It's because of people like the deputy prime minister that bigots like Ibrahim, Zulkifli, Perak mufti Harussani, preachers like Ridhuan Tee and Hasan Ali of Jati dare ridicule non-Malays.
By his own admission, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is racist, proclaiming publicly that he is Muslim first and then Malaysian. It speaks volumes of his love for the country and for his fellow Malaysians of different faiths.
But as fanatical a person he is, Muhyiddin, who is also the Education Minister seems ‘untouchable’ and because of this ‘privilege’, he continues to threaten the non-Malays to toe the line.
From his refusal to tackle the controversy caused by a caustic and racist novel ‘Interlok’ to his all-out defence of the Malay rights and privileges, Muhyiddin has regrettably done all he can to display his one and only loyalty – to his own ‘kith and kin’.
The rakyat, the non-Malays especially, realising that they have a racist leader in their midst, are now becoming increasingly angry with the insensitive and racially uncouth remarks that spew out of Muhyiddin’s mouth.
Just days ago while breaking fast with orphaned children, Muhyiddin once again went on raving and ranting about how Muslims have never insulted the religion of the non-Muslims such as Christianity and Hinduism.
“But non-Muslims are insulting our religion,” he had said warning the non-Malays of consequences for tarnishing the image and sanctity of Islam.
A baseless attack on the non-Malays by Muhyiddin and not a single non-Malay minister had the guts to take the DPM on – so much for ‘berkhidmat untuk rakyat’ or serving the people pledge undertaken by the minister-politcians.
Muhyiddin’s never-ending slumber
It remains a puzzle whether Muhyiddin who with his over four decades of political experience thrives on belittling himself or he is simply foolish, never taking cognisance of what comes out of his mouth each time he speaks.
The DPM had the cheek to say the Muslims never humiliated the other faiths of this country, his baseless accusation proof enough that Muhyiddin does not care a damn about the other faiths.
All the insults to Hinduism and the attack on non-Malays over the use of the word ‘Allah’ by Muslim fanatics like Ibrahim Ali of Perkasa and his sidekick, the former Kulim-Bandar Baharu MP Zuklifli Noordin has not the least annoyed Muhyiddin.
Likewise, the decapitation of cow heads, an animal sacred to the Hindus by Muslim zealots has far from worried Muhyiddin as far as the status of the country’s peace and harmony goes.
It is because of ‘godfathers’ like Muhyiddin that bigots like Ibrahim, Zulkifli, Perak mufti Harussani Zakaria, preachers like Ridhuan Tee and Hasan Ali of Jati dare ridicule the non-Malays.
Muhyiddin’s latest remark that the Muslims have never insulted other religions should be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
Time for non-Malays to respond
Is the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism going to take the DPM on for his anti-national stand, one that is not just seditious in nature but also jeopardises harmony in the country?
When DAP leaders like Lim Kit Siang or his son Lim Guan Eng are dubbed as ‘racist’ by so-called statesman like Dr Mahathir Mohamad, all and sundry know this is nothing but bad politics at work.
Just days before the 13th general election, Mahathir told a 3,000 pro-Barisan Nasional crowd that Lim Kit Siang was “an extremist racist” as he was trying to sway the Chinese to hate the Malays.
The former prime minister accused Lim and the DAP of “poisoning” Chinese minds in the polls campaign by telling them the community was the victim of discrimination by a Malay government.
“I will say it out as vocal as possible. Lim Kit Siang is a racist. Lim Kit Siang is a racist. Lim Kit Siang is an extremist racist,” Dr Mahathir kept insisting.
If Muhyiddin is leaving no stone unturned to safeguard the interests of the Malays, what is so wrong if Lim Kit Siang does the same, provided the latter did or is doing so?
Muhyiddin in denial
Has Dr Mahathir or Muhyiddin forgotten or are they in denial that it was a Chinese politician who reached out to help a Malay schoolgirl who was raped by an Umno politician?
But when a Malay shows love for man’s best friend i.e. a dog, all hell breaks loose?
Why? Do compassion and Islam not go hand-in-hand when it comes to animals?
Why then the persecution of a dog trainer, Maznah Mohd Yusof, arrested under Section 298A of the Penal Code and the Sedition Act after a three-year-old video of her bathing her dogs and wishing viewers Selamat Hari Raya resurfaced online.
As far as Maznah is concerned, her intention was never to demean her religion, instead it was to remind Muslims to celebrate Hari Raya with animals and humans.
Unfortunately, Muhyiddin and the director-general of the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) do not have it in them to understand that Islam or any religion for that matter is not binding to humans alone.
Maybe it will not be long before a fatwa is issued to prevent the police force from relying on tracker dogs to sniff out dangerous elements like drugs, etc.
Meanwhile, the nation’s ‘headache’ is that it is Umno that is throwing tantrums whenever the topic of national stability, unity and peace arises. It is not the non-Malays who are walking with hatred in their hearts but Umno which post May 13, 1969, has been holding a grudge against the non-Malays.
For as long as Umno remains the dominant stakeholder in the Barisan Nasional alliance, all will never be well with Malaysia, especially where it concerns the country’s ‘unity in diversity’.
Jeswan Kaur is a freelance writer and a FMT columnist.
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