PETALING JAYA: The authorities have been urged to find the “sugar daddy” behind an abusive crowd who went for cabinet minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman in Johor on Friday.
Social activist Haris Ibrahim said: “When these people show their ‘bravery’ like this, it is likely there is someone behind them. These are not 200 random members of the rakyat angry with Syed Saddiq. It is political.”
He told FMT that Friday’s action had been orchestrated and such attacks would continue as long as it was of benefit to someone.
Haris said similar groups have been used in past decades while Barisan Nasional politicians played up racial and religious issues to divide Malaysians.
“Like in 1987, during the Umno Youth assembly, they said they would spill the blood of the Chinese,” Haris said. Other Umno leaders had also played up racial issues but no action was taken as there was a “sugar daddy” behind such actions.
He noted that the action against Syed Saddiq in Ulu Tiram, Johor, on Friday, which disrupted a gathering of family, friends and political comrades, showed that “such a serious deterioration of politics” had been happening for four decades.
PPBM supreme council member Tariq Ismail said young people were being coerced into forms of thuggery for monetary gains.
Friday’s action reflected an underlying problem of young people being paid RM 50-200 per person “for a few minutes of shouting beyond their lung capacity”. These people were either underpaid in their jobs or were unemployed, and the offer to join a demonstration “is too good an offer for them to pass up”.
He said the police must investigate Friday’s incident without fear or favour and locate the mastermind.
He said Malaysia society was becoming continuously angry and their frustrations called for continuous engagement of politicians with the people to get the right solutions.
Instead of blaming former prime minister Najib Razak for national problems and looking backwards, Pakatan Harapan ministers must get down to work.
“Think before you speak and do not speak if it is just empty,” he said, as the rakyat were angry and needed solutions.
Haris Ibrahim said PH members should counter the religious narrative used by PAS and Umno to secure support in Malay areas.
Members of civil society should explain to ordinary Malaysians about the damage that BN had done. For example, they should point out that Singapore Malays were happier and enjoyed a better quality of life than Malays in Malaysia despite not enjoying the notion of Malay rights, as “they do not have Bumiputera status, no ketuanaan Melayu”, even though Singapore lacked resources such as rubber, timber, oil and gas.
PH also needed to have programmes for the poor. “The needs of the poor in Damansara may not be the same as the poor Orang Asli in Perak. One plan will not fit all. They need to go to the grassroots to know the different needs of the poor,” he said.
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