Based on PN's skewed mind, human rights is only for Malays

 

“The mistake is to assume that rulers who came to power through institutions cannot change or destroy those very institutions—even when that is exactly what they have announced that they will do.”

― Timothy Snyder, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century

PAS-led Perikatan Nasisonal is making it clear that there is no such thing as universal human rights, only human rights as defined by their religious dogma.

Keep in mind that according to Abdul Hadi Awang, and this means according to PAS and PN, as far as human rights are concerned, non-Muslims have to be “pak turuts” (followers). In other words, we do not have any human rights and the only thing we need to do is follow Malay/Muslim diktats.

Bersatu’s Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal's rejoinder to Malaysians not to conflate Western ideologies on human rights to Malaysia’s is the kind of cherry-picking that religious and racial extremists do: to use so-called Western democratic norms when it suits their purposes but abandon them when it becomes inconvenient.

This is why someone like PAS’ Ahmad Fadhli Shaari has the audacity to claim that the opposition's “human rights” are being denied because they are not receiving state funds and says, “Don’t let us become victims of human rights abuse,” but goes on a campaign against LGBT folk and, of course, non-Muslims who in numerous provocations he has demonised.

Pasir Mas MP Ahmad Fadhli Shaari

Of course, I have no idea if denying funding for the opposition has anything to do with the “soul” or behaviour but I am sure there is a whole list of behaviours that PN finds acceptable but which violates human rights – Western or otherwise – such as corruption, which, according to Hadi and Dr Zakir Naik, is not a barrier for positions of power for Muslim leaders even if the alternatives are honest non-Muslim candidates.

Indeed, political operatives from PN are proud when global rankings give this country an abysmal record when it comes to LGBT rights for instance, spinning this as a mark of pride for a country steeped in religious piety.

These folks conveniently forget that under the imperatives of race and religion, this country produced the world's most infamous kleptocrat.

Keep in mind the sole criterion for the Kedah menteri besar banning Sports Toto, for instance, was his religious beliefs which not only infringed upon the rights of non-Malays but also demonstrates how these political operatives would flippantly bypass the Federal Constitution in the service of their religious beliefs.

This is the perfect definition of Malay-only human rights and the fact that there has been no pushback from the mainstream political apparatus except a court challenge by the DAP is indicative of how easily a Malaysian’s right could be taken away and so-called moderate Malay political operatives remain silent.

We are dealing with a coalition that has been unshackled by the requirements of multiculturalism or power sharing, which was always a farce anyway, and purely operating on racial and religious imperatives in which they hope to impose the majoritarian rule.

These people continue to gaslight the public with terms like democracy and anti-corruption and are aided by a mainstream establishment which does not have the political will to stop them because it fears spooking the Malays.

Now the rhetoric from PAS has entered overt Blut und Boden (blood and soil) territory which was always there but now has become unhinged with the Kedah Menteri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor wanting the Federal Constitution changed so Kedah could annex Penang and PAS claiming that Malay land in Penang has been “systematically seized” like Muslim land in Palestine has been seized by Jews.

What are we really talking about here? What is the deliberate imagery being engineered by PAS and PN? What are the emotions they are trying to stoke, by comparing Muslims in Penang to Palestinians? PAS is implying that the leadership in Penang - Chinese leadership - is akin to the Jewish state.

Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim

Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim attempted to highlight what the Penang government has done for the Malay community and raised this point: “The question is, are Malays, Chinese and Indians in Malaysia hostile to one another as is the case between Zionists and Palestinians? No, that is clearly far from the case.”

But Sim is missing the point. This is exactly what PAS and PN want. They want the Malays to be hostile towards their fellow citizens. They want Malays to view the non-Malays as hostile to their existence. This is why “don’t disturb the Malays “ or “don’t disturb Islam” is the central narrative of these parties.

Embedded in all these racist narratives is that Malay ownership of this country is being surrendered to the non-Malays. This was the whole point of the Malay Proclamation. This was the whole point of the formation of PN but, most importantly, this is the foundational principle of mainstream Malay politics, or at least post-1969 politics.

So why is it that PN uses all these vile Western values when advocating that only Muslims, even if corrupt, should lead the faithful?

Well, it is simple. They understand that the electoral legerdemain and Western democratic values, which they claim to despise, are, for now, the quickest and easiest way to assume the throne of Putrajaya.

Keep in mind, what they want is crude majoritarianism and not any kind of functional democracy. Human rights are only for the majority while the minorities have to be "pak turuts".

The only folks who seem to have the protection of these “infidelic” Western values, like free speech, are people like Hadi and the numerous hate preachers who routinely demonise people of other faiths, sexual orientations and differing values because the state will not act against them.

So even Malay-only human rights do not really benefit the average Malay.

This pandemic and the failure of PAS-led governments in certain states have demonstrated that PAS political operatives are more than willing to lead the Malay community to the slaughterhouse - as long as PAS political operatives can benefit from the gravy train that powers the ketuanan bureaucracy.

Nobody ever goes to PN- or PAS-controlled states to look for employment, right? They come to the “infidelic” states where supposedly the Malays are oppressed.

Now there are certain democratic values and principles that would nullify PN attempts and this would mean instituting policies of institutional reforms which include electoral reforms which is what made Hadi go into conniptions in the first place.

Of course, there are laws on the books, which could be used against these hate-mongers but because the state has shown no inclination to persecute these cretins, they will carry on subverting the democratic processes with the aim of turning this democracy into a theocracy.

And keep in mind, while the deep Islamic state is slowly dismantling the democratic railings from within, PAS-led PN has been open about turning this country into a theocratic state.

They have been open about gerrymandering to ensure victory based on racial demographics. They have been open in their desire to subjugate non-Malays into their Islamic way of life.

When people tell you who they are, you should listen. - Mkini

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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.