When Harussani met Kazim: Will the Perak Palace finally speak up?

In the aftermath of the 12th General Election, UMNO couldn’t wait to boot out Abdullah Badawi. Najib was promptly installed as the 6thPrime Minister and Najib’s brain child 1Malaysia started to make its rounds.

Malaysians couldn’t make sense of 1Malaysia at the time, and everyone had its own interpretation of the 1Malaysia concept. Still appearing occasionally on TV, a very professional, well-made advertisement expounding the 1Malaysia concept is now greeted with snickers by sceptical Malaysians.

Almost at the same time Perkasa came along, and until today it has not stopped exhibiting the opposite traits of the 1Malaysia concept. Religious clerics like Muslim convert Ridhuan Tee, Nakhaie Ahmad and lately Kazim Elias seem to be oblivious of the concept as they go about preaching the message of hate to the Muslims.

Even Najib's deputy Muhyiddin Yassin seems to be sceptical, attesting that he is Malay first, and then Malaysian.

Why are these people not supportive of 1Malaysia? Their messages of hate have distinct elements of Racism and Religious bigotry. And yet Najib’s Government is ignoring them like the plague. Perhaps Najib doesn't realize that with the expensive campaign to promote 1Malaysia, it was actually starting to stick with Malaysians, and if he had walked the talk on his concept, it would have attracted many Malaysians to support his Government?

But no, he chose to two-time the people. And the rest is now history.

Not champions but hate-criminals

Crawling out from the woodwork is now an alarming stream of mad-men, who are busily trying to outdo each to be the best race-champion for the Malays, the toughest anti-Chinese and anti-Indian basher, the most extremist Islamic zealot, or in short the greatest bully and hate-criminal in town.

The contrast is simply amazing. On one hand, Malaysians clearly see the 1Malaysia concept as a shining beacon of hope for peace and harmony, but on the other hand, a ravaging hate-campaign is being waged to destabilize the nation and demoralize its people.

We must ask ourselves, the question: “do the non-Malay citizens in this country deserve such treatment?” Is Najib’s government taking sides?

Kazim’s latest call to the Malays not to give up a single inch of ground and to warn off the Indians and the Chinese from 'encroaching' on Malay rights is a severe blow to the 1Malaysia concept. Najib's government is seen as impotent to address such blatant disregard for the Rights of all citizens in the country. The non-Malays are perceived as being bullied into submitting to a raw deal.

We recall the incident of a Chinese reporter detained under the ISA, when she accurately reported the seditious comments made by a Penang UMNO leader. The nation was aghast at how such an anomaly could exist in this country. Another Malaysian Chinese artiste, Namewee, was also sucked into this racial quagmire. His silly Videos on Youtube were severely reprimanded by the Government, although to many other Malaysians, there was nothing wrong with them.

Kazim’s statements, if anyone bothers to watch his video, seem rather severe and is an outright humiliation to the non-Malay citizens in this country.

What sort of message will the Perak Palace send

Coming from Ipoh in Perak, Kazim Elias Al Hafiz is the chairman of the Pusat Pendidiakan Al Barakah, a religious educational establishment. Along with Harrusani, the Mufti of Perak, they are seen as men of religious controversies.

Sometime back, Harrusani called for a Fatwa( Religious Ruling) on Cigarette Smoking which were later downplayed by the authorities. Harrusani also made claims that Muslims were being converted and baptized in a Church Ceremony, which again turned out to be a false alarm.

Harussani, who has been called The Mad Mullah of Perak, has also alleged that an untold number of Muslims were being converted to Christianity. In the recent Bibles controversy, he made known his displeasure and “fears” about the Christians winning 'unwarranted' position in the country. Another famous controversy was the Fatwa on the Poco-Poco Dance, which dismayed many Malays in the country.

The Mufti is the head of Islam in a state. Appointed by the Sultan’s Office he is responsible for Islamic matters concerning the State of Perak. While Sultan Azlan Shah and Prince Nazrin of Perak exudes a liberal and moderate outlook, occasionally making public speeches that support a moderate society, it has been silent on Harussani and now Kazim.

All eyes - even those of the non-Muslims - are on whether the Perak Palace will chide Kazim’s unwarranted and extreme outburst. Or will Sultan Azlan follow in the footsteps of his Selangor counterpart and reward them.

In Selangor, former JAIS director Khusrin Munawi was elevated to State Secretary despite his lack of qualification and the fact that there were many other better candidates. But then Khusrin's advantage is that he is an UMNO die-hard, who in the past has created many racial and religious controversies as well as spats.

A fast-dying Malaysian Dream

Recently, Kazim accused the non-Malays of taking advantage of the 'grace' offered by the Malays. He went on to reprimand them for questioning Malay Supremacy, indirectly enslaving the Malays with his brand of seige mentality. He gave vivid although shallow examples of Malay soldiers slugging it out in the jungles defending the country, while the Chinese party away the whole night long and drinking haram alcohol like fishes.

Ignorant characters such as Kazim should be reprimanded and chastised for spreading the message of Hate, intolerance, discrimination and bigotry. There should be no double standards anywhere in Malaysia. It is really unacceptable in this multi-racial and multi-cultural society of ours.

Malaysians should have the right to visit our Non Muslim neighbours to celebrate Christmas, Chinese New Year, Deepavali and Hari Raya without feeling the least peculiar. We must learn to let go our animosity, fear and jealousy of each other and instead learn to embrace each other as equal citizens.

This is what the Malaysian Dream is all about. - Malaysia Chronicle