The 3rd Force in PAS may halt PR’s march
From P Dev Anand Pillai, via e-mail, Free Malaysia Today
Why I say that the 3rd Force which is being led by PAS dissidents like the just booted out member who was in a State cabinet, the former deputy president and the current deputy to the Spiritual Leader is because what the Erdogan faction in PAS which has worked so hard for PAS to be excepted by the Chinese and the Indians in Malaysia may come to naught if this 3rd force is not stopped in its tracks.
The 3rd force believes that if at all a change of regime takes place in Malaysia, it must only be between Umno and PAS or a collaboration of both, like what the former president of PAS did during the time of Tun Razak. By doing this, the last vestiges of dissent in the Malay society will disappear as both these parties join forces to make it a homogeneous government without the participation of the non Malays who make up the other half of our beloved country.
What stops this 3rd force from bulldozing its agenda is the respect that they have for the Spiritual leader of PAS, the revered Tuan Guru Nik Abdul Aziz. It will not be surprising to note that if this 3rd force gets a hold of PAS and its members, the whole political landscape in the country may change yet again. The biggest losers in this attempt to divert the channel that PAS is taking now will be PAS itself.
PAS has struggled to get the acceptance from the Chinese and Indian communities who are fed up with the BN because for decades they have been told the same and fleeced with even greater vigour every time a general election comes a calling. They may have had an eye on the opposition but the opposition was disunited and there was no direction taken by a united front against a Juggernaut like the BN.
Now with all the effort put in by the faction in PAS which is working tirelessly to make it a party that is accepted by all Malaysians as an alternative Malay based party that can be trusted with Federal Power, in comes a 3rd force bent on making it as per previous status quo where PAS is only strong in the Malay hinterlands of the North and the East of the Peninsular.
Though the Dewan Ulama in the party holds a very strong influence on the direction the party is taking, the strong and exemplary leadership shown by the revered Nik Aziz in Kelantan should form the basis of PAS’ struggle to gain trust and acceptance by the people for federal power.
The Chinese and the Indians are beginning to warm up to PAS because they could see for themselves that religious beliefs and places of worship is held in high esteem in the state of Kelantan. The non-Malays also see that compared to the Malay leaders of Umno, the leaders of PAS can be trusted to govern well as they are less attracted to the draws of materialism.
The very obvious reason of this 3rd force becoming a threat to the unity that PR has built all this while is the worry that the Chinese are taking over political power in Malaysia. What should be questioned here is since when has a Malay in his right mind ever thought of allowing such a thing to ever take place in this country?
There is no reason why we all can’t be treated with equality instead of being treated as a majority/dominant race and a minority. If the question of the Chinese taking over is the real concern, what are they doing about the economy? What are they doing about Chinese schools? What are they doing about the large and medium scale industries which the Chinese control through the proxy Malay partners?
Isn’t this where real Chinese control lies? If they can see the Chinese in the MCA as being the compliant and ever ready to do the bidding for their Umno bosses, what worries them about the Chinese from the DAP who have shown that they can govern better and with integrity instead of the compliant Chinese in the BN who work hand in glove with the Malays in BN to rob the loot for themselves and their cronies!
If the Malays continue to see the Chinese as a threat then it will hamper the development of the Malay mind to be able believe in themselves and take on the challenges come what may.Seeing a race prosper and being jealous of their ability despite all the resistance and stumbling blocks that are put before them is only going to make the Malay society dwell in hatred and suspicion.
