by
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Excerpts
Malays' Attitude on Islam and the Sedition Act
It was interesting to note that 300 or so Malays demonstrated outside the Bar Council office on Saturday to protest a forum on "Conversion to Islam" being organised there.
Two days later, on Monday, the Bar Council organised another forum, but this time about the Sedition Act. There were NO noisy Malays screaming and wailing outside the Bar Council office on Monday, acting as if they were possessed by the DEVIL. In fact, there were hardly any Malays even in the hall. Malays were visibly absent from the forum (on the Sedition Act).
Malays did NOT care a damn about that Monday’s Sedition Act forum at the Bar Council office.
In fact, Malays have NO problems even if there are laws like the Sedition Act, Internal Security Act, and many more such laws. 51% of the Malays voted for the government that upholds such laws. More than three million Malays are members of Umno, the political party that upholds such laws.
Okay, you may argue that:
- Islam is against these laws.
- These laws are un-Islamic.
- Islam forbids injustice, inequality, discrimination, racism, persecution, transgressions and corruption.
- Islam makes it mandatory for all Muslims to oppose injustice, inequality, discrimination, racism, persecution, transgressions and corruption.
- God Himself has decreed that all Muslims must oppose injustice, inequality, discrimination, racism, persecution, transgressions and corruption.
The 51% of the Malays who voted for Umno and the more than three million Malays who are members of Umno, are ONLY concerned that Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim has proposed that 10% of places in UITM be given to the Chinese and Indians.
(Khalid's proposal) is blasphemy as far as the Malays are concerned. Khalid can articulate to the best of his ability that government aid must be based on eligibility and merit and not based on the colour of one’s skin.
Hey, this is NOT what the New Economic Policy is all about! The NEP is a race-based policy and not about helping the poor, oppressed and downtrodden.
Sheesh, where has Khalid been all this while? And he claims to have come from the corporate world. You could have fooled me.
Try insulting Islam -- even if they only perceive with their very narrow minds that are insulting Islam -- and see what happens. Try defiling the Quran by stepping on it or by flushing it down the toilet and see what happens.
There will be 300 screaming and wailing Malays demonstrating on the streets, acting as if they were possessed by the devil.
Okay, so these 300 screaming and wailing Malays, acting as if they were possessed by the devil, do not really uphold the spirit of Islam or adhere to the message of the Quran or comply with God’s decree. That is SUBSTANCE. That is NOT what counts.
What does (count) is FORM, the impression that one is upholding Islam, even though it is VOID of the spirit of Islam. And that was why not many Malays were interested in Monday’s forum on the Sedition Act at the Bar Council’s office.
Malays and the Muslim Label
- Malays go berserk when you talk about conversions either into or out of Islam.
- Malays are only concerned about getting as many kafirs as possible to convert to Islam while ensuring that no one tries to leave Islam.
- They don’t really care what you believe in or what you do after you become a Muslim.
- What is important is that you wear this label that identifies you as a Muslim.
- Never mind if it is just a label worn externally. Never mind that beneath this label, in your heart, you don’t care a damn about Islam. What is in your HEART is NOT crucial. That label that you wear EXTERNALLY is.
- (About)1,400 or so years ago, Prophet Muhammad too was subjected to the Sedition Act, even though, then, it was not yet called the Sedition Act -- although the spirit of what they tried to do to Prophet Muhammad remains the same.
- The powers-that-be tried to silence Prophet Muhammad in an attempt to get him to stop speaking out against the government and against the official religion of Mekah at that time.
- They intimidated Prophet Muhammad with insults, abuse and ridicule -- and finally, when they failed to silence him, they tried to bribe him with offers of power and money.
- When everything they tried to do to stop Prophet Muhammad from talking failed, they plotted to kill him.
- God commanded Prophet Muhammad to leave Mekah and to seek refuge in Medina where he would be free to speak and there would be no Sedition Act to prevent him from speaking.
- Prophet Muhammad’s migration from Mekah is called the Hijrah and is very significant in Islam.
The True Muslims at the Bar Council's Sedition Forum
But hardly any Malays who claim that they are true Muslims were at the Bar Council’s forum on Monday to discuss the Sedition Act because there was no screaming and wailing and acting as if one was possessed by the devil.
Most of the people who were there were kafirs who demonstrated MORE Islamic qualities than Muslims themselves. And this is because even though these kafirs do not demonstrate the form of Islam, they do, however, possess the spirit of Islam and they do uphold the values of Islam.
The true Muslims that Monday at the Bar Council forum were, unfortunately, the kafirs.
But they did NOT scream and wail and act like they were possessed by the devil. They were CIVILISED and discussed matters with DECORUM in the manner that Islam prescribes.
Politics of PAS - Racism or Islam ?
I always said that PAS is smarter and more matured than PKR.
- It has declared that it is even prepared to leave Pakatan Rakyat for the sake of Islam. See the Malaysiakini report: PAS rela tinggal Pakatan demi Islam .
- It is also proposing that a Malay-Islam Secretariat be set up as reported also by Malaysiakini: Usul urusetia Melayu-Islam ala Suqiu .
Okay, PAS may not win much Chinese and Indian support after this.
Maybe, come the next election, PAS will see its support in the Chinese and Indian areas diminish. But that is NOT too important to PAS.
As long as it can form the state governments in Kelantan, Terengganu, Perlis and Kedah that is all that matters.
Better PAS be in control of just four ‘Malay’ states rather than it becomes part of the federal government if it means they have to be the minority partner in a Chinese and Indian majority federal government.
PAS is an old party. It is older than even Umno and far older than PKR, which is barely ten years old. That is why PAS is wiser and more matured, politically, compared to PKR.
Lessons for PKR From PAS - Road to Putrajaya is Through Racism
PKR needs to learn a thing or two from PAS. Khalid needs to also learn from PAS.
There are far more Malay majority seats than ‘mixed’ seats. Getting Chinese and Indian support is not important. It is Malay support that counts. And this is where PAS is savvier than PKR. PAS knows which side its bread is buttered.
PKR still thinks that equality, justice, fair-play, an end to racism, etc., is the road to Putrajaya.
Wise up PKR and try to learn from PAS if you want Anwar to become the next Prime Minister.
It is racism and NOT any other ideals that will put you in the Prime Minister’s seat.
You think if you play fair and expound justice and equality for the Chinese and Indians that is going to put you in power? If these were important issues to the voters then PKR would have been in power way back in 1999.
If it did not happen ten years ago why should it happen now?
Let me say that again in case you miss my point:
Maybe Khalid can issue an apology. He should say sorry to the Malays that he has asked UITM to open its doors to the Chinese and Indians. Don’t ever again propose that 10% of places in UITM be given to the Chinese and Indians. Not even 1% will be tolerated, let alone 10%.RACISM and not justice is what will give you the Prime Minister’s job.
And you had better not forget it.
This, of course, would be if you do not want Umno to use this issue against Pakatan Rakyat in the run-up to the Permatang Pauh by-election.
Hey, only 30% of the voters in Permatang Pauh are Chinese and Indians. 70% are Malays. Do you need to be a rocket scientist to understand who is going to give you that win? Surely it is apparent that the 70% voters are more important than the 30%.
Even a fool would know this. And this is where PAS is no fool. They know why Umno won 79 seats all by themselves while PKR, DAP and PAS, combined, won only 82 seats. It is because racism and not justice is what counts.
Even then the Pakatan Rakyat 82 is not really 82. Ibrahim Ali sides with Umno. Zulkifli Nordin supports GPMS, an Umno outfit, in opposition to the Bar Council’s forum on conversion to Islam.
Minus all those Pakatan Rakyat Members of Parliament who share Umno’s ideals and the 82 would probably be reduced to 70 or less. So Umno’s 79 is more solid than Pakatan Rakyat’s 82.
In reality, Umno actually has 90 Parliament seats while Pakatan Rakyat has only 70. And Umno’s 90 is all by themselves while Pakatan Rakyat’s 70 is shared by three parties.
You really think that Anwar can form the federal government in September?
Not by the way PAS and some PKR Members of Parliament are talking and acting. They are not concerned whether or not at least 30 Barisan Nasional Members of Parliament are going to cross over to Pakatan Rakyat.
They want to make sure that these 30 Barisan Nasional Members of Parliament are Malays and not Chinese, Indians, Dayaks, Ibans, Kadazans, etc.
And it has to be a new federal government that upholds the interest of the Malays, not the interest of Malaysians. Only that formula will be acceptable to PAS and some Members of Parliament from PKR.
- Raja Petra Kamarudin
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