“Religious people claim that it's just the fundamentalists of each religion that cause problems. But there's got to be something wrong with the religion itself if those who strictly adhere to its most fundamental principles are violent bigots and sexists.”
― David G McAfee
Rafizi Ramli, the honourable gentleman from Pandan, in calling a spade a spade, claimed “the racial/religious sentiments as well as the goodies and cash handouts splurged during the campaigning were the two most important factors” for the opposition’s poor showing in the recent by-elections.
While I get this is what politicians do after losing an election - interpret data to fit their narrative with the fig leaf of “empirical data”, as some sort a rejoinder that all is not lost, I would rather explore the “racial/religious” element of the equation for obvious more immediate reasons.
In a recent propaganda video or as I prefer it “terrorism for dummies” guide, an Islamic terrorist from Negeri Sembilan waging jihad against the non-believers abroad, issued a threat against the Malaysian public. Well, to be specific, against non-Muslim Malaysians and the PDRM (Royal Malaysian Police).
This warning comes at a time when Utusan Malaysia deemed former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad an enemy of Islam for consorting with DAP. The paper, which is on record as saying that it spins and lies for Umno, quoted religious bigot PAS spiritual adviser Haron Din as saying, “When you befriend the enemies of Islam, you will become just like them.”
The old PAS, the PAS I am familiar with, has always framed their political conflict with Umno and specifically Mahathir as some sort of epic between the corrupt Mahafiraun and righteous persecuted faithful.
Things have changed of course. The DAP’s propaganda ‘PAS for all’ catapulted PAS into the mainstream, and PKR’s subservience to this virulent Islamic sect – I am not referring to them as a political party anymore - has allowed Umno another method of sub rosa control of the opposition alliance.
You play with Islamic fire, you get burned. I am immune from comments that claim I am flogging a dead horse when it comes to this issue. Non-Muslim Malaysians so used to threats of violence from the ruling coalition have become complacent to the very real possibility that religious and racial violence will destroy our polity. Most of this is our own doing of course but the so-called social contract, “the peace of for our time” compromise, has led to the creation of a polity mired in overt racism disguised as some sort of pragmatism.
Then we have the Islamic terrorist Mohd Rafi Udin urging Muslim Malaysians “…IS supporters to employ whatever means necessary to kill non-believers” while Harun Din says, “As such, it is better for us to return to defend the tenets of Islam using the brotherhood based on syariah principles and staying away from actions that may court God's anger”.
So from abroad a Malaysian-born Islamic terrorist want to kill non-Muslim Malaysians and here in Malaysia, we have the spiritual leader of an Islamic sect calling a predominately non-Muslim/Malay political party “enemies of Islam”.
Harun Din’s comments are legitimised by the propaganda organ of the political party that prides itself of being the only entity capable of defending Islam and the Malay community.
So my question is what happens when Muslims or non-Muslims, who are members of the DAP, are attacked by terrorists? I mean the spiritual advisor of a mainstream Islamic sect has called them enemies of Islam. He has done this on a propaganda organ of the Umno state.
What happens if an IS sympathiser reads Harun Din’s hate speech and carries out an attack on the DAP or somebody who supports the DAP or a Muslim who supports the DAP or just that unlucky Malaysian who is caught in the cross hairs? What is the difference between Harun Din’s view of Islam and the view of those IS members waiting to murder for their cause?
I am talking about perspectives here, not methodology. I have no idea if the spiritual advisor supports the methodology of IS. I know that he shares the same views. I know that what he wants to achieve is exactly what they want to achieve but for now, someone like him is comfortable using hate speech in service of a democratic agenda.
The murderous thugs at home
In an article questioning if BN a boon for the Islamic state, I wrote, “Islam is used as a weapon against any progressive thought, movement or individual, and opposition political parties clamouring for the Malay/Muslim vote ape policies and rhetoric all the while, claiming a difference in policy and methodology.”
Then we have the Pahang mufti declaring “Not DAP only. Whoever is ‘kafir’ (infidel) and against Islam” and therefore an enemy of Islam [the implication being] who can be killed. Here is a state mufti advocating the murder of non-Muslims and the Umno state remains silent. How exactly is this different from the threats of IS?
If this is not official Islamic policy on the DAP, members of the DAP, people who support the DAP, Indians, Chinese, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists – did I leave out anyone? - oh yes other Muslims, then perhaps the government, the inspector-general of police, the attorney-general could weigh in and tell the average Malaysian how they are combatting IS but also the murderous thugs at home or if it is, then perhaps Umno should start rounding up non-believers who will not submit and put them in concentration camps.
This gets back to my rebuke of Rafizi when he implied that Lim Teck Ghee was anti-Malay or would be perceived as such because of his (Teck Ghee’s) rejoinder that Rafizi waffling on the Titas programme. Rafizi “also cautioned Pakatan leaders to tread carefully on the Titas (Tamadun Islam dan Tamadun Asia) issue in order not to be seen as anti-Islam.”
Now this is not meant to cast aspersions on the young politician. Even though I have publically disagreed with the representative from Pandan, I am on record as saying that he is one of the more capable Malaysian political leaders of this country and have defended him publicly against the excesses of the Umno state.
This is a plea to Malay-Muslim politicians to reclaim the middle ground. I want the younger generation of Muslim leaders to redefine the discourse and not simply use the Umno method as a means for political hegemony. The methods of these old men have brought ruin to the Malay polity. It is like that young man shouting at the Amanah ceramah, attempting to claim that he is the representative of Islam in this country.
Mind you I despise the ‘true Muslim’ meme. To recap, this is my definition of the meme: “It is pointless and disingenuous to attempt to define what a ‘true’ Muslim is considering the fact that said values are in fact anathema to traditional Islamic thought and especially by non-Muslims, who project their own agendas as to the qualities that make a good or true Muslim.
“In other words, a ‘true’ Muslim as defined by those who have been on the receiving end of Umno-influenced Islam all these years, is a Muslim who conforms to the political and social conventions of the so-called moderate stance espoused by Pakatan Rakyat. The ‘true Muslim’ oppositional meme is one of the contradictory aspects of the ‘one size fits all’ ideology of Pakatan that if left unchecked will prove disastrous in the long run.”
Veteran journalist A Kadir Jasin has admitted that the propaganda that he disseminated during his time destroyed the Malay polity. Malaysians are dealing with the consequences of an Umno-defined Islam. What young Muslim oppositional leaders should be doing is claiming the middle for themselves and not relying on the same tools in which Umno maintains hegemony.
This means disavowing those tools, without exception even if it means losing out politically in the short term. You do this not for the non-Malays but for the Malay community. In the end, the non-Muslim/Malays will lose the demographic game.
This is inevitable but the shape of the Malay polity, with constitutionally-created Malays, the social engineering and the brainwashing will determine if this country remains in the civilised world or if it will join the other Islamic failed states. What this latest IS threat reveals is that Umno’s chicken have come home to roost.
S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. -Mkini
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