Will “Hidup Tanah Melayu! Hidup bangsa/ketuanan Melayu” be the battle cry come GE16?

 

MALAY unity was the driving force that propelled the Barisan Nasional-Perikatan Nasional (BN-PN) alliance to an impressive victory in the Negeri Sembilan (N9) state election.

UMNO and PAS which spearheads the PN coalition must have played the race card as this is the only effective way to win over the hearts and minds of the Malay voters.

UMNO did not quite go overboard on the campaign trail to bring home the message that Malay unity is vital to ensure political hegemony.

But its president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi once said that his party is keen to form a national grand alliance of all Malay Muslim political parties to “truly unite the spirit of Malay and Muslim parties … for the sake of Islam and the Malay community”.

The N9 political contest proves his point and this could be the beginning of the realisation of such a collaboration “under one roof”.

However, UMNO during its campaigning played the good guy by even admonishing PAS not to create trouble when its populist leader Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor allegedly stirred up a hornet’s nest with his highly-charged racially tainted remarks.

Sure-fire-way to win

The Kedah Menteri Besar reportedly told a ceramah that the Malays have only Tanah Melayu as their homeland whereas the Indians and Chinese can always return to their respective ancestral lands.

Whether distorted, misquoted or misguided or taken out of context, the remarks must have been music to the ears of the rightist fraternity for that was exactly what they wanted to hear.

And UMNO and PAS knew exactly what the Malay electorate wanted to hear.

If Sanusi who is also PN election director were to be charged and convicted for his contentious speech, he would be hailed – and not condemned – as a hero for defending his homeland.

For understandable reason, UMNO cannot adopt such an extreme stance if it wants to eventually regain federal power. Let PAS handle the hot potato – race and religion – while UMNO projects itself as a force of moderation and tolerance.

Already, Zahid who is also the BN chairman foresees a “blue wave” sweeping across the country at state or parliamentary level based on the crushing victories in Johor and now N9.

PAS information chief Fadhli Shaari also predicted a “darker blue wave” will overwhelm every state in the next general election because of the BN-PN partnership.

This new partnership has been described as a “winning formula” which is actually a replay of the political compact the two parties had forged in 2019. But that alliance – Muafakat Nasional – had since collapsed.

Now this new winning formula has been trumpeted as a sure-fire hit simply because UMNO and PAS – once inveterate political foes – have seemingly buried the hatchet as they dreamed of bigger glory coming their way.

Race, religion to take centre stage

But in reality, their winning formula is not about the revival of a political partnership but an opportunistic strategy to capture very single Malay vote to strengthen Malay political power without sharing it with any other ethnic groups.

They can only accomplish this ultimate gaol by harping on race and religion while instilling fear in the Malay mind about the dangers – real or imagined – posed by the other ethnic minorities.

If there is one lesson that stands out loud and clear from the N9 battlefield, it is this: it pays to play up racial rhetoric which is all about identity  politics, ethnic divisions and inflammatory statements about race or religion.

No other issues can capture the Malay mind. Even the revelation at the last minute about the Tabung Haji scandal did not sway the largely Malay voters.

At a ceramah, Amanah president Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu tried to exploit the scandal by blaming the Malays for the mismanagement of the Islamic financial institution.

But his punchline, “Melayu tipu Melayu” – and not the Chinese or Indians – didn’t catch fire. It didn’t boost the fortune of Pakatan Harapan.

Perhaps, the Malay electorate was furious that the Agriculture and Food Security Minister chose to highlight the scandal instead of promoting the political hegemony of the dominant race.

In the coming electoral battles – whether state or parliamentary – race and religion will feature prominently.

The slogan “Hidup Tanah Melayu! Hidup Ketuanan Melayu! Hidup Bangsa Melayu’” will be the war cry as the blue waves keep crashing down on the gates of Putrajaya. 

Phlip Rodrigues is a retired journalist.

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

- Focus Malaysia.