Are Malays are unhappy with Anwar?

Several videos of Anwar Ibrahim’s hard-hitting speech at the PKR special congress in Shah Alam have been making their rounds on social media.

I didn’t make it to the venue to hear the prime minister in person but learned later that many who were present, apart from PKR acolytes, left the function feeling very impressed with Anwar’s pronouncements.

Among them were members of the diplomatic corps who were guests at the event.

Among other things, the prime minister came down strongly on the hypocrites using religion to cover up their misdeeds and the corrupt who were guilty of abusing power to amass immense wealth but pointed their fingers at others instead.

Anwar also issued a stern warning against those inciting racial or religious sentiments, saying the government has zero tolerance for such acts deemed detrimental to national security.

In his anti-graft crusade, Anwar has given an assurance that he will not be unjust towards anyone - including opposition leaders.

Anwar specifically mentioned that he had gone through very difficult times when he was not in the government and thus, would not resort to victimising and slandering any quarters.

I believe many of us want to believe that Anwar will walk his talk, even if some among us were to insist that we have no other choice but to trust that Anwar will deliver.

There was an interesting response in a group chat from one of Anwar’s videos. A friend commented: “I believe the Malays will not be happy”. (I take this to mean the Malays are unhappy with Anwar.)

Somehow, I find it necessary to react to this perceived unhappiness of the Malays, a cross-section of them at least.

I responded: “If the Malays choose to be unhappy, that’s their choice.

“I want to be happy, I choose to be happy. If you prefer to be unhappy and wallow in misery and self-pity, good luck to you. If you choose to act paloi (stupid), may God help you!

“But we know it’s actually the Malay politicians (opponents of Anwar and the unity government, to be precise) who are inciting hatred and creating disharmony among the community.

The majority of Malays are sober. Only their so-called leaders are drunk; actually lusting for power, position and wealth.

“The extremists among them use Islam as their ‘weapon’ of choice. History has proven that the abuse of religion in politics had either caused the destruction of societies or the rise of powerful empires.

“Fortunately, it has not reached a point of no return yet in Malaysia but who dares to predict that it won’t? I wouldn’t.

“In conclusion, despite the negative vibes surrounding the issue, I still wish to maintain that the Malays, as a whole, are nice, friendly and helpful souls. Only some of their politicians are ugly, insensitive trouble-makers.”

I do not expect anyone to disagree with my sentiments but I was glad that a Malay friend from Sabah responded with this note:

“I’m a Malay and I’m happy. I do not have to pay attention to the extremists in the peninsula and their holier-than-thou attitude.

“Politically, they think that they are superior to others, even among their own race. They seem to think that those of us who are not involved in active politics are ignorant of what’s going on.

“Some of them indulge in political Islam of the wrong kind, abusing our sacred religion for self-serving interests. This is wrong in Islam.

“As a Malay and Muslim, I am against all forms of extremism and bigotry. I’m happy that we, Malays in Sabah, are a different breed from the extremists in the peninsula,” my friend concluded.

Clearly, my Sabahan friend also spoke for the Malays in my homeland of Sarawak.

Even Sarawak minister Abdul Karim Hamzah has slammed PAS MP Ahmad Yunus Hairi for urging the government not to build non-Muslim houses of worship in the same vicinity as mosques.

Karim said such “extreme views” were “definitely not Islamic”.

So, are there Malays who are unhappy with Anwar? What I would like to say here is that we cannot expect the prime minister to make every single Malay happy. Anwar is not God; he does not perform miracles!

If there are Malays who are not happy with Anwar for wanting to put an end to corruption, let them be unhappy.

If there are Malays who are unhappy with Anwar for taking action against those inciting racial and religious sentiments, let them be unhappy.

If there are Malays who are not happy with Anwar because he has stated that Malaysia belongs to all races, not just the Malays alone, then let them be unhappy.

I can go on and on. But I do know that only the Malays who are opposing Anwar and his government are unhappy.

As long as the majority of Malaysians, including right-thinking, peace-loving Malays, think that Anwar is doing the right thing and carrying out his tasks with diligence, sincerity and honesty for the sake of the nation and people, then he deserves our undivided loyalty and support.

Whether certain people are happy with him or not is irrelevant. Anwar’s job is not only to make a certain group happy and contented. He has to look after all Malaysians. - Mkini

---

FRANCIS PAUL SIAH is a veteran Sarawak editor and heads the Movement for Change, Sarawak (MoCS). He can be reached at sirsiah@gmail.com.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.