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Yes, 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.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Four years ago, on 13 August 2004, Friday the Thirteenth to be exact, Malaysia Today was born. Friday the Thirteenth is the title out of a horror movie. It is supposed to be a day when your hair stands on end and you sit at the edge of your seat biting your nails. I just hope Malaysia Today is exactly that to those who walk in the corridors of power -- their greatest nightmare that will continue to haunt them till the day they go to their miserable graves.
Today is not Friday the Thirteenth. But it is 13 August, the Anniversary of the ‘founding’ of Malaysia Today. So allow me to haunt those who walk in the corridors of power and those who wish to walk in the corridors of power. And true to what no holds barred stands for and in the spirit of taking no prisoners, no one is going to be spared today.
Okay, maybe I will miss out some targets. But this is not because I want to spare them. It is just that there are so many issues with so little space in which to expound upon. Rest assured those who were not ‘honoured’ today with a mention is not due to reasons that we have forgotten or forgiven them. We will certainly get to them in time, as there are no sacred cows in Malaysia Today.
First on my list, but certainly not in order of priority, is Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim’s stupid move to open UITM’s doors to Chinese and Indians. Does the Menteri Besar of Selangor not know that UITM is a national and not Selangor State institution? Okay, maybe he did propose that only 10% of places in UITM be given to the Chinese and Indians while Malays can still retain 90% of the places. Nevertheless, this is blasphemy as far as the Malays are concerned.
Can you imagine if in America they open the doors of their universities to blacks, even if it is just 10% of the places that are given to blacks? Certainly no American would want the 100% all-white universities to be contaminated with black-skinned people. There would be riots on the streets. Blood would flow. There would be total chaos and anarchy. Khalid had best leave things as they are and not try to become the champion of the poor, oppressed and downtrodden.
Okay, Khalid might argue that not all Chinese and Indians are rich. He can try to argue that there are Chinese and Indians who are even poorer than the Malays. He can even prove that many UITM students drive to the campus in BMWs and Mercedes Benzes. He 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.
Is Khalid a Trojan Horse? Is he trying to sabotage PKR’s chances in the Permatang Pauh by-election? 70% of the voters in Permatang Pauh are Malays. Umno will be able to use this attempt to open the doors of UITM to the Chinese and Indians to ‘prove’ to the Malays in Permatang Pauh that PKR or Pakatan Rakyat are traitors to the Malay race. How could Khalid have been so stupid as to even suggest that UITM opens its doors to Chinese and Indians, even if it is only 10%? This will throw a spanner in PKR’s election campaign in Permatang Pauh.
Anyway, the good news is, Anwar Ibrahim may not be able to contest the Permatang Pauh by-election on 26 August 2008. The Elections Commission (SPR) and the Attorney-General are looking for ways in which to disqualify him. They know that Anwar will win hands down. The only question is whether he will win with a 15,000-20,000-vote majority or with a mere 5,000-8,000 votes. Umno can’t even find a candidate to contest against Anwar. Shariff Omar has declined, as has Ibrahim Saad. Both these Umno Penang warlords do not dare face Anwar in the by-election because they know they will be massacred. The only way out would be to disqualify Anwar on a technicality. So Khalid may not have harmed Anwar’s chances since he may not be contesting the by-election after all.
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 (http://us2.malaysia-today.net/2008/content/view/11303/84/ ). It is also proposing that a Malay-Islam Secretariat be set up as reported also by Malaysiakini: Usul urusetia Melayu-Islam ala Suqiu (http://us2.malaysia-today.net/2008/content/view/11305/84/ ). And while everyone is so gung ho about the possibility of Anwar Ibrahim forming the new federal government in September, PAS has warned that it is only prepared to work with Pakatan Rakyat in the federal government if there are more Muslim than non-Muslim Members of Parliament, as reported by the New Straits Times: Condition for Pas to join any new govt (http://us2.malaysia-today.net/2008/content/view/11285/84/ ).
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. 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: racism and not justice is what will give you the Prime Minister’s job. And you had better not forget it.
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%. 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.
It was interesting to note that 300 or so Malays demonstrated outside the Bar Council office on Saturday to protest a forum 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.
Yes, 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.
Take Monday’s Sedition Act forum at the Bar Council office as an example. Malays did not care a damn about that forum. 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. You may argue that these laws are un-Islamic. You may argue that Islam forbids injustice, inequality, discrimination, racism, persecution, transgressions and corruption. You may argue that Islam makes it mandatory for all Muslims to oppose injustice, inequality, discrimination, racism, persecution, transgressions and corruption. You may argue that a Muslim who does not oppose injustice, inequality, discrimination, racism, persecution, transgressions and corruption is not a true Muslim. You may argue that God Himself has decreed that all Muslims must oppose injustice, inequality, discrimination, racism, persecution, transgressions and corruption. But 51% of the Malays who voted for Umno and the more than three million Malays who are members of Umno are only concerned that Khalid has proposed that 10% of places in UITM be given to the Chinese and Indians. They are not in the least concerned with what God said or what God has decreed in the Quran.
But try insulting Islam -- even if they only perceive with their very narrow minds that you 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 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.
Granted, 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. Granted, 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. Granted, 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. Granted, when everything they tried to do to stop Prophet Muhammad from talking failed, they plotted to kill him. Granted, 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. Granted, Prophet Muhammad’s migration from Mekah is called the Hijrah and is very significant in Islam. Granted, the migration of Prophet Muhammad to escape the Sedition Act is so important that the first day of Hijrah is the first day of the Islamic calendar -- also called the Hijrah Calendar.
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.
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Long live RPK. Hope you will overcome all sedition charge against you..