UMNO THUGGERY: IS MALAY HATRED FOR CHINESE SO GREAT, THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT THEIR OWN DIGNITY

What do Zimbabwe, China and Malaysia have in common? When the government is in a pickle, thugs-for-hire are deployed, to create a diversion. It is easy and convenient. The effects are immediate.

When a mob threatens the peace in our major cities, we must read between the lines. So, when Umno-Baru Youth (UBY) members descended on the DAP headquarters in KL, were they really protesting against the Taiping DAP MP, Nga Kor Ming, and the Hari Raya posting which they alleged he made, although he denied making? Or was this demonstration, a tactic to distract us from more pressing matters?

The clue lies in the explosive Sarawak Report (SR) publication, about a leaked report by the Auditor-General about 1MDB. It would not be the first diversionary tactic used, when the government has been thrust into the limelight. Although the government has sealed the audit under the Official Secrets Act (OSA), but fortunately, SR will publish the full report on its website.

Has UBY leader, Khairy Jamaluddin, lost control over his members? In 2014, they stormed the DAP office in KL, and the Penang State Assembly, because of a perceived slight.

At the time, the Federal Territory UBY chief, Mohd Razlan Mohd Rafii, led a group of protestors to the Selayang DAP office, where Mohd Razlan issued threats and jabbed his fingers into the face of a DAP representative warning him with, "If you humiliate our party and race again, we will burn this building down - this building, which has produced many racists.” Emboldened by Mohd Razlan, the supporters shouted “Let’s burn it down” and “Kill them”.

Then as now, the policemen trying to control the rampaging UBY members, looked completely bewildered.

Is this what Malaysia has become? A nation whose peace is threatened by a handful at the top, who are upset that their dealings are being exposed by a foreign publication? The Chinese government uses triads to intimidate those who criticise them.

Malaysia's Home Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, had once said that the Malay gang, Tiga Line, were his friends.

In 2014, UBY was upset that the Penang DAP assemblyman, RSN Rayer, had called Umno-Baru "celaka". At some point in our lives, we have been called worse than “celaka”. However angry or upset we were, we did not mobilise people to protest, bay for blood, terrorise the neighbourhood and vandalise property. Nor did we storm into the Penang state assembly building and undermine our fragile democracy.

If I, and other columnists, who are wrongly accused of mocking Islam and criticising our leaders, were given a sen for every slight made against us, we would probably be millionaires. If we were to instigate public protests for every derogatory remark, Malaysia would be in constant turmoil. There would be daily protests, many more than one demonstration a day.

Columnists exercise a right to fair comment and we urge those who disagree with our views, to write to the editor, to air their opinion, rather than resort to violence. If only UBY was as disciplined, instead of going on the rampage, to make their feelings known.

In Zimbabwe, opponents of President Robert Mugabe fear for their lives, and the safety of their loved ones. Mugabe's critics have disappeared, or been arrested, murdered, beaten-up or driven from their homes.

In October 2014, "The New Yorker" reported that Chinese citizens, whose views do not resonate with Beijing, are  frequently attacked and harassed by hit men, and warned to drop a particular line of action. Kevin Lau, the former editor of "Ming Pao", was attacked with a meat cleaver. The Hong Kong publisher, Bao Pu, was warned not to print the Tiananmen memoirs of the former Premier Li Peng, also known as the Butcher of Beijing. The tactic worked and copyright issues was cited for Bao aborting the publication of the memoirs.

Democracy is not the mainstay of Malaysian politics. Mobocracy, or the rule of the mobs, is. When a protest looms, you must try to find the underlying reason for the unrest. - http://www.theheatmalaysia.com/