Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on October 14, 2019 - October 20, 2019

A recent Facebook post caught my eye. It read: “I see a Bersatu, Umno, PAS alliance in the making. Coming soon.”

I think the gentleman who posted it was referring to the recent Malay Dignity Congress that was attended by the three political parties he names.

There was concern that such an alliance, based on race, was to be formed. That was the impression created when leaders of the three parties shared a stage at the congress.

Such an all-Malay political alliance would go up against the other side, comprising the non-Malays and a sprinkling of Malays who are not Malay enough.

Bersatu, Umno and PAS were invited to the congress. So too was Parti Amanah Negara, which is said to be not Malay-centric but is nevertheless predominantly Malay in its composition. I don’t know about the other leaders but Amanah president Mohamad Sabu was there for reasons of his own, say party insiders.

The organisers had claimed that the congress was for all Malays, so surely Malay DAP members deserved to be included. PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Azmin Ali was there but not his boss, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who was said to have received the invitation late and was already scheduled to attend another event.

Not surprisingly, DAP was not extended an invitation. After all, it has always been viewed as a party for the Chinese. Never mind the many Indian members in its fold and the fact that DAP has its share of Malays as well.

Based on this scenario, no one, including the gentleman of said Facebook post, can be faulted for thinking that an all-Malay political alliance was in the making to take on the non-Malays and the Malays who are not Malay enough.

Obviously, the gentleman was concerned that such an event was in the pipeline, although the congress was over when he made his post. This explains his “coming soon” forecast. Such a situation is frightening and detrimental to the nation.

Clearly, the congress was about politics. I know Umno leader Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein confidently announced that the congress was an effort to unite the Malay community and that the Malay politicians “must not play politics”. Instead, said Hishammuddin, the Malay politicians, regardless of their affiliation, should support it “as it is good for the community”.

If I may ask, how could all the Malay politicians support such a good initiative when not all were invited to the congress, what more speak and give ideas?

As for uniting the Malays, well, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was attacked for shaming his own race simply because he told the Malays to buck up. Obviously, his advice was too blunt for their liking. So much for Malay unity.

Strangely, PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang sang the same tune, saying that the Malays were still in deep sleep and displayed his message for all and sundry, particularly in PAS, to see on the party’s online bulletin board. Yet he was spared the hard words dished out to Mahathir.

Anyway, Mahathir was accused by none other than PAS of having failed the community and for creating a situation where the so-called Malay agenda was hard to implement. The same charge was made against Pakatan Harapan.

Umno Youth chief Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki saw the need to give the prime minister 10 reasons to remove DAP and PKR from the government for the purported reason of restoring Malay dignity.

If that is not a political move, I don’t know what is.

And you can’t get more political than Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, who wanted Mahathir to bring Umno and PAS into the administration if he was sincere about fighting for Malay dignity.

Mahathir rejected the call to strike a political compromise with Umno and PAS, saying Mohamad’s proposal would not suit Malaysia’s multiracial and multi-religious character.

“Our country is multiracial. All communities have rights in this country,” Mahathir was quoted as saying. Perhaps, it would have been nice to recall also, who and what the rakyat of all races voted for in GE14 last year.

Based on what Mahathir has said, a political divide where we have Malay parties on one side and non-Malay parties and some not-so-Malay Malays on the other is not on the cards.

The gentleman of said Facebook post can breathe a sigh of relief and rest easy for now.   

 

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