“We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist.”
- James Baldwin
PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli in taking the fight for the soul of this country to Kelantan said "What we must address now is why the people of Kelantan still vote for PAS despite (other) options.”
The answer is simple. For PAS supporters, and I consider them religious extremists, there are no other options. The only option is the religious party of PAS.
I know that is politically incorrect to say. So you ask, how do I define religious extremism? The answer to that is simple. If you believe that the state should legislate on behalf of your religious beliefs and impose such laws on non-believers, then you are a religious extremist.
It doesn't matter if you are a Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist or Christian. Of course, by this definition, the only parties that are not religious extremists in nature are the DAP and PSM, which also demonstrates why this country is in such trouble in the first place.
That is the wonder of secularism, it is there to protect the religious beliefs of everyone, treating everyone equally but not conforming to any particular set of beliefs.
Of course, this is anathema to religious extremists and what they desire to the hegemony of thought and deeds of every citizen of the country, regardless of whether they believe or not.
People who vote for PAS truly believe what that Indian import Zakir Naik says about being better to be led by corrupt Muslim leaders rather than honest non-Muslim leaders.
PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, the true voice of the opposition has said more or less the same thing. He has also noted that non-Muslims should be pak turut and during the pandemic, he claimed that religion superseded economic relief. All this is a matter of public record.
Rafizi talked about this attitude when he returned to politics, especially on the issue of corruption and the Malay polity.
“For example, when I first came back in 2010, one thing I really wanted to change was the Malay attitude towards corruption. Generally, Malays back then said corruption is okay because at least Malays got it, rather than the Chinese.”
For decades, the Islamic bureaucracy through its various tributaries has moulded a young now voting polity to despise democratic traditions and norms believing that doing so makes you a better Muslim.
In fact, the demonisation of Muslims who do not follow this groupthink is the underlying cause of tension within the Malay community even more so than the cultural war with the non-Muslim communities.
Remember what Hadi said - “The stink emanating from the rotting corpse (of DAP’s alleged Islamophobia) cannot be hidden by its faeces-covered hands, although it has a facade of a Muslim.”
Ethnoreligious bigots
Tuaran MP Wilfred Madius Tangau recently wanted moderate Malaysians to reclaim the word sensitivity from the ethnoreligious bigots.
First, moderate Malaysians are defined by electoral boundaries and since electoral boundaries are weighted in favour of those very people who think that PAS is a sure bet, it is pointless advocating such a position.
I would rather the state go after these ethnoreligious bigots as they go after anyone these ethnoreligious bigots define as the enemy. This way, at least moderates are protected from these ethnoreligious bigots.
Of course, this will never happen. No matter how many police reports are filed against them, the reality is that what they are saying is a dogma which has infected the state security apparatus.
Religious and racial provocations spewed out on a daily basis by PN do warrant state intervention using the various laws currently on the books. But this will never happen, of course.
Does anyone think the state will assess how religion influences people to spew incendiary rhetoric? They may ban communist writings, for example, for influencing the rakyat but would anyone ban the texts of Hadi?
There are only two strategies that these religious extremists political movements have.
The first is to destabilise institutional processes which include voting and the peaceful transfer of power, and the second is to disrupt institutions like the royalty and the state security apparatus because this is what theocratic political parties have done the world over to supplant the will of the people and democratic norms.
And Pakatan Harapan leaders, unlike their supporters, spook so easily. A PAS operative and news stories quoting unknown denizens online complain about a movie being pornographic and Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil declares that the trailer is not suitable for public consumption.
Two points. First, Fadzil's distinction between a trailer and a movie is bizarre. Second, who is the "public'' that this trailer is not suitable for?
Keep in mind that this is how it starts. A slow drip of seemingly inconsequential issues building up to something more momentous.
Remember Alexander the Great quote. “An army of sheep led by a lion is better than an army of lions led by a sheep.”
Well most often it seems that Harapan is leading an army of lions and Hadi is leading an army of sheep.
I do wonder though, what the religious extremists in this country think is more of an effort.
Allowing Harapan to conform to their political agenda and eventually turning this country into a theocratic state or winning elections which then turns this country into a theocratic state? - Mkini
S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. Fīat jūstitia ruat cælum - “Let justice be done though the heavens fall.”
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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