Permatang Pasir test for 1Malaysia
Commentaries such as Noor Azam’s "Melayu jangan jadi bacul" ("Malays, don’t be cowards") or Noraini Abd Razak’s "Penghina Islam kian berani" ("Islam bashers getting bolder") suggest Malay supremacy is necessary to maintain harmony in Malaysia.
Written by Chan Kok Leong, The Edge
The Barisan Nasional (BN) supreme council is pleased with the 1Malaysia concept.
And according to BN chief Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the coalition believes the concept can help ease racial tension in the country.
"The supreme council believes that the 1Malaysia concept is something that has been well-received. The concept can translate our political stand and reflect the current sentiments while moving away from extreme positions," the prime minister told reporters.
"If we can translate 1Malaysia in the context of politics, it can reduce the tension among our societies and help strengthen national unity."
Yet, when asked to comment on whether a series of commentaries made in his party’s newspaper were in line with his concept, the premier gave a half-hearted defence of it.
"Whatever it is, we hope for moderation in our approach. We hope that all parties will move towards this," said Najib after chairing the BN supreme council meeting today.
"But we cannot look at one side only as there are other people who make statements or threats which can hurt certain parties".
The awkward statement perhaps explains why Utusan Malaysia and Mingguan Malaysia continue to publish commentaries that border on "incitement".
Commentaries such as Noor Azam’s "Melayu jangan jadi bacul" ("Malays, don’t be cowards") or Noraini Abd Razak’s "Penghina Islam kian berani" ("Islam bashers getting bolder") suggest Malay supremacy is necessary to maintain harmony in Malaysia.
The opinions urge Malays to beware of other races and warn of a dilution of Malay political power if the opposition succeeds in attaining control.
Over the weekend, the paper continued its attack against the federal opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR), calling it anti-Malay and anti-Islam.
Similarly, when asked to comment on this last week, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said that it was the media’s right to do so.
While insisting that he was not specifically referring to the articles in Utusan Malaysia, Najib’s deputy explained that the articles were a result of other parties "challenging Malay supremacy, Malay rights, Malay rulers, and things that have already been enshrined in the Constitution".
"If somebody started to issue a challenge, maybe because other parties have raised matters that should not be raised, but we should not jeopardise the future of our country," he added.
Political observer Wong Chin Huat thinks that the BN coalition is too quick to embrace one-ness while its parties are not yet ready to accept that one-ness will also mean freedom.
"If 1Malaysia is real then everyone will feel ethnically inclusive and the question of a race supporting any particular party is eliminated," said the media lecturer at Sunway Monash University.
"Multi-party democracy will also mean that Malays or Chinese or Indians are not bound to one party. But Umno itself is not ready for such a transition."
Hence, he reasoned that party organs such as Utusan Malaysia need to continue to instill fear within the Malays.
"The government wants ethnic inclusion but they must be under Umno’s terms," he added.
Though the prime minister, over the last and many other weekends, continued to visit places like Batu Caves and other cultural and religious premises, the suspicion will linger over the sincerity of the 1Malaysia concept.
Like the popular Indonesian song Madu dan Racun, the premier’s sugar-coated overtures seems very bitter when taken with a morning’s read of the party’s newspapers.
Although the BN supreme council believes that the 1Malaysia concept is well-received, the true test will come at the Permatang Pasir by-election, which has 72% Malay and 26% Chinese voters.
