by Ashraf Wahab
Malaysian Digest
03 March 2015

During just a little over a year of my time working here in Malaysian Digest, I have learned that headlines containing the names of a few individuals are always guaranteed to generate a lot of page views.

Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali is always bound to provoke a reaction and also frequent ridicule, as too is the case with Ridhuan Tee. The Prime Minister’s wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor has never failed to spark multiple responses from our readers. Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, despite now being in prison will always remain a popular choice. Also not to be left out are the young Malay women trio in DAP of Dyana Sofya, Rara Othman, and Melati Rahim.

There are also two individuals who constantly invite vitriol and criticism, particularly from our Malay readers – DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang and his son, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng. No matter what the content of the story is, be it positive or negative, there will always be a barrage of hate coming from our Malay readers.

When we analyse these spiteful comments, we can conclude their animosity towards the two DAP figureheads can be narrowed down to one common fact – that they are both purportedly anti-Malay and anti-Islam. But is this really true?

Being a Malay and Muslim myself, I actually vehemently disagree. So in the first of what hopefully will be a series of articles, I will try to disprove this claim by first focusing on Lim Junior.

He Was Jailed Because Of Defending A Malay Girl

In 1998, Guan Eng was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for defending a rape victim, which was a Malay girl.

During the judicial procedure, he was quoted as saying: “If I fail and have to go to jail, I have no regrets. I have no regrets of going down fighting for the principles of truth and justice and pursuit of human rights. There can be no women’s rights if female rape victims are considered equally responsible, and even detained, whilst the accused remain free.”

He was however released after 12 months on 25 August 1999, but was disallowed to stand for public office for a period of 5 years.

Allocations Towards Islam In Penang

His detractors always say that Malays and Islam are being suppressed under the current DAP regime. But is this true? Let these following figures speak for themselves.

The state budget for Penang’s islamic affairs in 2008 under the rule of Barisan Nasional (BN) was RM25.7 million. When Guan Eng and DAP took over, he increased the budget to RM33.2 million in 2009 and gradually increased it every year. In 2012, the budget stood at RM64.03 million – more than 1.5 times the budget provided by BN.

Creating an Anti-Apostasy Committee

One favourite line frequently used by his haters is “Christianity will be the official religion of Malaysia if DAP rules the country.” The emergence of this Anti-Apostasy Committee just proves how absurd that claim actually is.

The previous BN government allocated RM659,000 for KAFA teachers yearly bonuses in 2008, but Guan Eng increased it in 2009 to RM879,000 and by 2012 the figure was RM900,000.

There was also no budget under BN’s rule for the Quran Monthly or the Huffaz (someone who memorizes the Quran) programmes, but Guan Eng decided that his government will provide RM100,000 and RM130,000 annually to these causes.

When asked why he did this he replied: “To encourage Muslims especially the Malays to really understand the Quran with more depth. A Malay will become a good Malay when he truly understands the Quran and Islam’s teachings.”

These are just a tiny fraction of many incidences and precedences to prove that Lim Guan Eng is not anti-Malay or anti-Muslim, but before we go on to the other facts, we’d like to hear you feedback. And judging by my time here at Malaysian Digest, they’ll be plenty of them!