COMMENTARY BY THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
May 09, 2014

In the past week, groups like Isma and others in academia have amplified their hatred for a section of the Malaysian population, going as far as to distort the country’s history to make it clear that Malaysia belongs to the Malays.

It does not help that Putrajaya has remained mute, except for some parties in the ruling coalition making some noises and calling for action to curb such talk. But the dominant Umno and its president, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, remain silent.

Also, these parties are not members of the administration and their voices have been ignored and in fact, Isma has even asked them to shut up.

If the prime minister cannot find it in himself to silence these groups that appear to ignore history and harmonious interfaith ties, then he and his government should just apologise to the Chinese and Christians for their inability to do anything about the matter.

Because their silence has emboldened a group funded and encouraged by the government to spew hatred and distort history of Malaysia – which is just more than Malays, Chinese, Indians as it also includes fellow citizens in Sabah and Sarawak.

The loudmouths at Isma should understand the meaning of the word trespass – the crime of going into someone’s land without permission – but that would be asking too much of the intellectually-challenged.

The fact is, Najib and Umno have encouraged the rise of groups like Perkasa and Isma rather than the usual blame that they rose up because of weak Malay support and stronger Chinese support for the opposition.

Results in the past two general elections show that the swing is among the Malay electorate, as much as it is among the Chinese and Indians – who are a minority in Malaysia.

Perhaps it is time for Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties such as the MCA, Gerakan, MIC and others to give the PM an ultimatum on quelling this dangerous trend of hate speech and distortion of the country’s history.

The PM’s silence on whether Chinese are trespassers will be nothing more than a confirmation that he shares the sentiment of Isma, a group purportedly about Islam but becoming more racist every day.

And that being the case, how can MCA or any other Chinese-based political party justify remaining in BN today? Perhaps the DAP is right, MCA does not want to jeopardise its place in the Cabinet while the Gerakan is still lamenting its loss unlike its former leaders who have the intellectual gravitas to challenge groups such as Isma.

Ultimately, the man whose face was emblazoned on all election posters and who pushed his 1Malaysia concept must open his mouth and speak his mind on this matter.

Does he want 1Malaysia to be a footnote in history or a laughing stock in Malaysia and the world?

Is his deafening silence a tacit realisation that his party is going the opposite way of his ideas and he cannot stop them? Or in fact, he agrees with them on this?

It is time the prime minister speaks, not squeaks. – May 9, 2014.