakthi and Parti Cinta Malaysia, among others.

As long as they were opposed to PH, he said, they could join the coalition. Soon after including the “others” in his grand plan, what he said got me thinking. “The efforts of the union of the ummah must be our main responsibility and continuous.” One wonders who he actually had in mind when he uttered this.

Are we to assume that Annuar or BN are now having a change of heart and including the “others” into the ummah? In other words, will we then be part of the Malaysian ummah, or is it another of their political games to just get a comfortable number to stay in power? Your guess is as good as mine.

I am asking this because if he says he only wants anti-PH politicians or parties to join this grand coalition, “uniting the ummah” does not make sense because DAP, PKR and Amanah combined have more than 40% of the MPs in Parliament.

A split down the middle, right? Sounds very rhetorical indeed. Looking at the larger picture, if you use elected representatives as a yardstick for uniting the ummah, it will not be reflected on the ground, far from it as we can see today. Politicians actually split the ummah.

So, the grand coalition is not the panacea for all our unity ills as Annuar makes it sound. The fact is we are facing a Malaysian dilemma. While many non-Malays are ready to identify ourselves first as Malaysians, it is not the case in the Malay community.

The only time we do this is when we are abroad, telling foreigners that we are Malaysians and not identifying ourselves racially. Once we are home, we tend to go back into the racial cocoon. When some of our leaders were asked whether they were Malay or Malaysian first, most did not give direct answers except for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

Posed the question in 2010, Muhyiddin said: “I am a Malay first, I want to say that. But being a Malay first does not mean you are not a Malaysian. How can I say I am a Malaysian first and Malay second? All the Malays will shun me and say you are not proper. An Indian will say he is Indian first. Can (DAP stalwart Lim) Kit Siang say he is Chinese last and Malaysian first?”

Former prime minister Najib Razak tackled the question differently in an interview with Al Jazeera also in 2010. He said: “Technically, I am a Malay under the constitution. And I am comfortable being a Malaysian. And I want us to work towards becoming a one Malaysian society. I am proud to be a Malay, proud to be a Muslim. The fact that I am proud to be a Malay and Muslim, it does not mean that I cannot relate to others.”

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim chose to be diplomatic in his answer to Al Jazeera two years ago, with a bit of distraction though.“To me, there is no contradiction, if you ask me am I a Muslim first or Malaysian first or a Malay first. I am a Malay, I am a Muslim, I am a Malaysian. I am an Asian, I am an internationalist, I am a practising Muslim, I consider Shakespeare as an international genius, and that does not erode my belief in race, religion, culture or nation.”

And as recent as Nov 10, PPBM youth leader Wan Ahmad Fayhsal declared he is a Malay first before being a Malaysian, dashing hopes of the younger generation taking a more liberal stand on this.

“This question has been asked to Muhyiddin. My answer is: ‘I am Malay first’, as this comes from a legacy which has been recognised physically, biologically and culturally. Being a citizen comes from a legal aspect,” he said.

When Dr Mahathir Mohamad launched his Vision 2020 in 1991 when he was prime minister, he declared we will see the evolution of a Bangsa Malaysia when it comes to fruition. Ironically, it was this same man who had a hand, directly or indirectly, in destroying this vision.

The 2021 budget further underscored the perceived “irrelevance” of the non-Bumiputera community when the allocations stunk to high heaven. It became a race-based budget, not a Malaysian needs-based plan.

Muafakat Nasional has announced it will meet to formally seal a tripartite alliance between Umno, PAS and the Bersatu faction of Muhyiddin. This is going to change the political landscape quite significantly and have a bearing in all future elections.

With this, have we also sealed all hopes of giving birth to a Bangsa Malaysia that will unite us and move the nation forward? Although it may just be a dream, I choose to remain optimistic for the sake of our children and grandchildren. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.