The "Cina Babi" plot that failed: Umno and Gerakan can forget Penang

The plot peaked in Penang. The dye is cast now.  UMNO and Gerakan can only dream of getting back Penang. Penang will remain sturdy under the bright leadership of Lim Guan Eng – a well-liked leader among Malays, Chinese and Indians.

On 26 February 2012, there was a Himpunan Hijau 2.0 organised by a Penang NGO, Suaram. It was held at the Speaker’s Corner, Padang Kota, Pulau Pinang to object to the Lynas rare earth processing plant in Kuantan. It was reported that, over 2,000 people gathered against Lynas at the venue and about 80 thugs on the pretext of supporting Lynas also appeared. The thugs – a small group displaying a façade of grandiosity – were actually not there not to support Lynas but to deliberately disrupt the event. Alas, the event was soiled as this group of desperados plotted to smear it with racial slurs that must have seriously offended the Chinese community in the country.

Curse words

A similar event went on smoothly in Kuantan with over 20,000 converging  peacefully at MPK4 field. A sea of people clad in light green and yellow T-shirts turned up for this massive get-together creating a cheerful ambience in Kuantan.  As one UMNO politician said in Kuantan, “The anti-Lynas demonstration has brought business and tourists to Kuantan. The event has made Kuantan known to the people internationally.” No untoward incident happened during the event in Kuantan despite the presence of thousands of anti-Lynas supporters.

But a group of thugs plotted havoc in another event of the same held in Penang. It was reported that curse words such as “Cina Kurang ajar” (ill-bred Chinese), “Cina Babi”, “Penang Cina bodoh”, “Cina bodoh sokong Lim Guan Eng Ketua Menteri" were hurled at a group of journalists and the Chief Minister(CM) of Penang in the presence of a big crowd during the event. In the mêlée to protect the CM it was reported that one Chinese journalist was injured and had  eight stitches on his injured finger and another had a bruise on his head. Many others were reported to have been hit by this fanatical group.

To these trouble makers please note that the Chinese people have gone through more than 5000 years of civilisation far longer than many other civilisations in the world. They thus cannot be, with intent, branded as an ill-bred race neither should they be equated with “animals”. They are human being just like any other person. There are among them Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, Humanists who cherish the principles of compassion in life and have done good to the human race.

The present young generation of Chinese in this country are those born and bred here and they have all made this country their home. They are resilient, hardworking and have undoubtedly contributed enormously to the development of this country and this has indirectly benefitted the Malays, Indians and other indigenous people. Their acumen to create wealth has helped generate the economy of the country and with their monetary contributions the government has helped the other races to progress.

The Chinese do not deserve to be bashed

The Chinese do not deserve to be bashed and cursed with such derogatory and uncouth words just for political reasons. Thus, continuous silence on the part of UMNO, Gerakan, MCA and MIC on this culture of hurling uncouth words by some sponsored thugs on other races is a bad omen for the nation. They will certainly not get Chinese support or for that matter, the support from right-thinking Malaysians who are fed-up with all this racial overtones in politics.

The CM of Penang was cool throughout that plot in Penang. He just smiled at the thugs. Knowing the CM, in his career as a politician he has never ever used such uncouth words against any other race or religion. This reflects on his good upbringing. Praise his parents and his inherited culture and for such a refined character in him. For his charisma, integrity and fine leadership he was lawfully elected as the CM of Penang after Pakatan took over the state from BN in 2008. Who are these frenetic thugs now to ridicule him in the public? Their inane plot has further tarnished the image of the Opposition (BN) in Penang.

Fortunately, these trouble makers do not represent majority of the people in the state.  They were possibly “paid” to be there to plot trouble and to create intense dislike among the people for the CM and the state government. “This small group of thugs parading as heroes may not have provoked on their own. They must have been sponsored by a political entity,” said an educated  47-year-old fence-sitter residing in Balik Pulau.

These dim-witted thugs should have realised that Penang is now under the stewardship of DAP-led Pakatan Rakyat and the present state government is being installed under a democratic system. The Malays, Chinese and Indians in the state voted for the present government. Just accept the fact that BN has lost in Penang.

The Chinese are offended

Lim has proven to be a successful leader in Penang. Apparently, to many critics the incident in Penang was just a slothful or barbaric plot sponsored by a mentally deranged group to look down on the elected CM of Penang. With such idiotic and caustic remarks made against the CM and the journalists during the scuffle, the Chinese will for sure sympathise more with Lim and his government. Obviously, the Chinese must have felt offended, as condemning Lim using crude curse words is just like condemning all of them. Not only the Chinese in Penang are offended, the Chinese all over the country must have felt the same.

This group’s conduct, however, does not represent Malay, Islamic culture, the norms and traditions of any race or, for that matter, the spirit of 1Malaysia. But their malicious plot at the event was enough for the voters to wipe out UMNO, MCA and Gerakan in Penang in the next general election. UMNO will be equally affected as they too depend on Chinese votes in Penang to win in many constituencies. Furthermore, UMNO on its part has failed to constructively condemn the thugs who were involved in disrupting the otherwise peaceful event.

It looks like of late desperate UMNO, Gerakan or MCA will never condemn any vicious acts  by thugs against the Pakatan. If this is their trademark, obviously the people of Penang and other states would get rid of them in the next general election. The few top leaders in UMNO and Gerakan thus far have only twisted the issue for their political convenience. Little have they realised that their stand on this issue has distanced their own supporters from them. They are offended. “I voted for BN in past elections but with this incident and as a Chinese I’m very offended,” said a Gerakan supporter in Gelugur.

Not the first time

Another Malay resident in Bayan Lepas quipped, “This violent and uncouth character of some individuals will badly tarnish the Malays and BN. Malays in Penang have made their choice in the 2008 election. Why all the continuous disruptions by the losers now?” Surprisingly, instead of an outright condemnation of the incident a few UMNO and Gerakan leaders were putting the blame on the CM much to the rage of Penangites. “If this is what we expect from UMNO and Gerakan, they can forget about capturing Penang. Why wreak vengeance on the winners this way?” said a former lawmaker from Penang.

This is not the first time Malaysians was rained with provocative racial slurs. Uncouth words have been uttered many times before by some individuals against not only the Chinese but the Indians in the country to purposely stir hatred among the peace-loving people.  It seems a natural instinct among some senile individuals to use derogatory words to deride other races. Fortunately, the minority races in this country are very patient and they do not unthinkingly fall into their devious plots to create racial animosity. This shows how patient and mature these minority groups are, as they will never stoop that low to act barbarically in response to racial disparagements in politics.

With this spiteful incident in Penang UMNO, Gerakan or MCA can forget about getting significant votes from the Chinese in the next general election. Even those fence sitters and those in BN component parties will now think twice giving before voting for UMNO or BN. This is going to be a pain in the neck for UMNO and BN in the coming general election.

Lim Guan Eng or Lim Kit Siang may have hailed from Melaka – which is still a Malaysian state, but their political acumen and prowess have impressed the people of Penang and Ipoh respectively. It’s not the onus of a few frustrated politicians to condemn them by virtue of they not being locals of Penang or Perak.. This must be against the spirit of 1Malaysia as aspired by none other than the prime minister, Najib Abdul Razak.

Political maturity in Kelantan

Kelantan under PAS – a Pakatan component party – has shown much more maturity in politics than what these thugs and their sponsors have in mind. PAS in Kelantan has for long accepted ‘outside’ political figures to contest in their parliamentary seats. And these ‘outsiders’ have won and represented the people of Kelantan. Among them is Salahuddin Ayub from Johor  who is currently the member of parliament for the Kubang Kerian. Salahuddin holds the seat of Kubang Kerian, based in Kota Bharu, although he is not from Kelantan.  Nasharuddin Nasharudin Mat Isa from Kedah is currently the member of parliament for the Bachok constituency in Kelantan after winning in the 2008 general election.

Mohamed Sabu (Mat Sabu) from Penang  became  the member of parliament of Kubang Kerian, Kelantan in 1990. These politicians were all cordially accepted by the people of Kelantan. It only reflects political maturity among the Malays in Kelantan.

Ruffianism in many other parts

Of late, the culture of political ruffianism is rearing its ugly head in many other locations in the country. UMNO refuses to acknowledge this and is not doing much to rein in this problem. This makes peace-loving Malaysians not really pleased with UMNO and BN. The majority Malaysians of all races abhor ruffianism in politics. Violence, attacks and sabotage by even small groups against the ceramah held by Pakatan leaders will certainly incur the wrath of voters. UMNO-led government cannot turn a blind eye to this phenomenon happening in our society as it will, if undeterred, blot the foundation of our society based on mutli-racialism and democracy.

A group of trouble makers were reported to have been aggressive during a ceramah Pakatan Rakyat ceramah in Felda Lepar Hilir, Gambang on the night of 26^th February. According to the Director of Communication KEADILAN, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, the Vice President of KEADILAN, Nurul Izzah Anwar almost became a victim of assault. Fortunately, in that incident the police was quick to react before more harm could be inflicted on the lady.

In another incident in Sembrong on February 20, it was reported that a group of thugs hurled stones that hit and dented Anwar Ibrahim’s car. The windscreen of the Opposition leader’s car was shattered. In that incident, a Johor Keadilan Chief Mohd Nazri Ismail was injured when he tried to stop these thugs from approaching Anwar. The group members in red T-shirt carrying BN flags hurled bottles, sticks and eggs at the speakers during the ceramah.

On January 21, a joint ceramah by the 'Anything But UMNO' group and Hindraf was called to an abrupt end after youths attacked the venue with sticks and helmets. Injuries were reported amongst the participants of the ceramah.

Trouble began when a 200-strong group – claiming to be the Gerakan Memartabatkan Pejuang Negara (Movement to Honour National Heroes) – attempted to march to the ceramah venue at Kampung Pulau Bintongan, Rembau on October 6, 2011. It was reported that the group wanted to hold a demonstration against PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu, who was the main speaker at the ceramah. But as they approached the venue, they were confronted by the Pakatan supporters who persuaded them to leave. Tempers came to a boil and confrontation began. Pakatan supporters were punched and many were injured.

The majority Malays, Chinese and Indians are sickened of individuals behaving in such a despicable and obnoxious manner, which many perceive as cannot be plotted without the tacit support of UMNO, Perkasa and BN leadership.

The people hate UMNO and BN more

The people’s perception is that UMNO, Perkasa and BN are behind all these fracas and bullies. To the people, this is blatant intimidation – nothing more, nothing less. Regrettably, in many cases the police had failed to provide the necessary presence that could have put off the hideous incidents.

The fact that one disagrees with or hates a person because of political differences or ideology does not justify one’s action to harass, intimidate or mug someone, or to damage property. Unfortunately, there are frantic individuals  who have the notion that they can win the support of the people by staging plots to undermine their political opponents. To the sensible citizens actions of these few thugs only reflect of how low their mentality is. As for those plotting deviously and violently against the Pakatan, they have in fact ruined the prospect of UMNO and BN gaining back the support of the people. These sponsored thugs have failed to draw sympathy from the people.  The best they have done is  to make the people hate UMNO and BN more.

Never once has there been reports that PKR, PAS and DAP have harassed or intimidated UMNO's and BN's ceramah. Pakatan, auspiciously, does not subscribe to intimidatory tactics even though they are deprived of all the government-controlled avenues to state their political stand and air their grievances to the people.

If truth be told, UMNO and BN are scared of losing power. UMNO, in particular  has lost all credibility and dignity. UMNO for that matter does no longer reflect the noble and dignified Malay culture anymore but has become a party that is more concerned about holding on to power through their selfish means.

The more UMNO and BN resort to insalubrious tactics in politics, the sooner would its downfall be.
Kudos to Pakatan. To date, the Pakatan leadership from DAP PAS and PKR, has maintained the moral high ground among Malay, Chinese and Indian voters, despite all the bluffs, denigration and slander thrown at them by the mainstream media. With every violent incident and fracas plotted against Pakatan, DAP, PAS and PKR  are gaining more sympathy from the people and UMNO is losing support from more voters. Perkasa is helping to make the demise of UMNO, MCA, Gerakan and MIC faster without some BN leaders realising this.

A party that condones violent and gutter politics has no place in the heart of Malaysians. UMNO and BN will imminently fall  in the coming general election.

Malaysia Chronicle