Read that quote again. What PAS is attempting to do is pin the blame of the death of a firefighter and the temple riots on an Indian minister of the current government. PAS just stopped short of saying that P Waythamoorthy is legally liable for the death of Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim and the riots at Seafield, USJ 25, Selangor. Meanwhile, Penang exco Afif Bahardin said that Waytha had failed to forge unity and that there were better Malaysians that could handle the job. Bersatu Youth national security bureau chief Mahathir Mohd Rais offered a garbled message: "Yes, we are united but if unity that was supposed to be your priority and portfolio is being made secondary, history could repeat itself and we will sink just like those before us.” Of which the meaning eludes me but I assume he meant that Waytha had spooked the Malays.

To understand Takiyuddin Hassan’s moral compass, please refer to my piece dismissing his odious argument that, “'Muslim converts suffered for the past 10 to 20 years' – What does this really mean? The civil courts ostensibly apply to all Malaysians equally. This idea of conflict with the syariah courts is merely code for the reality that the syariah courts favour the Muslim. So, it is not justice that the Muslim is seeking but preferential treatment conferred by religion.” Afif Bahardin claimed that there are better Malaysians who could assume the mantle but failed to note that Waytha’s so-called failure was disputing the false police narrative at the time that the riots were caused by two groups of Indians. Since when is correcting falsehoods a threat to unity?

Professor P Ramasamy as usual points to the mendacity of those asking for Waytha’s resignation, “Should Wathyamoorthy and other Indian leaders resign for making a correct analysis of the situation and for correcting the police?” Khairy Jamaluddin, on the other hand, claims that Waytha has managed to bring the "people" together in unity over calls for his resignation. Yes, all stripes of racial supremacists in Pakatan Harapan, Umno, PAS and Bersatu are swarming around like bees attempting to get him fired. The fact that KJ even sarcastically claims that Waytha and Maszlee Malik are assets for the opposition just goes to show you that people like KJ are using the death of a firefighter for political gain. 

Same goes for Bersatu Youth leader Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman who no doubt has to boost his racial and religious credentials and finds an easy target in Waytha. The next time racial tensions flare up, I wonder if the new minister - if Waytha is kicked out, that is - will be held to the same standards as Waytha. Mind you, all he did was counter the false narrative of the police. We can be reasonably sure the next minister will just keep his or her mouth shut and allow falsehoods to continue in the name of unity.

The question people should be asking is why are some political operatives calling for the resignation of Waytha. The answer, of course, is that scapegoating this Indian minister allows them to shift the focus away from the cause of the riots and score points with their far-right base. It re-establishes the narratives that disharmony was caused by the non-Malays and that the ruling regime, in this case, Harapan, is the cause of racial and religious disharmony in this country. This is what happens (they claim) when non-Malays have too much power in the federal government.

What does this official narrative sound like? When it comes to the state security apparatus and Indians, for instance, it sounds like something from the mouth of former Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, one-time Home Minster. Zahid once said about 28,000 of more than 40,000 gang members were identified as Indian Malaysians and there was nothing wrong in arresting them. "What is the situation of robbery victims, murder victims during shootings? Most of them are our Malays. Most of them are our race,” he said. "I think the best way is that we no longer compromise with them. There is no need to give them any more warning. If (we) get the evidence, (we) shoot first.”

Make no mistake So do people understand why questioning the narratives of the state security apparatus the way Waytha did is verboten to people who are calling for Waytha’s resignation and the probable heads of all these Indian minsters? We are talking about ideology. Facts do not matter when it comes to ideologies based on racial supremacy.

Consider this. If Waytha is forced to resign, this would be another victory for the Malay far right. This would mean that Waytha does take moral and social responsibility for the death of Adib and the riots that occurred. And if Waytha is removed, this would mean that Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo, Human Resources Minister M Kulasegaran and Land, Water and Natural Resources Minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar are as culpable, morally and socially as Waytha in the death of Adib and the riots at USJ 25.

That is if we are to believe Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki. However, do you know what is really horrifying in all this scapegoating? The real perpetrators of this crime are going unpunished. The people who attacked Adib should be brought to justice. No doubt about it. However what of the people who caused this riot? What about the people who paid Malay thugs to trespass onto a place of worship? What of the state security apparatus which failed to provide a credible answer to response times to contradict eyewitness reports?

It is sometimes much easier scapegoating Indian political operatives in the Harapan regime because, as I have argued before, they are low-hanging fruit. Non-Malay political operatives are caught in a bind. A defence of Waytha means that they are dishonouring the sacrifice of Adib or worse, they see no value in defending an unelected minister who has a history of dissent against their political parties and personalities.

Make no mistake. The real criminals in these riots, the people who are morally and socially responsible for the death of Adib, are walking around with no worry that the state will come after them. What they have are political operatives who propagandise the death of Adib in furtherance of racial and religious agendas to weaken a democratically-elected government.

Add to it, this democratically-elected government does not have the political will nor the scrotal fortitude to withstand these attacks but instead is looking for an easy way out no doubt fuelled by the very same ideologies of those attacking Waytha. To undertake otherwise would be to confront the nexus of crime between corporate entities, the state security apparatus and, most probably, political power. Not to mention confront an ideology that forms the basis of political power in this country. Much easier to just sack or call for the resignation of an Indian minister.

Ramasamy ends his piece with this, “Wathyamoorthy, on his part, must pluck up the courage to defend his stand on the temple matter. Don’t expect Mahathir to come to the defence.” I ended my piece when Waytha was attacked for his statements about Icerd with this, “In this new Malaysia, if you advocate egalitarianism or anything that stifles the discriminatory system (even if you are left holding the bag), you are on your own”.