Najib closes an eye on JUSTICE FOR THE KIDS forced to eat in 'toilet canteen'

The ‘shower-room canteen’ controversy has escalated rather than simmer down after more than a week since the incident was first brought to the public attention.

Selangor Umno liasion committee chairperson Noh Omar calling the police to investigate the mother who posted the pictures in the Facebook under the Seditious Act is overkilling if Malaysia practices democracy at all and if people like Noh Omar understand what democracy is.

It is so sad that the country has degraded to such a state that everyone wears a pair of colour or religious tinted glasses and see everything as either racial or religious insensitivity.

Even more appalling is the complete silence from the Prime Minister who seems to regard the matter unworthy of his attention and leave it to his cabinet minister to handle as usual. If the matter is a one-off incident, then it is really not an issue worthy of PM’s attention as he has minister appointed to handle almost every matter affecting us. However, he should have noticed that this was only the tip of the iceberg and the latest of a series of mishaps in schools as well as outside of schools that were stained with racial and/or religious sentiment.

Bigger issue at stake but Najib shies away

Surely any fair minded person would have noticed that embedded beneath all these issues is a bigger issue that is being incubated over the last 40 odd years since the inception of the NEP and the gradual introduction of Islamic practices into this multi-ethnic-multi-religious society of ours. The growing discontent of the non-Malays who also happens to be mainly non-Muslims is so obvious that they react to almost everything that are coming from the institutions and/or authorities though some may really be good if everyone can sit down calmly to view the matter rationally.

Unfortunately, the people cannot but worst still, some opportunists would quickly jump in to act as heroes for their own racial group or religious sect each time a matter popped up and in no time the opposing religious group or religious sect would also jump in to fan the fire.

Then, some guys would start making police reports and calling for stern action against the so called instigator causing the matter to roll bigger and bigger, but we still do not see the PM issuing stern warning towards all parties that embroiled in the controversy.

End of 1Malaysia hot-gas

This would inadvertently cause all thinking mind to rationalise the inaction by the Prime Minister. One could rationalise that this is clear evidence that he is not in control or that he is merely incapable and could not see the danger of allowing this inter-faith-inter communal relationship to deteriorate without checking. The third possibility is what many political analysts have termed it as part and parcel of UMNO’s long-term strategy to divide and rule.

Hence, divisive issues of all kinds should not be curbed but be allowed to incubate so that UMNO’s support from the Malays would grow facing an opposing PAS and PKR which are going for the same Malay support for political survival. Hence, main stream media in Malaysia which customarily served respective racial groups are allowed to publish these divisive issues as they are perfect media to sow racial and religious disharmony. People of a particular group would unite if there is an external threat to their values system or existence. Hence, even if there is no real external enemy, a bogeyman is necessary like DAP, Anwar Ibrahim, Dong Zong, etc..

If any of the above rationalisation is true, our PM has effectively packed away his 1Malaysia dream of a united nation that prospers all together soon after it was conceptualised as racial and religious tensions were on the rise soon after 1Malaysia was launched.

Steven Choong Shiau Yoon is National Deputy Secretary General of PKR