Things Friends Say

Sin Chew

Everytime friends of UMNO “attack” PAS, guess who gets hurt? UMNO itself.

By friends I mean MCA, Gerakan and other non- Malay based components of the Barisan Nasional.

Agreed it’s not only normal but expected for component parties of the ruling coalition to come in defence of each other. At the same time they launch “attacks” on the “enemy”. But good intentions can sometimes be, well, “not good”.

Put simply at times UMNO’s allies unknowingly put the party in a spot. A case in point is when MCA or Gerakan or other components in BN criticise PAS, saying Kelantan is boring and youths are fed up with PAS rule. Or that it practices gender discrimination by setting up of different counters for males and females in the state.

"Perhaps it would be “wise” for them to look before they leap so to speak."

PAS’ reaction would be to defend their policy which they say is “Islamic’. The party will say BN component parties criticise it because “they do not understand Islam”. Hence should not be blamed. Then they deliver the blow – blaming UMNO for “ not explaining the Islamic way” to the components. Worst still if they go on to say UMNO “allows or condones criticism of Islam”.

It is believed that by taking such a stance, PAS would be able to ‘attack” UMNO and at the same time not hurt the feelings of non-Malays who they are trying to woo. And it would boost party supporters apart from “chipping off” the Malay support for UMNO.

Faced with such a situation UMNO would be “forced” to nullify the “attacks’ among the Malays and at the very least spend precious time engaging in polemics. Most of the time UMNO would succeed. But only after spending quality time something the party would want to put to better use.

Still UMNO is not complaining. Not in public anyway. Which is understandable I mean how do you stop friends from “helping” you? After all the components are doing their bit in trying to wrest Kelantan from PAS and preventing the Abdul Hadi Awang from leading the party in making inroads elsewhere.

So the onus is on the component parties. Perhaps it would be “wise” for them to look before they leap so to speak. For instance, launching a verbal “onslaught” on Kelantan MB Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat would possibly “back fire.” The man they called “Tok Guru” is respected by many . Say what you want but there’s not denying Datuk Nik Aziz is perceived as a “God fearing man”.

As such “putting him down” will only see his approval ratings go up. Again at the expense of UMNO.

We’ll definitely see the war of words heated up in the coming months with the nation expecting the 12th general elections. Perhaps its time to pay heed to the old Malay saying “ kerana mulut badan binasa “. Simply put — things we say can bring harm to us and friends. (By MOHSIN ABDULLAH)

Mohsin Abdullah is Editor in Chief, News and Currents Affairs ntv7 & 8TV