Malaysiakini : In an interview with The Edge Weekly
in February, Wan was asked, "What sort of confidence-building measures
are you looking at, since inter-communal relations are getting frail?"His
response was, "...At our ministry, that is what we anchor our
programmes on; the Rukun Negara, especially the preamble: how to create a
liberal society. Liberal, not as understood by many Muslims, but the
tradition of democracy and respect for human rights. These values are
also in Islam."
Isn't this in line with what Harapan politicians
preach? Democracy and respect for human rights, which Wan admits gels
with Islamic teachings.
So, why was it okay on Feb 13, 2022, and
yet, by April 6, 2022, Wan was in a ludicrous farcical fit of outrage
and told The Vibes that Harapan's branding was unsustainable and
rejected by the Malays?
Oh yes, I forgot! GE15 is around the
corner and support for Wan's party, Bersatu, is in the pits and in order
to deflect from his party's decline in popularity, attacked Harapan.
Did Wan have to drag us back to the Middle Ages, where power is
concentrated in the hands of a few people with his idea of a Malay
protector?
So, who will protect the Malays? Bersatu? Umno? PAS? Pejuang?
What about Malay women?
Where
were Malay politicians like Wan, when single mothers and abandoned
wives sought the help of the syariah courts to do justice for them?
For
decades, these women tried to get their former husbands to provide
alimony and pay for child maintenance. Some women were forced into
prostitution to provide for their children. Does he know these women
exist?
Last week, the Perlis Islamic Religious authority announced
that married men who wished to remarry without the consent of their
first wife could do so in Perlis. Did the Malay protector speak out in
defence of the Malay woman? Is Wan one of those who would like to see
syariah laws standardised throughout Malaysia?
Is Wan's 'Malay protection' reserved only for Malay men?
Where
were the Malay politicians and protectors when women, not just Malay
women, demanded that underage girls are not forced into marriages? A
daughter is not a commodity with which a bartering exchange can be made.
Fathers who cannot feed their large families sell their young daughters
to escape the poverty trap.
What was Wan's contribution towards ending child marriages?
What did he do to question the quality of our education, where fathers
are prepared to treat their daughters like they were mere slabs of meat
in the market?
It is an open secret that amongst all the races,
drug usage amongst the Malays is the highest in the country. Could Wan
make public his plans to reduce the dependency of the Malays on drugs?
Many
Malay children drop out of school. Their parents do not believe that
schooling is of any use. What happened to the Malay protector? Did he
criticise the UiTM lecturer who humiliated
the student who could not afford a laptop? Did he speak out in defence
of the B40 group who deserve aid more so than the overindulged Sapura Energy?
Treacherous act
A
protector is someone or something that protects people or things from
being harmed or damaged. What does Wan mean by the Malay protector? Does
he consider himself a protector?
Why should any Malaysian trust a
politician who was involved in the Sheraton Move and who became a
member of the cabinet through the backdoor?
Within weeks of Muhyiddin Yassin's treacherous act, Wan was fast-tracked to become a senator in order to qualify as a member of Muhyiddin's cabinet.
It
is blindingly obvious that a backstabber cannot be called a protector.
Wan and the other Sheraton traitors snuffed out the aspirations of
millions of Malaysians who wanted change and a better Malaysia. More
importantly, Muhyiddin, who wanted to "save" Malaysia, ended up
destroying democracy in Malaysia.
The New Economic Policy (NEP) of
Abdul Razak Hussein, which was designed to help the Malays, failed to
help all those in need. Today, Wan's idea of a protector for the Malays
is doomed to fail.
This is how Wan's "Malay protection" works.
Using the contemptible backdrop of race, religion, and royalty,
protection means micro-managing our lives, especially Malay lives. In
other words, ensnaring them.
If the Malay protector cannot even
speak out in defence of people like single mothers to students, or find
solutions for dropouts and drug addicts, of what use is he?
Malays
should reject this excessive control over their lives. Without this
false protection, their self-esteem and self-confidence will increase.
They will emerge from their ‘tempurung’ (coconut shell) and realise that
the world can be their oyster.
Malays do not need protection. They only need to be liberated, in mind, body and soul.