Last month, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, in his usual shoot-in-the-dark tirade, had an interesting take on non-Malays.
He claimed that non-Malays wanted to “change the name and ownership” of Malaysia.
The former Langkawi MP repeatedly alleged there was an attempt by people “from other countries” to shift Malaysia from being a Tanah Melayu (land of the Malays) into a multiracial country.
“How arrogant are those who come here, whom we have made into citizens, to demand that the name of our country be changed, turned into a multiracial country?” Mahathir reportedly said.
This week the nonagenarian spewed another drivel about multi-racial Malaysia but I have no intention to rebut Mahathir’s allegations as it is proven time and time again, it is pointless.
Plus, his outdated political strategy is too predictable, demonising non-Malays when not in power and humiliating the Malays when in power. Same old, same old.
But what I’m interested to talk about here is Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the man who has been preaching reformasi since 1998.
Burying head under the sand
Before that, a little bit of background. It’s a foregone conclusion that non-Malays will always be demonised by right-wing forces whenever the latter is bankrupt of ideas and have nothing concrete to offer on how to resolve issues plaguing the nation.
And there are many issues plaguing the country such as economic slowdown, rotting education system, endemic corruption, racial and religious polarisation… the list goes on.
But no one plans to do anything to resolve the issues and truth be told, the right-wing forces have no clue on how to resolve such matters.
There is also another problem. Even if someone does try to do something to better the situation, especially a non-Malay, the latter will get hounded by the corrupt right-wing forces.
In essence, they don’t know how to resolve a problem and at the same time, will not allow anyone else to solve the issue too.
For example, remember when Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh was criticised by Perikatan Nasional leaders over the Article 11 project, where participants visit houses of worship of various faiths to promote better understanding.
The project was later suspended due to PN’s incendiary attacks. However, what Anwar said in response to it is something we should take note of.
According to a report by New Straits Times on June 15, the prime minister said the programme may not have been wise as it came at the wrong time.
"Why go and excite people unnecessarily? I mean, I go to churches... it's not an issue. It's important that the prime minister can attend (functions at other places of worship).
"But, at a time when people are a bit apprehensive, not only in Malaysia (but) worse in Europe these days and among some right-wing people in the US, I think we should be more circumspect," he was reported as saying.
But here is the thing, such programmes should have been heavily promoted and nurtured years ago. Being a multi-racial country, we need to learn from each other so that we can foster mutual respect.
And with rising racial and religious polarisation, is it not the best time to promote such programmes?
This is what I’m trying to point out, especially when it involves non-Malays. Yeoh has always been targeted by right-wing forces because she is a capable leader.
As they cannot criticise Yeoh for her performance, guess what they target? Her ethnicity and religion.
Why let PN control the narrative?
And in my view, the unwise person here is not Yeoh… it’s Anwar. He just threw one of his best ministers under the bus, cowering to an equally unwise opposition.
If we are going to back off every time PN leaders use race and religion to attack the government, what’s the point of having the coalition government running Putrajaya then?
The current administration, especially Pakatan Harapan, was voted to power to bring about much-needed changes the country needs. Among them include fostering better ties among multiracial Malaysia.
If the administration is going to take a few steps back just because the opposition is displeased, then might as well have PN run the country. At least we know what we are up against.
But if it is any consolation to Anwar, he is not the only “unwise” leader around. In fact, most of the cabinet team from PKR appeared to be clueless at most times.
That is why I believe the Harapan-BN coalition may get “punished” in the upcoming six state elections next month.
And it’s not due to the “Green Wave” whatsoever. The administration may take a beating from their own base, who may either vote for PN or abstain from voting altogether.
If that projection is true, I seriously hope Harapan-BN will learn its lesson and fulfil its pledges on reforms, or risk getting humiliated by getting voted out of power in the next general election by their own supporters. - Mkini
G VINOD is a member of the Malaysiakini team.
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