To curb popularity for 1Malaysia, Dr M spews angry race rhetoric

Wong Choon Mei, Malaysia Chronicle

In a bid to give courage to the hawks in Umno, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has resorted to his favorite scare-mongering racial and religious rhetoric after several recent maneuvers led by Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and Penang Umno chief Zahid Hamidi backfired badly.

Mahathir’s strong words were also seen as a pre-emptive move to arrest any shift in sentiment towards Prime Minister Najib Razak’s multiracial 1Malaysia plan after Minister in the PM’s Department Nazri Aziz called for “zero tolerance” towards racism.

“Mahathir has become as out-of-sync with the times as Perkasa’s Ibrahim Ali. It looks like the tussle in Umno is moving again. To the public eye, it is the right-wing versus the centre and the left, but basically, it is just a power struggle. As long as he is in power and everybody praises him, Mahathir doesn’t really care which side he is on,” PKR strategic director Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

“At the moment, the right wing is still the path of least resistance. It traditionally is and that's why it is easier for Mahathir and his gang to influence this group, which are mostly the older members from the rural areas with less exposure to what’s happening in the rest of the country and the world.”

Not yet ready to show hand

People close to Najib say he is not willing to show a decisive hand yet, fearing irreversible consequences after his immediate predecessor Abdullah Badawi was crudely bundled out from office by Mahathir in a 2008 internal party coup that Najib also assisted in.

But Nazri, the most outspoken minister in the PMD and seen to be Najib's muse, has minced no words. He was reported as saying that color of skin would not be a defense for wrongdoing. Nazri was referring to two Malay school principals who had uttered racist comments that shocked the nation, prompting calls for her sacking as well as a scolding for Muhyiddin, who is also the Education minister.

It is by now an open secret that Muhyiddin stands in the Mahathir camp. There have also been signs that Zahid, the defence minister and Umno vice president, has also gravitated to their side. Last week, Zahid led a rampage against Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, accusing him of ordering state religious authorities to replace the King’s name with his in the Friday prayers at mosques.

All eyes, including from the Najib camp, are on how Muhyddin and Zahid will react, now that Mahathir has a given a booster shot to their deadly twin campaign-platforms of racism and religious bigotry.

“Muhyiddin is under immense public pressure to sack the two headmistresses. He needs an excuse to wriggle out of it, so Mahathir’s encouraging words will help him. But Muhyiddin has been a great disappointment. His first consideration is to not upset the Malay teaching community which is a traditional electorate for Umno. But by not chastising them when they are wrong, he is an insincere leader because he is not guiding them onto the right path. He just wants their votes,” an Umno watcher told Malaysia Chronicle.

“As for Zahid, he hasn’t been as extreme as former Selangor MB Khir Toyo. But if he cannot come out with better strategies to retake Penang or at least reduce the Pakatan’s influence, he knows he will be a goner in the 2011 Umno party elections. He needs to gain popularity and race-championing and racial bigotry seem to be his chosen strategies.”

Political considerations above even Islam

At a Perkim (Muslim Welfare Organization of Malaysia) function on Tuesday night, Mahathir had insisted that to protect their political dominance in the country, Malays must insist that the name of a Muslim leader be mentioned in the Friday prayers.

Like Zahid, he did not base his insistence on Islam or its requirements but on political and racial considerations. He also did not say if the names of non-Muslim leaders could be included so that congregations could pray for their enlightenment and good health to lead the state.

"I am not being racist in raising the anger among Muslims about this but there are our rights that should be respected by others. Respect will be there only if we are in power. Today, although Islam calls us to be united, we are split, and it might reach a level where we might lose power," Mahathir said.

"When we Muslims quarrel among ourselves, others will use the opportunity to gain the upperhand, maybe even assume power in the country. Don't think one day it will not be possible for Friday sermons to be mentioning the name of a non-Muslim leader because they are in power and we are weak.”

But even as he called for Malay unity, he could not resist bashing the Islamist PAS labeling its as “political opportunists”. PAS is the second largest Malay-based party in the country and Umno’s arch rival.

Umno leaders have tried hard to knock a deal with PAS so that they could circumvent the non-Malay electorate in the country, but PAS has repeatedly spurned their offers. Malays and Bumiputera form 55 percent of Malaysia's 28 million population.

“There are quite a large number of Indian Muslims in Malaysia but they do not figure in the political party said to be Islamic. The party, by using Islam, knows full well they are appealing to Malays almost exclusively. But the intention is not to defend the Malays but merely to gain their support. One can say they are not Malay racists. Rather they are Malay political opportunists,” said Mahathir.