Ramasamy to UMNO: Who are the enemies of the Malays? Do they exist or are they imaginary?

 

WHO are the real enemies of the Malays? Is it DAP or other non-Malay political parties?

Or the other Malay political parties in the country? Or is it that those aligned with UMNO Youth are chasing after their imaginary enemies?

However, UMNO – more precisely the party’s youth wing – considers DAP as the real enemy of the Malays. UMNO Youth chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh is going to resign from his Melaka EXCO post to go all-out after DAP.

Given the racial and religious narrative that UMNO in general is steeped in, it appears the enemy has to be a non-Malay and non-Muslim political party.

Considering DAP’s past oppositional role as the so-called champions of the non-Malays, the party fits the bill of the main enemy of UMNO although the reality might be different.

Defending UMNO grassroots vs Malay elites

Because UMNO is not governed by ideology based moral and political principles, its sole preoccupation is to safeguard the rights and privileges of the Malays.

But in reality, not the rights and privileges of ordinary Malays but those of the Malay political and administrative elite who are differentiated by class from the subaltern sections of Malay society.

UMNO knows very well that only by constantly harping on Malay ethnicity and religion can the party continue to serve elite interests.

UMNO knows no other narratives other than the narrative of race and religion. Minus these political narratives, UMNO would pale in political significance.

In this respect, UMNO needs an enemy that is ethnically and religiously different from the Malays. This where the UMNO Youth comes in with its leader Akmal. It is in this context that DAP fits the bill perfectly as the so-called #1 enemy of the Malays.

Akmal is no fool. A medical doctor by training, he understands the Malay psyche, especially those who have been acculturated into thinking that non-Malays – particularly, the Chinese – are the #1 enemies of the Malays.

UMNO president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (left) and the party’s Youth chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh

He just wants to capitalise on the matter aggressively. His provocative and incendiary speeches have made the Sedition Act non-applicable.

Given the historical background of DAP in fighting for the rights of the Chinese, the party came to be portrayed as the main enemy of the Malays.

Why not PAS, Bersatu, PKR?

Fighting for the rights of non-Malays was interpreted by nationalistic Malays as an attempt to deprive Malays of their rights as Bumiputera. It was the hallmark of the zero-sum game. The gains of the non-Malays were interpreted as the loss of the Malays and vice-versa.

Unfortunately, Akmal might have missed the boat when DAP was at its height of popularity as the champion of non-Malays, particularly the Chinese.

DAP of today is not the same ferocious party it was before. Power, positions and perks have reduced the party to a political appendage in the ruling coalition.

DAP might have 40 parliamentary members and five ministers in the Cabinet but the party has been completely subordinated to the Malay hegemonic interests.

DAP is hardly a threat to Malays, especially to their special rights and privileges. What is not understandable is the fact why would UMNO Youth flog the dead horse of DAP.

I think Akmal needs a political enemy to harp on the theme of Malay unity. That enemy is none other than the now-pathetic DAP.

Image credit: Bernama

Yet Akmal – despite being a medical doctor – knows very well that the real enemies of the Malays are the Malay elites themselves – those who have used and manipulated ethnicity and religion to derive benefits that have largely bypassed the rural masses who remain locked away in their kampung and the interior.

Akmal being part of the class that manipulates and subordinates the rank-and-file Malays needs the imaginary enemies such as DAP that fits into his extreme racial and religious narrative.

How can Akmal talk about Malay unity when Malay-centric political parties such as PAS, Bersatu and PKR have taken away substantial Malay support from UMNO?

Why should UMNO pretend that it is the only party that is capable of uniting the Malays? Shouldn’t PAS, Bersatu and PKR be entitled to speak on Malay unity?

Are these political parties not the real enemies of Malay unity? If these parties have siphoned off Malay support, shouldn’t Akmal blame them for the fragmentation and disunity among the Malays?

Its own leaders are UMNO’s biggest enemies

If DAP has attracted only a handful of Malays into its ranks, how can it realistically be portrayed as the number one enemy of the Malays?

If UMNO genuinely believes in the progress and wellbeing of the Malays, it serves no purpose to reinvent political enemies merely to ensure the continued dominance of an ethnic narrative within the party.

Malays may possess political power but the lack of economic power remains the main stumbling block to meaningful Malay socio-economic progress.

Decades of strategic initiatives and economic policies aimed at transforming Malay society have failed to deliver the intended results.

The Malay entrepreneurial and business classes remain heavily dependent on the state for survival. The creation of rent-seeking Malay political and bureaucratic elite has jeopardised the democratic economic participation of the Malays.

It is the constant and unceasing Malay ethnic and religious narratives that have put obstacles in the socio-economic progress of the Malays especially the subaltern sections of the society.

Shouldn’t Akmal be focusing on this mammoth structural problem that stands in the way of genuine Malay socio-economic advancement?

Why the need to re-invent enemies for the Malays when the real enemies are lurking elsewhere?

My humble advice to Akmal: the fault is not in the stars but in ourselves in failing to analyse the major issues confronting the Malay or Malaysian society. Re-inventing imaginary enemies is not something that will benefit the Malay society.

Malays should be acquiring the latest technological skills to compete in the competitive global economy instead of being confused by self-serving politicians merely interested in their political relevance.

The greatest enemy of the Malays are not DAP or the Chinese or Indians but Malay leaders who continue to thwart the progress of their own community.

Former DAP stalwart and Penang deputy chief minister II Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy is chairman of the United Rights of Malaysian Party (Urimai) interim council.

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

- Focus Malaysia.