The Prime Minister and UMNO President, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s fall-back to the politics of race, fear and lies in Lipis yesterday is an indication of his growing desperation that UMNO will be ousted from Putrajaya by a Malay tsunami in the 14GE with the election of a new Pakatan Harapan Federal Government with Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad as the seventh Prime Minister and Datuk Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as the Deputy Prime Minister – with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the eighth Prime Minister of Malaysia.

In Lipis yesterday, Najib claimed that under the Pakatan Harapan, “absolute power rests in the hands of DAP”, portraying the 14th General Election as a fight between UMNO-led Barisan Nasional and DAP-led Pakatan Harapan.

Najib knows in his heart of hearts that what he said that “absolute power rests in the hands of DAP” or that Pakatan Harapan is “DAP-led” are not true, and that Pakatan Harapan operates on the principle of genuine consensus of the four component parties unlike Barisan Nasional where, to borrow the language of Tan Sri Shahrir Samad, what UMNO wants UMNO gets and what UMNO wants UMNO takes.

But these politics of race, fear and lies highlight the make-up of the Prime Minister and the length he is prepared to go to retain power in Malaysia, even to the extent of manufacturing and peddling lies, fake news and false information – confirming the worst fears that the Anti-Fake News Act bulldozed through Parliament before dissolution was not to combat fake news, but have the double objectives to censor exposes of corruption and abuses of power while giving immunity and impunity to UMNO/BN leaders to peddle lies, fake news and false information against the Opposition – as what Najib did in Lipis yesterday.

Najib should set a good example of clean and honest politics instead of being the chief exponent of politics of fear, race and lies as Malays will continue to exercise political power whether UMNO is defeated in 14GE or no

The fears that UMNO leaders have been generating to keep themselves in power – that if UMNO is defeated in a general election, Malays will lose political power and become strangers in their own land – is a great double lie, for the Malays will not lose political power if UMNO is evicted from Putrajaya.

Three demographic factors, and even more important, a critical electoral factor, will prove that UMNO leaders were spouting lies and falsehoods when they try to panic Malays into thinking that without UMNO, Malays will perish.

The incontrovertible fact is that Malays will not lose political power whatever happens to Najib or to UMNO in the next general election.

In 1957, Malaya’s population comprised 49.8% Malays, 37.2% Chinese, 11.1% Indians and 2% Other.s

In 1970 Malaysia’s population comprised 44.32% Malays, 34.34% Chinese, 8.99% Indians, 11.89% non-Malay Bumiputeras, 0.67% others.

In 2010, the percentage of Malays in the Malaysian population increased to 55.07%, Chinese reduced to 24.34%, Indians dropped to 7.35%, non-Malay Bumiputeras maintained at 11.94% and 1.3% others.

The Malaysian Chief Statistician has predicted that the Chinese percentage of the population would shrink to 19.6% in 2030 and 18.9% in 2035.

Why then are the UMNO leaders continue to beat the drum of the “Chinese peril” in Malaysia?

During the 13th general election, 52.63% of the voters were Malays, 29.68% Chinese, 7.31% Indians, 8.96% non-Malay Bumiputeras and 1.43% others.

Out of the 165 Parliamentary seats in Peninsular Malaysia, 114 are Malay majority seats representing some 70%, 22 Chinese majority seats (13%) and 29 mixed seats. There is not a single Indian majority seat.

These triple demographic factors, which will be a continuing trend in the coming years, establish the overwhelming Malay predominance in the Malaysian political scene and why there is no way the Malays can lose political power if UMNO is defeated in a general election!

But apart from these three demographic factors, there is the critical democratic factor which will ensure that the Malays will not lose their rights and become strangers in their own land as warned by UMNO leaders.

We in Pakatan Harapan wants to win not just the 14th General Election, but also future general elections – the 15th, 16th and others thereafter.

A Pakatan Harapan Federal Government which wants its government mandate to be renewed in subsequent General Elections must be able prove in the next five years before the 15GE that a Pakatran Harapan Government in Putrajaya is better than UMNO/BN government for all Malaysians, whether Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Ibans or Orang Asli or be voted out of Putrajaya in the 15th General Election in five years’ time.

The three demographic factors together with this critical electoral factor are the surest guarantee that the UMNO threat that Malays will perish if UMNO is defeated is an empty one, with no basis or truth whatsoever.

But a question that is worth asking is why the Prime Minister is himself concocting and peddling such lies, fake news and false information when he should leave such “dirty work” to his underlings, as he should at least put up an appearance of being anti-fake news after the bulldozing of the Anti-Fake News Act before the dissolution of Parliament.

There can only be one explanation – Najib’s fears that he would be ousted from Putrajaya are increasing daily by leaps and bounds, and his desperation has made him to spearhead the UMNO/BN campaign of race, hate and lies himself, as he finds that his underlings and subordinates, including those receiving handsome rumerations are not effective at all.

(Media Statement in Ipoh on Thursday, 26th April 2018 after a kopitam dialogue in Kepayang, Ipoh)