Jeswan Kaur | November 1, 2012
Free Malaysia Today

Just why does BN/Umno find delight in playing the racism card when the issues beleaguering the rakyat are one too many?

COMMENT

The Barisan Nasional government is doing its worst to prevent the opposition alliance of Pakatan Rakyat from setting foot in Putrajaya and calling the shots.

Much castigation and accusations have been thrown upon Pakatan and its leaders by Umno, BN’s patronising arm.

Still, the rakyat seem eager to give Pakatan a chance to administer the nation, having had enough of ruling government BN’s domineering and rhetorics post-1957.

If BN is not puzzled as to why the rakyat are all thumbs-up for Pakatan, the former is either daydreaming or plain cocky.

To the people of this nation in particular the non-Malays, they have had it with the antics of BN’s top guns like Muhyiddin Yassin, the deputy prime minister.

Two years ago Muhyiddin stunned Malaysians when he claimed that he was a Malay first and then Malaysian.

Why should the people be in favour of BN as the ruling government when its leaders are doing all they can to perpetuate an agenda that only serves to discriminate and segregate Malaysians of different faiths?

BN keeps claiming that Pakatan’s ally DAP is racist. But then has BN not the slightest decency to acknowledge the fact that it is Umno which takes the cake when it comes to raising racial tensions.

The racist remarks made during the annual Umno general assembly is a classic example of the miscreant nature of this ‘all Malay’ party. What is unbearable is the fact that the racist remarks made via the Umno general assembly platform have always the backing of top leadership.

And it is even more painful to have a prime minister who cares a hoot about having a racist deputy.

In July last year, Najib when asked by a student at the Malaysian Student Leaders Summit to comment about Muhyiddin’s ‘Malay first, Malaysian second’ remark gave the most ridiculous of replies when he said:

“I don’t want to respond in any way that will divide me from my deputy. 1Malaysia is our guiding philosophy. It does not matter what you say, just as long as you follow (the 1Malaysia concept).”

Going by Najib’s tacky reply, do we need any more reasons to show BN the door in the coming 13th general election?

Issues are endless

Just why does BN/Umno find delight in playing the racism card when the issues beleaguering the rakyat are one too many? Does BN not care about the well-being of the people or is the agenda of political survival more crucial?

The ongoing issue of a 29-storey condominium taking shape next to the limestone temple in Batu Caves has not interested both BN’s president Najib and Muhyiddin. The duo have been silent on this issue, perhaps at a loss for words on how to convince the rakyat that the condominium project is a ‘good’ thing.

Alternatively, the Najib-Muhyiddin pair cannot care less just how environmentally unsafe the condominium project is.

One wonders whether ‘enlightened’ leaders in other parts of the world would react the same way too – keeping mum and ignoring the issue altogether.

Then there is the issue of our students leaving school as ‘illiterates’, as revealed when some of the National Service trainees were unable to read and write.

But to Muhyiddin who is also the Education Minister, Malay supremacy is a more pressing issue, so much so that he decided to ignore all calls and pleas by reversing the teaching of Mathematics and Science from English to Bahasa Malaysia from this year on.

Deaths under police watch, corrupted politicians and ministers, the tainted electoral system and the never ending nepotism and cronyism are among the issues that far from interest both Najib and Muhyiddin.

Instead, both the PM and DPM are working hard to ensure their Putrajaya seat in no way falls into the hands of Pakatan.

Rakyat knows the truth

When words are ineffective, it is time to indulge in artifice or splash loads of money – at least this is how BN best works, looking at the various alms it started handing out to the rakyat, starting with the Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) which was given a ‘special’ place in the 2012 Budget.

Such help aside, BN cannot make the folly of ignoring the fact that the rakyat is today savvy and knows the truth.

Using money to buy the people’s votes and loyalty will not work and neither will Najib’s promises of making life a ‘bed of roses’ for the masses win BN the votes it desperately needs to edge out its rival Pakatan.

The truth as the people know it is that the damage has been done. For the non-Malays, they are forced to accept the bitter reality that only Malays will seat in the chair of the prime minister and his deputy.

Is BN willing to change with the time and allow a non-Malay to become a prime minister or a deputy premier or a menteri besar or a chief minister for that matter?

If the answer is ‘no’, then is it futile to allow BN to savour victory in the coming general election if the people are averse to any kind of political segregation and discrimination.

Jeswan Kaur is a freelance writer and a FMT columnist.