Why Malays would rather vote for an UMNO-led Barisan than a DAP-dominated Pakatan

Megat Ibrahim

Institut Darul Ehsan (IDE) had recently made public a survey finding that an overwhelming majority of Selangor Malay respondents believed that the DAP is an anti-Muslim, anti-Malay Chinese party. This was followed by commentaries by DAP leaders like Nicole Tan Lee Koon and Zairil Khir Johari blaming UMNO and the “UMNO-owned media” for perpetuating this “misplaced perception” into the hearts and minds of the Malay Muslim.

Ms. Tan called for “facts and figures to allay fears” but before the DAP lay down their facts and figures, I wish to remind them of facts and figures from history.

Malays won’t lose power because they are many?

Ms. Tan pointed out that Lim Kit Siang said something along the line that the Malays won’t lose power since there are 114 Malay majority seats out of 162 in Peninsular Malaysia. Let us go back to 2008 when Barisan Nasional was not able to form the Perak Government. So in a “marriage of convenience” DAP, PKR, and Pas banded together to form a coalition government.

Although the majority of elected representatives in the legislative assembly were Malays, the first name this coalition forwarded to HRH the Sultan of Perak to be considered for appointment to the office of Menteri Besar was that of a DAP Chinese representative, Ngeh Koo Ham. This was an active intention of the DAP to put a non-Muslim Chinese man in the most powerful office of the Perak government. After much compromise, Ngeh Koo Ham was made “EXCO Kanan” while for the first time in history 6 out of 11 people sitting in the decision-making EXCO lineup were non-Muslim and from the DAP. This actually happened in a state where there are more Malay-majority seats. The Malays witnessed this happening right before their eyes in their own backyard.

Teng Chang Khim ridiculing the men defending our country

During the terrorist incursion of Lahad Datu, Teng Chang Khim of the DAP wrote on Facebook, “Oh! Oh! Our army has to catch a commercial flight AirAsia to Lahad Datu to fight a war! That is only fighting a group of less than 200 people. How is our army going to fight a real war?”

It is not a secret that our armed forces and police force is overwhelmingly Bumiputera. You will find a hard time looking for a Malay who doesn’t have a close kin who has either served or is serving the country. This DAP leader who probably had no idea that the armed forces regularly charters commercial aircrafts for their operations had ridiculed our servicemen as being incompetent at their job although armed forces all over the world regularly charters their flag carriers to fly their troops. How do you think this made the Malays feel? Is this UMNO’s fault?

Teresa Kok making a joke out of the Lahad Datu terrorist incursion

In January 2014 DAP leader Teresa Kok produced a video entitled “Onederful Malaysia” in conjunction with the Chinese New Year mocking the current state of our country. This production joked that the terrorists who had invaded Sabah were a potential tourist attraction and made gun-firing gestures. Let me remind you that these terrorists had killed and murdered many of our servicemen in that incursion. One of our brave servicemen was decapitated. Almost all of them who had given their lives were Malay and Bumiputera. They had Malay friends and family who mourned their death. UMNO did not produce that insensitive video. Teresa Kok of the DAP did.

Tony Pua making fun of a Friday sermon

In February 2014, DAP leader Tony Pua wrote on Facebook, “Bravely celebrated Valentine’s Day with a tour of the Tower of London, a movie banned in Malaysia and an evening at the West End Theaters. But now I worry if I would suffer from ‘social problems such as cheating, mental confusion due to alcohol, and baby-dumping’ as a result of the day’s ‘mind colonisation’. So says my country’s religious authorities… Oh no. I feel so unclean now I might just burn in hell.”

First of all, I see nothing “brave” in Mr. Pua’s activities of that day. It would be brave of him though if he had said this in front of a mosque’s Friday congregation instead of Facebooking it from London. In his fervour to tarnish the image of the National Fatwa Council, he even made it look as if it’s illegal for a non-Muslim like him to celebrate Valentine’s Day in London when it’s not even illegal for him to celebrate it in Malaysia. Did UMNO make the DAP leader type these things on his Facebook?

Chong Eng questioning a Friday sermon

In February 2015, Selangor mosques delivered a Friday sermon urging men to remind their female kin to cover up as a means to protect themselves from the lusts of men and DAP leader Chong Eng was not hesitant to give her two cents on the issue. While this kind of reminders have been around since we can all remember and have been debated by liberal, moderate, and conservative Muslims alike on its appropriateness, almost all of us do not believe that a non-Muslim like Chong Eng deserves the right to weigh in on this issue.

We see it as an external interference. Friday sermons are not meant for people like Chong Eng so her opinions are not welcome. The Malays see this as a Chinese-dominated DAP trying to steer what is halal and haram.

Lim Kit Siang teaching Kota Bharu Muslims how to be Muslim

In May 2015, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang gave a “sermon” in Kota Bharu to a Malay-Muslim audience. As we know, it is in Kelantan where the people voted for Pas as much as they had voted for the implementation of hudud as it was decreed upon Muslims in the Qur’an (5:38). Dr. Mahathir, a Muslim had been going on and on his whole political career telling these people that they can’t have hudud.

In comes Lim Kit Siang, a non-Muslim, in the heart of Kelantan telling these people that he had gone to Jordan and Egypt where over 92% of the population are Muslim where people had complained to him about hudud problems. He even went on telling these Muslims to read up how some scholars including Dr. Yusuf al-Qardwi, the President of the International Union of Muslim Scholars had allegedly said that hudud is not necessary.

Well, Mr. Lim, allow me to point out that your audience’s leader, Dato’ Seri Abdul Hadi Awang happens to be Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi’s deputy in the International Union of Muslim Scholars and they heard it from him themselves that hudud is mandatory by divine law.

This is another case of a non-Muslim DAP man trying to meddle in Islamic law. It is an insult to the Malay Muslim’s knowledge of his own religion. UMNO definitely did not make Mr. Lim say these things. Do not blame UMNO for this.

The Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Mosque in Shah Alam is in a state of disrepair

These are actually words going around in Shah Alam. The exterior of the state mosque looks terrible. Panels have fallen off, whatever that were blue and white are now blue, black and grey. Moss seems to be flourishing on top of the dome and it has never looked as bad as it is now. Word is going around Shah Alam that since there are so many DAP EXCO members in the Selangor government right now, the government won’t approve funds for the mosque to be routinely cleaned and maintained.

Tens of thousands of Shah Alamites drive past this mosque every day feeling sorry and ashamed for something they used to be proud of. These are probably the respondents in IDE’s survey.

This mosque is a symbol of Islam not only in Shah Alam but in Malaysia and these people feel that this symbol has been compromised by the government the DAP is part of. Don’t blame UMNO for not maintaining the mosque post-2008.

Wrap-up

These are facts for Nicole Tan and Zairil Khir Johari to ponder upon. These are things that really happened and they happened because these DAP leaders said the things they said. Not UMNO, not Utusan, not Pas.

Since the overwhelming majority of the DAP’s top leadership is non-Muslim, allow me to explain one thing that the Muslim holds on to. Something that the DAP as a secular party might find it hard to understand. The Muslim is taught since childhood that they are foremost — bound by divine law (syariah) which explains why the Muslim prays five times a day in the comforts and privacy of his bedroom and under the blistering sun on the lawns of the KLCC Mosque although there is no provision in civil law that compels him to do so. This is why the Muslim pays 2.5% of his savings and income as tithe every single year although there is no provision in civil law that compels him to do so. This is why Pas was absolutely fine with forgoing Putrajaya in pursuit of hudud.

Imam Ghazalli wrote that the objective of syariah is the preservation of faith, life, intellect, progeny, and wealth. In that particular order. This is the reason why the DAP can go on and on about Najib stealing billions of ringgit and the Muslim Malay would still rather vote for an UMNO-led Barisan Nasional than a DAP-dominated Pakatan.

This is the reason why Pas and its supporters would rather team up with UMNO than the DAP. We will lose our money, children, sanity, and life before we lose our faith. This is why a secular party like the DAP that consistently ridicules the Malays, Muslims, fatwas, syariah,etc., will find it extremely difficult to garner the support of the Muslim Malay.

Oh, by the way, Zairil, Dr. Zuhdi Marzuki did not say that DAP received millions from the Zionist regime. He was merely pointing out that a certain Mohamed Razali made the allegation. Please don’t confuse the people.