Those in whose name we fight and in whose name we betray

Tajudin Rahman, currently a deputy minister was never known for niceness. He has always come across as crude, arrogant and condescending. The nearest term that can best describe him as a person is hubristic. That comes from the word hubris (pronounced hew-bris. It means extreme pride or arrogance and comes as a result of an overestimation of one’s own competence or capabilities. Especially when the person demonstrating these qualities is in power. Hubris is also associated with a person having a tunnel vision believing in only his rendition and explanation of things.

That is how Tajudin Rahman approached the Kuala Besut by election- in an arrogant and hubristic manner. DAP is not contesting in Kuala Besut and the core support group of the DAP- the Chinese is hardly present in Kuala Besut. Its almost 99% Malay. It’s a downtrodden extended village that has suffered or has been marginalised during uninterrupted UMNO rule at the federal level. The conditions in which the majority Besut Malays find themselves in today is the result of UMNO’s handiwork.

What else to work up the Malays? Say something about the political future of Malays, the Malay monarchy and Islam. Who else to blame other than DAP- partner to PR parties?

Tajudin has elected to fray DAP and because of its presence in PR. Maybe he is alarmed that DAP won 38 parliamentary seats and saw that ascendance as the rise of the Chinese spectre. He is ignoring the fact that Chinese form about 23% of the population. Malaysian Indians constitute about 10% of the population and other Bumiputeras constitute the rest. The country is 61% Malay, 30% non-Malay and 9% non-Malay Bumiputeras. But Tajudin sees the DAP as the biggest threat as it is seen as having the gravitational pull for those who oppose UMNO and BN.

He ignores the fact that DAP champions the cause of the poor, the marginalised, fights for a better government, better governance, fights against corruption and fights against  race supremacists. Together with other PR partners, DAP fights for those in whose name UMNO fights for and in whose name UMNO betrays by doing our bit. .  

What does UMNO do in the name of the Malays and what does UMNO actually do for the Malays? In the name of the Malays, UMNO secures political power in order to use that power entrusted to exploit the wealth of the country and distribute it largely among the elite. It’s the underlying feudal mentality at play here. Accumulate and concentrate political power and then redistribute the fruits of victory as part of their beneficence. Hence UMNO sees nothing contradictory and hypocritical in practising direct negotiations that have now morphed into selected or close tenders. The same elite is selected, and the tender closes out the non-compliant players.

 DAP is pictured as that fiendish character out to suck out blood from Malays. So if DAP wins political power, it will abolish the Monarchy and install DAP Chairman Karpal Singh as Malaysia’s president. Then, Malays will be subjected to oppressive rules. Islam will be persecuted and so forth.

Tajuddin thinks he is speaking to an imbecilic audience. Tajudin’s crude story telling must be countered by an equally crude response. What is Tajudin’s real message? His message is how to preserve Malay political dominance. That’s already achieved. Malay MPs formed the majority in parliament unless of course Tajudin regards as Malays, only the UMNO Malay MPs. As long as there are more Malay MPs in parliament, Malay political dominance is assured. What Tajudin fails to understand is not all Malays want to be UMNO’s pliant tool serving the interest of the elite group in society.

Tajudin is telling his audience that all the Malays in UMNO, PAS, PKR are all eunuchs and they will sit idly by when legitimate Malay interests are threatened. Or he thinks only the UMNO types can defend legitimate Malay interests. The others aren't Malay enough.  Hence PAS is accused as compromising its value by associating with DAP. PKR, the other partner in PR is painted as a party with extreme liberal views. It’s a party supporting the rights of gays and lesbians and the perverted. PR is also accused as being a tool serving the interest of the DAP.

What is DAP interested in? DAP is interested in a better government, better governance, no corruption, no racism, fair dealing and all that are necessary to create a better and just society. We support what the Agong said in his speech. We dedicate ourselves to the upholding of the rule of law, accountability, good governance and integrity. As Muslims, we all support these objectives and getting these is our common mission.

DAP will gladly support the alleviation of poverty done in the right manner. For instance I find the giving out of BR1M objectionable not because I oppose the giving of cash to poor and needy, but the manner it was given. It’s not UMNO’s or BN’s money- its money extracted from tax payers. The giving out should have been apolitical. Bank Negara proposed the distribution of cash directly into recipients’ accounts. The distributing banks were ready and willing to do it- but UMNO leaders wanted the cash given through them. Why? Because then, they will be able to tell the story that it’s out of UMNO’s beneficence, that you the wretched of the earth, you the voiceless, you the downtrodden,  get to enjoy this cash. So if you want more, keep us in power- we give you RM 500, allow us to wallop the billions. We who fight in your name, deserves to be rewarded as how we see fit.

So Tajudin Rahman comes into town regurgitating the usual crap- that DAP is anti-Malay, anti-Malay Monarchy, anti-Islam or anti whatever the Malay wants. That is not true. UMNO now survives on lies and misinformation.

I am telling readers from my own personal experience – I am a DAP member and got elected on a DAP ticket. My other colleagues and the leadership have never stopped me from speaking about Malay interests or about the hopes and despair of the Malays. Indeed I have and my DAP colleagues understood my position. Indeed as a Malay in Dap I can speak about the despair of the Malays freer that the UMNO MPs can.

The DAP is a political realist. Even if all the Chinese combine and unite, they have only a 23% support base. That’s numerically impossible for a united Chinese party to take over the government. They can become a vocal opposition but not govern over the majority Malays. The Malays constitute 61% of the population. All branches and levels of government are dominated by Malays. Even if Chinese take over as head of departments, almost 96% of the 1.4 million civil servants are Malays. What can the Chinese head of departments do, if the million strong Malay civil servants down their tools? The government will come to a standstill.

The DAP is not anti-Islam. The problems facing the Muslim ummah have nothing to do with the DAP. I hope Muslims don’t get offended. We can’t force others to get converted and we can’t use that as a reason to oppress them in direct and indirect ways. If we Muslims spend as much time looking after our own house instead of trying to Islamise others, we will be better off. Each year we spend millions in the name of Islam media-hyping about all things Islam- we have the ubiquitous dakwah programs in the media, we get excited at the sermons of hallelujah-ing clerics. But if we Muslims stop to ponder- the biggest portion of sex offenders, sex miscreants, drug addicts, juvenile crimes is made up of Malay Muslims. What does this mean? It means the programs proselytizing Islam made-for-the- media does not work.

So do we blame the DAP for our own shortcomings? This is not a put down on my well-meaning friends in the government, but as a Malay and a Muslim I am asking all of us Malays and Muslims to look at our own house first. The DAP is not responsible for the bad things that is happening to the Malays and Muslims.