Malaysiakini : Why is the issue being resurrected?

For over 30 years, breweries in Malaysia have been raising money for vernacular schools and charitable organisations without a fuss.

Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh said Tiger Beer raised over RM400 million for Chinese primary schools in that period.

But last week, the Education Ministry raised a related issue: “The ministry takes this seriously, and we wish to remind school administrators to adhere to existing guidelines when it comes to organising programmes and receiving donations.

“And this covers the prohibition of receiving donations from gains made through gambling activities, cigarette manufacturers, alcoholic beverage makers, and its likes as they could jeopardise our students physically, intellectually.”

Why the resurrection after all these years? The practice has been going on for 30 years without any problems. When religion is intertwined with politics, the whole issue takes a different and, perhaps, a dangerous dimension.

What prompted it was a group photograph of a presentation mock cheque with the brewery company logo on it. Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister Aiman Athirah Sabu was among the dozen people in it.

Selangor PAS Youth chief Mohamed Sukri Omar (top pic) took to Facebook to criticise Aiman, calling the matter an embarrassment.

“If this is how an Amanah leader is going to behave, Islam’s sanctity will be under threat by liberalisation masked as Islam,” he said on Facebook.

How does holding a piece of cardboard with a beer logo pose a threat or challenge the purity of a religion?

This happens when two parties compete to see whose shade of green is brighter. The party that shouts louder wins, regardless of how illogical or irrational their conduct is.

Instead of standing on her ground, Aiman issued a condescending apology.

“I believe people understand the situation and will not fall for the slander being spread. People make mistakes, and in any case, I apologise to those who may have been slighted by this,” Sinar Harian reported her as saying.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke said he would seek the cabinet’s view about revising the ministry’s guidelines at the cabinet meeting today.

“The guideline should not have such restrictions, at least not for Chinese primary schools,” he said. However, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek ruled out providing exemptions or reviewing guidelines that bar schools from receiving funds generated from selling tobacco products and alcoholic beverages.

So, will the issue be discussed and debated or will the Madani government bow to the wishes of the majority who use race and religion to pander to the Malay-Muslim electorate?

Malaysians wait with bated breath.

Malaysiakini : Harapan to blame for state’s inaction

Teoh’s demise is also an indictment against the Harapan alliance and the political operatives who stood by the former DAP political aide’s family when it was politically profitable but abandoned them when in power.

What we have to understand is that the questions and possible answers to Teoh’s death are political. It should not be but it is just as the Indira Gandhi case is a religious one, these cases tragically point to the dysfunction of the investigative services of this country.

It is not malicious (even though partisans may feel that it is) to recall the justifications of political operatives for the inactions of those with power when it came to the closure of the death of their fallen comrade.

Lim Guan Eng attempted to shift the blame for the failure to get justice for Teoh’s family to former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

This was just another example of how totally ineffectual Harapan political operatives were in solving long-standing issues that are important for a certain section of their supporters but also reframing a system they campaigned on.

Can you see the same pattern today?

The fact of the matter is that Harapan is to blame for the inaction of the state when it came to discovering the truth behind Teoh’s murder.

How dare Lim peddle the nonsense that it was “agreed” by the cabinet to reopen the investigation but the then-home minister, Muhyiddin, was not interested in pursuing the case.

Indeed, linking the inaction on Teoh’s death to the then-Harapan government with the political manoeuvrings of the Sheraton Move is extremely deceitful.

Where were all the high-profile ministers who had no problem lurking around when it came to attending Teoh’s memorials, but suddenly found themselves “voiceless” in the New Malaysia that we were promised?

Political malfeasances

It must have been a spit in the face for Teoh’s family that the personalities involved in the death and farcical investigation of his murder seeped into the Harapan bureaucracy and strutted around as if their sins had been washed away.

Contrast this to the death of firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim, who was not only compensated by the state but whose death remains a mystery only because the events that led to it are mired in the kind of corporate and political malfeasances peculiar to Malaysia.

These days, the Madani state and the state security apparatus warn the public when it comes to “speculating” on the malfeasances that occur in the country’s administration of law and justice.

The state is quick to clamp down on news coverage of hot-button issues when it comes to the bureaucracy, but the reality is that this is the system that Harapan promised to reform if they managed to claim power.

Mutually beneficial

There is a connective tissue between the MACC and the political class, and it is mutually beneficial for the MACC and the political class to be simpatico.

Mind you, I am not making this claim. In 2020, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad twice warned the MACC to stop harassing his comrades or “…we have to be very active in exposing all the wrong things that they carry out”.

It says a lot about the dysfunction which could be classified as criminality, when the person who once led the Harapan government can threaten to expose the alleged malfeasance of the MACC if they continue harassing his political operatives and ignore the fact that he supposedly has “evidence” of wrongdoing, which should have been reported to the “relevant” authorities.

And keeping silent when the MACC is engaging in wrongdoing if they harass your political party means what exactly? That you keep their sins and omissions to yourself if they aided your coalition when in power?

It should make rational Malaysians wonder what the relationship is between the political class and the MACC at this moment in time.

Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has said that the investigation papers on Teoh have been passed to the Attorney-General’s Chambers. He also claimed - “the Royal Malaysia Police has called back the witnesses to complete the investigation papers…”

I hope that Teoh is the reckoning MACC deserves but the question is, will the Madani state dare spook the security establishment?

Malaysiakini : Absurd statement

Kok implied that it was Umno who gave the stand-down orders whingeing - “What could we do? We could not enter the villages; we were chased out. They didn’t want our presence to be too obvious and we adhered (to the request). This was a sign of respect to our partners,” in the context of the criticism by an Umno veteran.

Does anyone else see the absurdity in this statement? Firstly, you are a coalition partner in a federal government. If you are chased out of villages, what are the federal police and election apparatus doing about such electoral intimidation?

Secondly, how much influence does Umno have when it comes to a PKR by-election, which enables them to give orders to the DAP, with PKR saying nothing?

Kok went on with the same talking points about how the DAP is a multicultural party and the propaganda that is used against them has hampered their forays into the rural Malay heartland.

Look, the DAP has had decades to cultivate a rural base but the reality is that they concentrated on getting the urban and semi-urban non-Malay, specifically Chinese votes.

DAP was more than happy to leave the Malay vote to various Malay-centric parties, which is why they now have to deal with Madani’s “don’t spook the Malay mantra”, and who can forget that the justification for hooking up with Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

As DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang reminded us, the basis for hooking up with Mahathir was the rural Malay vote and of course, Bersatu was different from the Malay-based Umno.

And then there is the dilemma with Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh, which is meant as a distraction. Kok said - “However when we get into loggerheads with Umno and Umno Youth like before, the Malays see us as being rude and racist.”

Familiar malarkey

First of all, the Malays have moved on from Umno and the only people who seem interested in what they have to say are the denizens of Madaniville.

DAP chairperson Lim Guan Eng has no problem talking about the scurrilous attacks by MCA on the police and the home minister but as usual, DAP likes taking on soft targets.

But then again we have seen all this malarkey before. Remember in that not-so-great debate between Guan Eng and then-MCA president Choi Soi Lek, where the former said - “It is discrimination when Umno tells the Malays they cannot progress without Umno. (I say) We can all progress together.”

Well, is anyone in DAP telling this to UMNO now or is DAP still beating a dead horse with MCA? Wait, don’t answer that. Apparently DAP still thinks it is better not to confront someone like Akmal because the Malays will think it is rude even though a majority of them have shifted their allegiance to Perikatan Nasional/PAS.

So it is better for these Malays to think of DAP as whipping boys rather than a political party that opposes a theocratic state because God knows, nobody wants to spook the Malays.

Years of demonising MCA as a “running dog” for the establishment should have been a lesson for DAP, but now they are slowly learning the cost of doing business with Malay power structures on a federal level.

Not rocking the boat

When some non-Malay Pakatan Harapan partisans tell people who demand reform not to rock the Harapan boat - much like how Lim told non-Malays that they do not need to “beg” - it is exactly the same position MCA was when it was balancing expectations in the BN coalition.

DAP never gave MCA the benefit of this excuse, and neither should anyone who believes in any kind of institutional reform.

These days, the people are left wondering if DAP will cave when it comes to important policy issues because, with the creation of this coalition government, all they seem interested in doing is justifying the policies of the government, even if it goes against their campaign manifesto or more damning, their so-called principles.

We are always told that if not this then we have to accept the “Green Wave”. I say why make the “Green Wave’s” job easier? Why lay the foundation in terms of policy and governmental procedure (or lack of it) for the “Green Wave”?

The question is, if DAP is being asked to keep a low profile in certain elections to not spook the Malays, what else are they asked to keep a low profile on? Exactly how does keeping a low profile help the DAP base?

I know it may help the political elites, their proxies and hangers-on but how exactly does it help the non-Malays who make up the DAP base?

All this should not surprise us. Remember what DAP big cheese Anthony Loke said - “So I wish to put on record, as I said just now, on November 22, before Anwar Ibrahim went to Istana Negara, I told him, as long as you can be prime minister, DAP is willing to sacrifice anything, that is my commitment to Anwar.”

DAP ably demonstrates this commitment.

Malaysiakini : Malays unimpressed, non-Malays disappointed

If past election results are anything to go by, Anwar has yet to make any headway with the Malays.

Ever since he came to power in November 2022, he has tried to woo the Malays with many concessions.

Incredibly, he shares the unshakeable belief that the non-Malays are dependent on him and will never betray him because they say, “Who else is there besides Anwar?”

Anwar has bent over backwards to appease the Malays but they still reject him. At the same time, the non-Malays have also continued to bend over backwards to “support” Anwar, and yet, he continues to disappoint them.

This is political sado-masochism at work. Sadly, the victim in this power frenzy is the rakyat.

Decades-long rivalry

Those who know the history of Umno and PAS will realise that these three men, Mahathir, Anwar, and Hadi, go a long way.

In the late 1970s, PAS’ domination was on the rise, especially in Mahathir’s home state of Kedah.

Divisional Umno heads warned Mahathir about PAS’ rising threat and urged him to act.

As Umno deputy chief and deputy prime minister, Mahathir feared that Umno would lose Malay votes to PAS, which was buoyed by the global Islamic revival spearheaded by the Iranian revolution of 1979 and the overthrow of the Iranian monarchy.

Meanwhile, PAS had also accused Umno of not being Islamic enough.

Mahathir was displeased with the distraction as he was a man in a hurry to develop and modernise Malaysia. On top of the Islamic agenda, Mahathir had another local issue.

Student protests to highlight the plight of poor farmers and their starving families were an annoying distraction. Mahathir needed to focus on his vision.

Thus, he killed two birds with one stone by inviting the charismatic student leader and co-founder of the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (ABIM), Anwar, to join his government.

As a member of the establishment, Anwar could no longer lead the student demonstrations, and with his Islamic credentials, he was a valuable asset to Umno.

Anwar would convince the shallow electorate that Umno was indeed as Islamic as PAS.

He rolled out policies like the dress code for students and civil servants, the Bahasa Melayu/Bahasa Bako and the sidelining of non-Malays in the civil service. Many Malays were duped and the rest is history.

Complacency instead of Reformasi

The failed bromance of Anwar and Mahathir in the late 1990s and Anwar’s criticism of Mahathir’s response to the Asian Financial Crisis was followed by his sacking and subsequent arrest at the height of the Reformasi movement.

However, Reformasi had given ordinary Malaysians much hope for a new type of governance after the dark years of the Mahathir era. Malaysians liked Anwar’s bold moves for reform and anti-corruption. They vowed to end Umno-Baru rule.

After GE15 and the hastily cobbled coalition government, Malaysians soon became jaded. The promised reforms remain unfulfilled.

Of course, Malaysians are prepared to give Anwar a chance. It is not as if he did not have enough preparation time. Didn’t he have a 24-year apprenticeship?

However, ever since becoming prime minister, there has been poor communication between the top and the grassroots.

With the defeat at Sungai Bakap, Anwar’s ministers and his daughter Nurul Izzah have come out with weasel words like “self-reflection”, “we will listen more”, “bahlol”, and “trust us”.

Haven’t Malaysians been speaking out about Madani’s failure to listen to the rakyat all this while? Did it need Sungai Bakap to tell them “We told you so?”

A complacent Anwar probably thought he could depend on non-Malay votes to win. He was wrong because in Sungai Bakap, they wanted to punish him and so they stayed at home.

A complacent Anwar probably thought he could cultivate the Malay vote with various concessions towards them but this strategy failed and, to make matters worse, he alienated the non-Malays, his core support base.

A complacent Anwar may claim that the country has benefited from increased foreign investments but how does this translate to the ordinary man in the rural and semi-rural areas, whose lives are shattered by the cost of living crisis?

Disillusionment sets in

Increasing numbers of middle-class families are also struggling with price increases in food, fuel and energy, the deteriorating education of their children, increasing polarisation in the community and the rise in religious extremism.

They are dissatisfied with the Madani administration.

One disillusioned PKR supporter said, “Anwar spends more time on Hamas and he willingly gave them RM100 million. Back home, his own people are suffering.

“Then, on his return, he’s preoccupied with enabling house arrest for the convicted felon, Najib Abdul Razak. He has no time for the rakyat.”

So, will Anwar listen? Probably not.

Now we don’t even sit in the same kopitiam much less at the same table anymore – the Malays and the Lain Lain. When we talk, it is superficial small talk – never about the elephant in the room, never what is in our heart. We pretend that all is well; that ‘Malaysia is Truly Asia’. Tourists may buy that tag-line but we know better.

In retrospect, UMNO leaders after Tunku worked against a multi-racial Malaysia as envisioned in 1957. Their dream was Tanah Melayu, a country where Malays are the owners and the others “guests” – here at the pleasure of the host race, with little say in how the country is run. This dream was shared by leaders of other Malay parties even if their strategies differed. Each tried to ‘out-Malay’ and ‘out-Islam’ the other.

The Road to Tanah Melayu

Putting the pieces together one can see a well thought out strategy to achieve Tanah Melayu.

A good farmer  first prepares the soil before he sows his seeds. Likewise a good politician and Mahathir was a politician par excellence. Malays were told how they are deprived of the fruits of ‘their own land’ by the rapacious Chinese and Indian immigrants. Even when offered citizenship in return for recognising the ‘special position’ of the Malays – a sort of ‘social contract’ – they broke the agreement.  Malays were warned ‘they would disappear like the Red Indians of America’. The idea that the Chinese and Indians were untrustworthy was planted in the Malay psyche.  The ground ready, the seeds of ‘Tanah Melayu’ was sowed.

Political Spins

1.    The most dangerous political spin that has gone largely unchallenged is that the Malays were generous in allowing the Non-Malays citizenship in 1957 in exchange for the Non-Malays accepting the ‘special position’ of the Malays with regard to Article 153 of the Constitution. This became the imaginary ‘Social Contract’ dredged up by Malay politicians whenever there was a dispute concerning their “special position” No documents were presented to support this claim because none exists.

This ‘special position’ refers to the socio-economic situation of the Malays vis a vis the Non-Malays in 1957. The ‘special privileges’ refers to the affirmative action policies formulated to lift their socio-economic level to that of the Chinese and Indians. It is not ‘special privileges’ in the sense of “racial entitlement”, that just because one is a Malay one is entitled to these ‘special privileges’ in perpetuity. If that were the case a time limitation clause of 15 years would not have been written into Article 153. Imagine the Chinese and Indian leaders condemning future generations of Chinese and Indians to second class citizenship. This affirmative action ‘special privileges’ was later extended to “when Malays have 30% of the GDP” – a target set by the government.

This target was reached by 2015 according to Dr Lim Teck Ghee which the government denied but would not reveal government data or its methodology when challenged. It would seem that the government intend Malay privileges to continue in perpetuity.

The socio-economic environment and demography of the country at that time:

At independence the “Malays were mainly rice growers and planters of coconuts and other agricultural produce. They also served in the army, police and civil service.

The Chinese were the mainstay of the tin mines, were market-gardeners, artisans, shopkeepers, contractors, clerks and financiers.

The Indians – beyond the rubber plantation; Indians were recruited for public works and railway. They were in the hospitals, police and the bureaucracy.”

The British were the colonial rulers. They also hold the major share of the economy – the big plantations and tin mines were British owned. The major trading houses and agencies were British.

The demography of Malaya in 1957 was:

 Malays – 3,125.500    Chinese – 2,333.800   Indians – 696.200   Others -123.300

(Total Malays – 3125.5   Total Non-Malays – 3153.3).

 At the time of independence Malays were in the minority (relative to the rest) even including large numbers of immigrants from Sumatra and Java especially during the first four decades of the 20^th Century who were classified as Malays. In other words, the number of local Malays was even less than as stated  above. 

Can you imagine the British not granting citizenship to those Non-Malays who want it (whether the Malays liked it or not) when the economy depended on the[I1] m. Britain was just coming out of WW2 and colonies like Malaya were vital to the economy of Britain which still had a huge economic stake in Malaya even after 1957. Britain could not risk its cash cow when money was needed to rebuild a war-ravaged country.

 The British are realists. Without the Chinese and Indians the new nation of Malaya would not have been viable.

If the Chinese and Indians (who arrived in large numbers about the same time as the Javanese and Sumatrans in the early 1900s) were granted citizenship, so were the Sumatrans, Javanese and others who were not local born. So why the fuss about the Chinese and Indians getting citizenship?

 On a more practical level how could the new country function without the Chinese and Indians? Malays were averse to the back-breaking work and risks which the Chinese and Indians were prepared to undertake. That is why the British brought in the Chinese and Indians, to work the mines and rubber estates. They also constructed roads and railways and other infrastructure. They ran small businesses to service the community. There would not have been independence if this matter was not resolved because Malaya would not have been functional as an economy.

The Chinese and Indians are not here because of the generosity of the Malays; they are here because they served an economic purpose. They have paid for their citizenship with their blood, sweat and tears. There is no argument that the towns and infrastructure were built by them. They have given their lives fighting for the country, they have sweated to make the country prosperous. They owe no one anything; they have paid their way many times over . . . and are still doing! Even today, the minority Malaysians are carrying the majority according to Mahathir.

Hence acceptance of the ‘special position’ of the Malays by the Non-Malays is not in exchange for citizenship. Unfortunately, that like Goebel’s lies, told over years this narrative has taken on the guise of truth.

On the other hand, acceptance of the Malay ‘special position’ as per Article 153  which conceded to Malays certain ‘special privileges’ (time-limited) by the Chinese and Indians was necessary and pragmatic because without it the country would not work. It is impossible for half the population to be economically disadvantaged and not expect discontent. The Malays must be lifted up to the socio-economic level of the others. Article 153 is an ‘affirmative action’ legislation which the Non-Malays accepted. It is not a legislation for ‘Malay exclusivity’ which demanded privileges in perpetuity.

2.    Indigeneity

Indigeneity as a basis for Malay claim to “special privileges” is a false claim. Fact is Malays are not indigenous to Malaya. They were early settlers on the land for sure. While ethnic Malays came from Rhiau and Deli in Sumatera others came from Java and other islands in the archipelago. What is the difference? except the Chinese came from China and the Indians from India.  We are all immigrants albeit some came earlier. The real indigenes are the Sengois, Semais, Jakuns, Negritos and other tribes, that is why they are called Orang Asli. In East Malaysia it would be the Dayaks, Kadazan-Dusuns, Muruts, Bidayuhs etc.

Also at the time of Merdeka many “Malays” are not ethnically Malays but Pakistanis, Indians etc who fit the constitutional definition of ‘Malay’ e.g. Mahathir Mohammed. These ‘celup Malays’ have even less claim to ‘special privileges’.

If the claim of indigeneity is the basis for ‘special privileges’ why are the Orang Asli at the bottom of the socio-economic heap?

It is worth reminding ourself that the international convention of citizenship does not allow for “special position” because of indigeneity. Once acquired, citizenship confers the same rights and responsibilities on all citizens. There are no different classes of citizenship based on colour or creed.

In short, the ‘special position’ of the Malays derives from its weaker economic position – not its claim to indigeneity,

Strategies for Tanah Melayu

Irrespective of the above, the purveyors of the dream persisted.

1.    From schools to mosques and government institutions the narrative for Tanah Melayu was spun. A ‘rewritten’ history skewed to emphasise the Malay position was taught in schools. The Biro Tata Negara diminished the contributions of the Non-Malays to nation building while exaggerating that of Malays. Mosques warned that Christians were out to convert Muslims. Every measure was taken to remove Christian symbols and practices, many Arabic words and phrases were forbidden to Non-Malays. All this in order not to confuse the Malays.

2.    Perhaps if everyone ‘masuk Melayu’ the issue of race (and religion) would be resolved. To this end the government introduced ‘the Malaysian Culture Policy 1971’ where only Malay, Islamic and Indigenous Cultures were recognised as ‘Malaysian’. Indian and Chinese cultures were not allowed in public. Children were not allowed to perform cultural dances of their respective race in school performances.

 The multi-racial, multi-cultural Malaysia as envisaged in 1957 would have vanished with one stroke of the pen except that the Chinese and Indians protested. Every Chinese Guild and Indian Association, Independent Vernacular Schools, Cultural Clubs etc rose in unison. MCA, MIC and Gerakan, subservient junior partners in the BN Government, had no choice but to speak up for their respective communities. DAP which had been calling for a Malaysian Malaysia could not resist the opportunity to score political points.

3.    The rejection of the Malaysian Culture Policy did not blunt the push for Tanah Melayu. If one way failed, try another way. . .  In a master stroke, a Christian majority Sabah became a Muslim majority state overnight by the issuance of blue identity cards to illegal immigrant Muslim Filipinos  in the thousands.         

Sarawak saw what happened and took measures to protect itself from the Malay Islamic invasion.

4.    Article 153 was hijacked by Malay leaders who ignored all provisions to protect the legitimate interests of the Non-Malays as required in the legislation. Chinese businesses were forced to close because their licences were not renewed. In other cases, Chinese businesses were forced to give up a substantial percentage of their shares to Malays. Government owned businesses like MAS were virtually given away and bought back at a loss or bailed out with public funds when they failed.

 A Malay mercantile class was created overnight what took the Chinese generations to build.

5.    “Operasi Penuh Isi” an UMNO plan to fill all government positions with Malays was carried out. Government services were overwhelmingly Malays – way above their percentage of the population. Today the executive branch of government and government owned or linked companies are almost entirely Malay.

With banking, insurance, ports, imports of essentials, rice milling, energy, the automobile industry in the hands of Malays. Malays control a huge percentage if not the majority of the economy. With Malays controlling every lever of government and Malay making up the overwhelming majority of government employees, the Malay Agenda cannot fail.  Is Ismail Sabri’s declaration of a ‘Malay Government’  an announcement of the arrival of ‘Tanah Melayu’?

           Almost but not quite. Anwar Ibrahim still needed DAP and the other multi-racial parties in East Malaysia to keep him in power in the Unity Government against the ambitions of other Malay leaders.    

But Anwar is no less a racial and religious chauvinist. Despite his show of being a tolerant liberal Malay, his true colours emerge in less guarded moments. Jakim the department responsible for the development of Islam has a bigger budget than many ministries which served all sectors. Anwar has remained conspicuously silent in the face of protests by Non-Muslims across the country on the illegal conversion of Non-Malay minors. While he made it clear that under him affirmative action will be needs based yet rich Malays continue to enjoy special privileges while poor Non-Malays do not. He promised to help SMEs irrespective of race yet he did not open APs to Non-Malay companies like he did Malay SMEs.

Anwar is no less a Malay chauvinist than his former mentor Mahathir or any of the other Malay leaders. His Islamic credentials carried over from his ABIM days remain intact.

If the multi-racial Malaya/Malaysia we signed up for is to survive, the current state of affairs cannot remain unchallenged. The challenge has to come from all stakeholders -  Dayaks, Kadazan-Dusuns, Muruts – all Sarawakians and Sabahans - the Aslis, Chinese and Indians of Malaya but especially Malays who believe in and will fight for the Malaysia our fathers agreed on.

Are we witnessing the end of a dream and the beginning of a nightmare?

The Fat Lady has not sung.

Yin  - Ward 5   Tanjong Rambutan

Malaysiakini : Meanwhile, the opposition has cried political persecution whenever their leaders are targeted by the state security apparatus and have used social media influencers to highlight not only the hypocrisy of the Madani state but also the policies that have disenfranchised a young voting bloc through “surprise” economic policies that still favour the elites.

The national narrative as defined by the Penang chief minister,“…. the subsidy, perceived inflation, cost of living, and the burden the people have to face with all this…” is the local narrative and you can either believe that these issues do not matter to the non-Malays or that something more is at play.

The fact of the matter is, that DAP has been hamstrung in this coalition government. The DAP is supposed to be a moderating force but all it has done is attempt to carry water for the “don’t spook the Malay crowd” while the Madani government panders to the PN base secure in the belief that the non-Malays have no choice but to vote for them.

Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli, for instance, said the Harapan coalition had locked down the non-Malay vote.

He comes off in the press these days sounding like one of those “arrogant and haughty leaders” Hamzah talked about when Rafizi said that for Sungai Bakap, PN was a lost cause.

Rafizi said on the campaign stump, “It’s very evident that PN has lost direction in this by-election campaign, as they are not focusing on issues that are more important to the residents of Sungai Bakap.

“These are local issues. It is also a testament to the ability and capability of each candidate to provide the best service to voters here..”

Now, of course, Rafizi after dissing PN, laments the low turnout of the non-Malay voters which just goes to show how out of touch the best and the brightest in PKR really are.

Harapan alienated its supporters

Harapan has been doing everything in its power to alienate its non-Malay base and screw over the progressive Malay element in Harapan. Non-Malay operatives have been bending over backwards attempting to project a benign face of Chinese influence in Harapan.

Admittedly, Anwar played the liberal, reformist and progressive Muslim when he was on the campaign stump and this elevated him to cult-like status amongst the non-Muslims.

However, after coming into power, either as a handmaiden to the old maverick or into his own, his obsession with securing the Malay vote has driven him and Harapan further right, which has been accepted by the non-Malay Harapan base but met with indifference by a majority of Malays.

To be fair to Anwar and his team, beyond the obvious pandering, the prime minister has been attempting some sort of class dialectic within the Malay community.

But the problem, as expressed by some PKR political operatives privately to me and more recently publicly by the United for the Rights of Malaysians Party (Urimai) pro tem chairperson P Ramasamy, is the mistake “... of reducing identity politics to material growth in the form of increased foreign investments and job creation”.

Of course, the Malay vote is important and Anwar and Harapan should be chasing it like they would any other vote, but the fact that the rural Malay vote is unequal makes Anwar’s pandering to the Malays and their rejection of him even more tragic or comical, depending on your point of view.

He has done everything from overseeing a religious conversion to lecturing a young Indian girl on the social contract to milking ethnic sacred cows but the majority community still does not buy what the Madani state is selling.

While all politics is local, what the federal government should be doing is ensuring the Harapan base that voted for them (even when they were losing, but managed to break Umno's two-thirds majority in one of their defeats) is satisfied with their performance.

Instead, what the federal government is doing is attempting to replicate BN-style politics for a base which has no use for it. A base which believed that the reign of Harapan would move them away from the race-based and religion-influenced politics of Umno-BN.

Demonisation of DAP

Non-Malay politicians tell me they have to walk on eggshells when it comes to certain issues. They tell me the demonisation of DAP seems to be working. Well, here’s the thing - if people are going to hate DAP, they are going to do it regardless of whether Malay uber alles coalition is in power or not.

The narrative that the majority of Malays hate the DAP has always been around, but the DAP has survived and even thrived. Instead, what the coalition government does is bend over backwards attacking the very demographic which could change the narrative and encourage a new paradigm of mainstream Malaysian politics.

Honestly, if Anwar carried out the reforms he promised and carried out these drastic subsidy cuts, voters regardless of ethnicity would be inclined to give this government a chance.

But the problem is, that Anwar attempts to have a crusade against corruption but has Umno in his pocket.

And he attempts these drastic subsidy cuts but leakages abound in organisations under the government’s control and of course, plays the race and religion card while attempting to court the non-Malay vote. People who vote for PN know exactly what they are getting and they are fine with that.

What this government has to understand is which side their bread is buttered.

Malaysiakini : Baffling

Can you imagine that? The top cop of the country tried to convince a kidnapper to return a child instead of working with the local authorities in the country this kidnapper was to extricate him and the child back to the country which laws he had broken.

Indeed, as former Court of Appeals judge Mah Weng Kwai said - “I am baffled because you have an order of the apex court of this country and the order was to the police to produce this person, and more so if you know where he is.

“(But you) don’t produce him and start talking about negotiations. I just don’t understand the reasoning.”

With all this in mind, if we didn’t second guess how the police were carrying out the business of the state, it says something about our reasoning.

We know that the police knew where he was. We know that the police and senior politicians were attempting to persuade him to do the right thing. We know that they obviously failed to convince this kidnapper to do the right thing.

We know that all this was done under a cloak of secrecy and that their main objective was not to retrieve a kidnapped child but rather to find a win-win situation.

We know that years ago the police decided to remain “neutral” when it came to orders from the civil and syariah courts which - as rightly pointed out - was complete bunkum by then-Sungkai assemblyperson A Sivanesan.

“The police are taking the law into their hands... In this (Indira’s) case, the court order is already there but the police are not acting on it,” he said.

We know that the political apparatus chose to remain silent when the IGP decided to go on his neutral path as then-home minister and current Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi so elegantly put it - “no comment”.

We now know that what Hamid told the court - that he wasn’t certain where the kidnapper was - contradicts his statement about trying to coax Riduan to do the right thing with the help of senior politicians and that at least two former prime ministers were aware of his efforts.

Hence with all this in the public record, can we really believe that there was no bad faith in the way the police had chosen to carry out its duties when it came to this kidnapping case?

Mind you, I think Hamid was sincere (if this makes sense) in trying to achieve some sort of fair deal for the mother but it wasn’t his duty to make this deal, only to return a kidnapped child to her mother.

A lost cause?

It would not surprise me if there were enablers, who are average citizens, conspiring to keep this child within Islam.

I do not think these people consider Riduan as some sort of religious martyr but rather they believe that Indira’s daughter belongs to them and their faith.

It pains me to say this but Indira’s daughter probably has been indoctrinated to believe the narrative of her captors instead of her mother.

This is what former foreign law enforcement types and cult deprogrammers tell me when I discuss this case with them.

“The longer the child is with her kidnapper, the child’s situation becomes normalised and with that, the actions of the child’s kidnapper.”

At every step of the way, Indira has met nothing but resistance from the state and a political apparatus, which has used her when convenient and discarded her cause when in power.

This is really about how this mother has confronted the state and the state security apparatus through its various permutations, which enabled the kidnapping of her child.

This is now the Madani state and there is no happy ending for this mother of a kidnapped child.

Malaysiakini : Religiously Sanctioned Hatred - Views on Jews

Everything most Malays are taught about the Palestinian conflict, they get from National Civics Bureau (BTN) courses and state-sponsored sermons in mosques.

This is why PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang gets to say something like this - “When Umno and PAS unite, they are accused of wishing to go to war with other races.

“(Our accusers are) like the Jews who did not want Muslims to be united during the Prophet’s time.

“This is a disease we must fight. Let’s join forces and send the enemy to hell.”

He was alluding to DAP leaders, in case you missed it.

Keep in mind that Hadi has claimed that he was willing to work with Jews but not Zionists, which exposes the statement he made about the Umno/PAS marriage, for the horse manure that it is.

Here in Malaysia, being a Jew and being a Zionist is not mutually exclusive.

Consider the hate speech of Muslim convert Ridhuan Tee Abdullah, a preacher, who took anti-Semitism to a new level by comparing his Chinese brothers and sisters to the most obscene stereotype of Jews, pleading special knowledge about their community since he was a kafir (infidel) like them before embracing Islam.

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad claimed that the Jews are “crooks” - “(So) what is the reason we don’t allow Israelites to come here? We say they are crooks (penyangak), and we just got rid of one crook.”

Blackrock business

Former Umno minister Khairy Jamaluddin who has nothing to lose, pontificated about how the cabinet would not endorse this Blackrock deal.

But back in the day when he was Umno Youth chief, Khairy was protesting then-US state secretary Condoleezza Rice and chanting “Israel is a wild beast. Israel is the devil!” while burning effigies of then-US president George W Bush.

This idea that spreading hate for the “Jews” makes good capital is what every Islamic political party in this country does. Except, of course, when the real world intrudes and Islamists are made to understand that you cannot expect to be part of the international community and think you are exempt from certain rules.

The prime minister said, “We have no means in the current situation to cancel (ties) because it will impact the country’s economy.”

However, former PKR stalwart Tian Chua said ”rejecting Blackrock is a moral imperative. The government must show policy consistency in its stand for Palestine”.

Mind you, Chua, like the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, prattles on about ethical choices when it comes to boycotts hence nobody needs to make the ethical choice of throwing away their Apple gadget or not fly on Boeing aircraft.

Does it seem to you, like it does to me, that “targeted boycotts” merely mean “convenient” boycotts?

Now these very same forces that the prime minister encouraged with his unabashed support for Hamas and claims that he was the target of powerful interest for his support of the Palestinian issues, have come home to roost.

The current Umno Youth chief, who seems to be the Teflon kid when it comes to state security apparatus, said: “We fully support the actions of the government that has expressed strong, undivided support for the Palestinian people, but we ask for solidarity not only at the international level, it must be demonstrated in our own country.”

Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh has already demonstrated that he really does not give a fig about the economic consequences of his call for boycotts hence his stand on this issue is well predictable. This is what happens when you propagandise a conflict using race and religion.

Optics matter

The quagmire is that the Malay political establishment is in a bind. Nobody can come out and support deals with Israeli-linked companies even though it is an economic plus for this country because this would mean betraying the Palestinian cause and Muslim solidarity.

Political secretary to the finance minister Muhammad Kamil Abdul Munim said of Khairy - “We are among the most vocal in defending and advocating for the rights of the Palestinians.

“As such, labelling the prime minister as an accomplice of Israel’s genocidal crimes is extreme and disrespectful.”

This, however, misses the point.

This is a competition about who defends the Palestinian cause better for a local audience. And in case the prime minister hasn't noticed, he is playing a rigged game that the state (and him) created decades ago. This isn’t about the Palestinian people.

Malaysiakini : Malaysia’s loss

When bullying failed, they managed to convince her superiors to transfer her to a distant location. That tactic worked, and the stress of being separated from her children and husband affected her mental health. She resigned.

Malaysia lost a promising young woman in sports nutritional therapy while a neighbouring country has gained from her expertise.

Her corrupt co-workers are still doing what they do best, undermining the university they work for. The taxpayers, the students, the budding athletes and the faculty and university are all victims of these corrupt civil servants.

The young woman is Malay and to protect her identity, I will name her Ella.

Ella’s corrupt co-workers have probably done her a favour because she will pursue her ambition in the neighbouring country, work for higher wages, and gain more experience than her peers who are still trapped under the tempurung (shell) that she has just abandoned.

Ella refused to sacrifice her integrity and was unwilling to compromise her principles. She left her comfort zone and is now better off. She has struck a working arrangement with her new bosses to enable her to travel home to see her family every week.

So, if we were to replicate this corrupt section of the university on a national basis, what would we find? Is Ella’s situation a one-off problem? Are there more Ellas throughout Malaysia?

Too much corruption

Even if we were to jail Ella’s boss for being blind (or dense) to the corruption going on under his watch, there would not be enough jails in the country to accommodate all of the corrupt and clueless heads of departments nationwide.

Last month, Anwar talked about replacing the direct tender process with an open tender system. What happened recently with a certain transport company seemed to contradict what Anwar said about open tenders.

He said his administration had tackled smuggling syndicates perpetrated by some civil servants. Part of his anti-graft measures was to deal with various cartels with roots embedded in the civil service.

However, corruption is not just about the big organisations or whole departments, because more often than not, the effects of corruption have the greatest soul-destroying effect on the ordinary person in the street.

Corruption restricts growth. It traps the poorest people in their never-ending cycle of poverty. It stops hardworking and industrious, determined people from benefitting from what is rightfully theirs.

Corruption robs both schools and hospitals of vital funds. People with money can afford clever lawyers and accountants to find loopholes to avoid paying taxes.

Corruption undermines national security and threatens national harmony.

A ‘cancer’

You may recall the near-riots caused by the drug addict Shahrul Anuar Abdul Aziz who stole a mobile phone from vendors in Low Yat Plaza in 2015. Shopkeepers were furious that the police merely stood by and watched the Malay Mat Rempits rampaging and creating havoc in the shopping complex.

Anwar acknowledged that corruption is like a “cancer”, confirmed that it has been around for decades, and said that it was impossible for department heads not to know what was going on in their departments.

We agree.

However, we would like to know why the laws were not strictly enforced then, why whistleblowers were investigated, and why only opposition MPs were investigated in the anti-graft blitz.

Many whistleblowers lost their jobs. Others who complained about corruption would suddenly find that their contracts had been terminated.

How will refusing to promote the heads of departments who fail to report corruption in their department help in the fight against graft?

Some of us have a problem. It is difficult to take Anwar seriously when he stands shoulder to shoulder with allegedly corrupt politicians with whom he has been forced to join forces, to form his coalition government.

Malaysiakini : Local elections

Something like local elections will do far more to improve and recalibrate the education system in terms of engaging residents, especially the Malay community, rather than policies that come from Putrajaya.

Activist and ex-MP Kua Kia Soong alluded to this when he was advocating for local council elections in 2018 that Pakatan Harapan had abandoned.

He wrote, “I have often stressed the fact that an elected local government can, at a stroke, depoliticise education in Malaysia simply by building schools based on the need of the local communities – and not have the Education Ministry treat schools as a political football during general elections.

“Few Malaysians have noticed, for example, that the all-important role of local education authorities in the Education Act 1961 is no longer mentioned in the Education Act 1996.

“Local education authorities serve to allocate funds and other facilities to needy sectors, and can serve to dissipate politicisation of education.”

Dominance of the elite

And, forget about the urban-educated opposition politics. When politicians talk of rural folk, you have to understand that these are rural folk by design.

While rich- and middle-income Malays ensure that their children receive an education that would make them competitive in this fast-changing geopolitical landscape, the system is designed to keep “rural” Malays and working-class Malays bereft of the opportunities available to that class of Malays who control or who serve in a political system that enables their privilege.

When those Malays in that survey said Malays must work hard and be proactive, what exactly is that an indictment of? It was not of the Malay community but rather the policies and ideologies of the mainstream Malay political elites.

The question we should be asking is what is causing this apathy in a large segment of the Malay community? Why is it that Malay students are not interested in math and science? Why are families not supportive of the educational goals of their children?

Anecdotally, lower-income Malays who I have spoken to over the decades tell me the reason why some of them do not place much emphasis on education is because they are from large families and children are encouraged to quickly become wage earners to support the family.

Furthermore, the emphasis is on starting a family at a young age, which also hampers the education process. Keep in mind that Malay women still make up the majority in public universities so there are many variables to this issue.

A permanently underprivileged base

When it comes to education, in the ketuanan (supremacy) system, it is more about class than race. Mainstream Malaysian politics is predicated on sustaining a jingoistic, nationalist, but permanently underprivileged Malay base.

Of course, the kind of class that this system of education engineers makes them perfect as petty, mid-level bureaucrats or working-class drones, steeped in religious and racial grievances, using the system at the behest of their political masters, always hoping to jump to the next level using corrupt means.

A new serf class was created post-May 1969.

You can have a world-class education system, however you choose to define it, but if the target audience is not interested, then you have bupkis. All policies from successive governments are based on fear and loathing.

The fear instilled in the Malay majority that their rights would be usurped by egalitarian and progressive concepts, and loathing by the political elites that those same concepts are needed to ensure a viable and economically successful community.

What political elites fail to understand is that apathy often leads to resentment stoked by religious fires and then eventually violence.

This is a lesson that political elites all over the world have learnt too late.

Malaysiakini : Affirmative action policies

The affirmative action policies after the May 13 riots unfairly treated many non-Malay teachers and lecturers.

They were sidelined for promotion. Non-Malay teaching staff at Mara colleges and universities were dropped. Some left and sought work overseas, while others taught until retirement or resigned and set up private tuition centres.

Back then, teaching was a respected, noble profession and one chose it because one cared for the children’s future and to contribute towards nation-building.

Today, our universities churn out thousands of graduates some of whom take up teaching only as a last resort. They failed to qualify for other disciplines and teaching was preferential to unemployment.

When the British left Malaya, many Malaysians could speak English well. We were the envy of Southeast Asia, possibly even the envy of Asia. At universities abroad, our graduates were highly respected.

Soon after Merdeka, the Umno/BN administration politicised education and language became a very sensitive subject.

Promoting Bahasa Malaysia was a vote winner with the Malay electorate and selfish politicians were prepared to sacrifice our children's futures to prolong their political careers.

In the 1970s, Tan Chee Khoon, one of the founders of the Gerakan party, predicted the threat posed by nationalists who opposed the use of the English language.

His prophecy has come true, and today, we reap the results.

In the 1970s, many gullible Malay parents believed in the propaganda of linking speaking English with patriotism.

Although the decline in English proficiency cannot be attributed to one single factor, the government’s affirmative action policy is perhaps a major contributor.

The irony is that today, many Malays cry discrimination and complain about the difficulty of getting jobs in the private sector, or with multinational companies.

Dr Mahathir Mohamad dumbed down our education system in favour of affirmative action policies.

Muted voices

The decline began in the seventies.

Most of the former ministers like Razaleigh Hamzah, Musa Hitam, Rafidah, Anwar, Muhyiddin Yassin and the older politicians will have foreseen the destruction which Mahathir unleashed on Malaysians. Where were their voices then?

Why didn’t senior civil servants and university heads speak out too? Today, many of them are vocal about the decline in English. Yesterday, they were mute.

Why didn’t prominent, influential Malaysians in banking, business, and industry alert the then-PM and his cabinet? What stopped them?

All of them were too busy climbing the greasy social and political ladder to reap the benefits/riches in post-Merdeka Malaysia.

They are part of the problem and when one reads about their lengthy suggestions in various WhatsApp groups, it is difficult to contain one’s cynicism.

They were in power and could have done something about it, but many preferred to protect their rice bowl. Today, we observe the destruction caused by their apathy.

The affirmative action policies damaged our education system. Pass marks were lowered. Limited scholarships for non-Malays. Introduction of racial quotas.

Meritocracy ignored. Speaking English is considered unpatriotic. Flip-flopping between English and Malay for teaching Science and Mathematics. Poor quality teachers.

Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek has made a mess of the Dual Learning Programme. Elite schools can ignore her latest DLP updates, but other schools must strictly abide by her rules.

If you want to destroy a nation, just tinker with the education system. It’s like watching a car crash in slow motion.

Malaysiakini : Non-Muslim woes

The Global Human Rights Federation (GHRF) president S Shashi said his organisation will not be making a police report against Firdaus because nothing has come of it every time they do.

What do you think Firdaus thinks of all the police reports lodged against him and others of his ilk? Firdaus knows he is untouchable when it comes to the religion of the state.

When Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim presided over the conversion of a young man, this signalled to the religious bureaucracy and its emissaries that in-your-face proselytisation was acceptable no matter the tense religious and racial climate this country was experiencing.

We live in a country where non-Muslims are banned from using certain words, we live in a country where there are cases of non-Muslim children being unilaterally converted and kidnapped, we live in a country where non-Muslims are warned not to disturb Muslim rights when advocating their democratic rights and social justice.

We live in a country where non-Muslim economic endeavours are curtailed because of Muslim piety, we live in a country where in some states, non-Muslim places of worship are subject to restrictions on who can enter.

We live in a country where celebrity preachers mock non-Muslim religions, we live in a country where non-Muslims are often demonised and used as scapegoats by political operatives and political elites, we live in a country where non-Muslims are told that we are not citizens but rather pendatang.

So, when Anwar presided over the conversion of that Hindu youth, he was representing the religious reality that non-Muslims face in this country. He was not merely welcoming a new convert into the religion, he was reinforcing religious narratives.

The terrifying reality

Now, Firdaus understands this reality. I would argue that he benefits from it. However, do the minors he enables and advises to deceive their families understand this reality?

As I said, religious experimentation in minors is expected but when it comes to the Malaysian context religious experimentation comes with severe consequences.

And I do not mean solely when it comes to non-Muslim minors. Indeed, so terrified of any kind of possible conversion or undue influence, the state authorities monitor the social landscape in case Muslims are influenced by other religions.

This is what the Selangor Islamic Council (Mais) chairperson said when he proclaimed it was unlawful for Muslims to visit non-Muslim places of worship to learn about other religions:

“Although the objective of this programme is said to give exposure towards a religion (sic) practised in this country and to form close unity among the believers of different religions, programmes to learn about other religions other than Islam in any churches or any houses of worship needs certain controls and restrictions to ensure there is no element of persuading Muslims to be influenced and interested in other religions besides Islam and also no involvement of Muslims in other religions’ rituals.”

With all this in mind, we really must ask ourselves, does the Madani state condone what Firdaus does?

If there are no repercussions, then we know the answer.

Malaysiakini : How did we get here?

With many teachers creating headlines for the wrong reasons, parents of school-going children must dread the daily six hours of lessons, when they hope their children have not been physically, mentally or sexually abused, by of all people, the teacher.

So, how did Mogahana’s son end up standing in the middle of a field, under the hot sun for close to three hours?

We are also told he is often targeted by school bullies. How did the school resolve this?

Having complained to his teacher about another pupil throwing a water bottle at him, he and three others, but not the boy who’d thrown the bottle, were then told to stand under the hot sun as punishment.

Worse was to follow. The three boys who were punished alongside Mogahana’s son were told to return to their classrooms after 10 minutes, but not him. Despite complaining of dizziness, the torture continued.

Mogahana’s son appears to have elicited the sadistic streak in his teacher because what the teacher did that day was unconscionable.

He caused the boy to have life-changing injuries. He cannot claim that he’d forgotten about the boy.

The teacher is criminally negligent.

If the teacher had followed the official approved mode of punishment, then the headmaster, the school, the education department and the Education Ministry are also culpable.

Mogahana’s son returned home feeling unwell after his ordeal. He felt dizzy, had red eyes and when rushed to hospital, had fainted at the emergency entrance.

Brainless

Doctors who examined him said he had heatstroke and had developed a nerve condition. The Ampang Hospital then designated him as a “person with disabilities” and advised his parents to register him with the social welfare department for a “disability” card.

The most gut-wrenching thing must have been when the parents were told that their young son would not be able to return to a normal school.

Only a brainless person would allow a young child to stand in the scorching sun for hours. Can the teacher really be that dense?

Young children, babies, the ill, and elderly people are most at risk in the hot sun. Children left in locked cars are found lifeless by their parents, who on their return a few hours later, then wonder why their children had died.

The spotlight is on the teacher, the school head, the other teachers and the school administration staff.

Did the teacher strictly follow the school rule book, or as Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek calls it, the “Student Management Guidelines”, for the appropriate punishment?

Was “standing under the scorching sun” an approved method of punishment which is sanctioned by the Education Department and the ministry?

Or is this mode of punishing students one that is not in the guidelines, but has nevertheless been done for many years and has come to be accepted as the norm?

If a punishment is not listed, why not? Why did the head not convey this to the Education Department?

Most schools have a disciplinary teacher. Was this teacher the one who disciplines misbehaving pupils?

Couldn’t care less

The sight of a young boy standing in the middle of the field, under a blazing sun for at least three hours should have aroused someone’s curiosity.

Incredibly, the other teachers, the school administrators, and the head did not think it strange to see a young boy standing on the field.

This apathetic, tidak-apa (couldn’t care less) behaviour says a lot about the culture and work ethics of the school’s teaching and administration staff.

The lawyer representing the boy’s family has alleged that a witness has been threatened, that the investigation is conducted at a snail’s pace and that the teacher responsible has not been suspended.

Fadhlina said there would be no compromise over the safety of students and that appropriate action would be taken based on the investigation report.

Haven’t we heard her lip service before? Fadhlina must do more to ensure that our schools do not become every parent’s nightmare.