By Elijah M | May 07, 2011
This is Umno’s strategy to remain in power in Malaysia: make the Malays feel like the Chinese and Christian communities are threatening their hold on power and position of Islam.
They need the Malays to come out in force at the coming elections and vote for Umno candidates in a big way. But in their calculation for that to happen, they must have an imaginary enemy for the Malays/Muslims.
Given than the Chinese have generally deserted the corrupt and self-serving MCA and Gerakan and by extension, BN, they qualify as a prime bogeyman. They are portrayed as slavish supporters of Chinese-based DAP and harbour ambitions of taking over political power from the Malays.
Now the Christians following their support for Pakatan Rakyat in the Sarawak and their refusal to be submissive to a government which has molested their religious rights are also being lumped by Utusan Malaysia and pro-Umno bloggers as enemies of Islam in Malaysia.
Such is the stupidity of these guys that they portray a prayer session in Penang with a few DAP politicians as oath-taking. Just a pointer: the only oath that Christians take is to our Lord and Saviour. Therefore, we obey God and not men.
The bloggers hope to persuade Malay/Muslims that Christians are working with DAP to push for a Christian prime minister. I suppose these blinkered souls forgot about the Federal Constitution.
They also forgot to tell their readers that Chinese or Christians (who by the way are mostly non-Malay bumiputeras) are not interested in political power but are interested in good governance, fairness, integrity, rule of law and equal opportunities.
And before we believe that this strategy of divide and rule has not got the blessings of the top Umno leadership, we should think again. The policy of hammering Chinese/Christians and demonising DAP is state-sponsored.
Just listen to Muhyiddin Yassin and other Umno leaders. Of course, Najib Razak plays the good cop but he has stayed silent as Utusan Malaysia slams Chinese.
Instead of worrying what kind of a country he will lead, he has chosen to look the other way as Chinese and Christians are painted as usurpers of power.
One lesson I suppose we can take from this is that Umno does not want or need the support of Chinese or Christians. So much for the Rukun Negara or 1 Malaysia.
#1 by habis on Saturday, 7 May 2011 - 2:50 pm
Umno played on the fear of the Malays losing their political power to the nonmalays and exploit it.Knowledgeable malays know that it is a fallacy.To be fair moderate malaysians don’t fall for this treachery and deceit because this is the our country and for better or worse we will die here. All Malaysians hope and pray that every rakyat have equal opportunity to share the wealth of our blessed country and exploit to the fullest the potential of the individual so that our country will benefit.So please STOP all the racial gutter politics and disband and outlaw party base on race.Have 2 multi racial party and allow the rakyat to choose the party that truly wants to serve them.
#2 by Bigjoe on Saturday, 7 May 2011 - 3:05 pm
At the moment in Singapore, which just had its highest growth period in history, PAP is being challenged like it never has before by its citizen. The issue is will Malays be equally inspired given that the trend really started in Middle East against dictatorial and cheating oligarchs..
#3 by ChinNA on Saturday, 7 May 2011 - 6:39 pm
I do not hope to see Singapore becoming another Malaysia.
#4 by Loh on Saturday, 7 May 2011 - 3:07 pm
///Just listen to Muhyiddin Yassin and other Umno leaders. Of course, Najib Razak plays the good cop but he has stayed silent as Utusan Malaysia slams Chinese.///-Elijah M
There was an analysis which claims that Muhyiddin is waiting for Najib to just scrape through the next election but not a landslide win so that Muhyiddin would inherit the power like Najib got it from AAB. So Muhyiddin is playing hard to ensure that Chinese do not support BN and more Malays would return from supporting PKR or PAS. That is why Muhyiddin would even say that Utusan Melayu was reflecting Malays’ thought and aspiration for championing 1Melayu and 1Bumiputras. That thought must be reflecting his too, or else Muhyiddin could not have claimed to be Malay first and Malay second, and Muslim first, and he happens to be in Malaysia never mind the status of Malaysian. He agreed with Mamakthir that 1Malaysia has no meaning and yet Najib claims that 1Malaysia represents reform; and to Najib reform is accomplished merely by sloganeering. Najib has claimed to implement NEM, and over time, the M stands for method to implement the P in NEP.
If Najib did not know Muhyiddin’s strategy, he would have fallen into the trap by echoing Chua Soi Lek that Chinese should now choose MCA or else MCA would not be invited into the Cabinet. Chinese in Malaysia have little to lose, and should they lose their lives, dead persons know no feelings. So face with the challenge to choose MCA which means supporting UMNO to discriminate against themselves, when their status as full citizen is being questioned, and they are even termed as pendatang, Chinese will reject MCA and BN in GE 13. Surprisingly the President of UMNO cannot even tell its members not to make such hurting remarks which would discourage voters supporting BN. This points to the plausibility that Najib is moving closer to Muhyiddin’s racist stand so that Muhyiddin could not claim to be a bigger Malay champion. Najib is suffering from the thought that Tunku could be said by Mamakthir for selling off Malays’ interests, and Mamakthir is still alive and Najib might wish that Kaka Mamakthir would not be around by the next election, but he can’t be certain. So Najib cares more for his political career and he thinks that 65% of the population are like Muhyiddin, true racist. Najib cares not for the interest of the nation. (deleted)
#5 by tak tahan on Saturday, 7 May 2011 - 3:23 pm
One of the effective ways to allay the fear in malays losing their rights and political power will be the challenging task to the moron umno leaders to debate in public in regards with the Federal constitutuion.
#6 by Bigjoe on Saturday, 7 May 2011 - 3:32 pm
Do anyone notice that the game being played by Utusan and UMNO/BN is so basic and crass, only the biggest idiots would not get it is all lying? Even hard-core supporters of UMNO with a brain know its a lie even if they will never admit it.
So basically UMNO/BN is relying on hard-core supporters and the biggest idiots. Unless, UMNO/BN have not noticed that Malays HAVE progressed and no longer idiots, their strategy is completely dumb. Like most race, most Malays bias behaviour is mostly out of apathy and ignorance. But they don’t believe that about themselves. Being told in the face with their messaging that Malays are apathetic and ignorant, just turn off most especially the younger generation..
#7 by lee wee tak_ on Saturday, 7 May 2011 - 8:31 pm
the onus now is on DAP to approach the Malay communities and also for PKR and PAS to do the same. PKR to preach on social justice and PAS to emphasize inconsistencies between UMNO’s doing and Islam teaching….DAP should focus more or less on social justice and counter those slanders and lies plus diversifying its racial composition