Bad arithmetic in Umno’s politics of fear
A simple study of the candidates’ list in the 2008 election will show how misleading the spin is. If Umno had won 100% of the seats it contested, the number of Malay MPs would be 103. However, if Pakatan had won 100%, there would be 116 Malay MPs.
By Zefry Dahalan, Free Malaysia Today
It is no secret that Umno is on a mission to preserve itself by instilling in Malays a fear of Chinese domination.
Its leaders and spokesmen like to tell the Malays that Umno’s fall would mean the loss of Malay rights and supremacy, which is an oblique way of saying that a vote for the opposition is a vote to hand over power to the Chinese.
They deliver this message not only in political speeches and writings, but also at gatherings of public servants. Many who have attended Biro Tatanegara courses report that the training often places heavy emphasis on the alleged Chinese threat.
Among the most hysterical of the spokesmen mentioned above are the spin doctors who dish out their stuff through the mainstream media, which are all directly or indirectly controlled by Barisan Nasional.
In many of the spins, it is implied that Pakatan Rakyat is synonymous with DAP and that if the opposition coalition wins the next election, Malaysians may get a Chinese prime minister.
It is hard to say whether these Malay rights champions are really that poor in elementary arithmetic or whether they think their listeners or readers cannot count. In the last election, DAP contested only 47 seats and two of its candidates were Malays. In the next election, it is doubtful that it will field enough candidates to make it the biggest party in Parliament even if all those candidates win.
Another politics-of-fear strategy consists in calling for a union between Umno and PAS. The tacit message is that the Malays must unite under one political force to safeguard their interests against the non-Malays and infidels. Under this strategy, PAS is often portrayed as naive for staying on as a partner of Pakatan, which, so the argument goes, is controlled by DAP.
Contrary to the impression one gets from Umno broadcasts and writings, not everyone in that party is a simpleton. Indeed, there are some intelligent and well-educated people in its leadership. So Umno knows very well that even if Pakatan wins all the parliamentary seats, there is no way that any Chinese-based party will dominate the government.
But the idea, of course, is to create a little confusion and a lot of fear among the Malays, especially rural Malays. Unfortunately, this spin is having its desired effect on a surprisingly large number of Malays, including urban Malays.
Misleading spin
A simple study of the candidates’ list in the 2008 election will show how misleading the spin is. If Umno had won 100% of the seats it contested, the number of Malay MPs would be 103. However, if Pakatan had won 100%, there would be 116 Malay MPs.
The PAS leaders who are favourable to the unity talks should realise that if they cooperate with Umno, they may receive support from some pro-Umno voters but will lose much of the votes traditionally given to PAS.
