Sometimes PAS and Umno can be quite stupid

PAS and Umno should stop being defensive and apologetic. Stop talking as if any cooperation between PAS and Umno is blasphemous. Explain the reason and benefits of the PAS-Umno cooperation. Explain that DAP is cooperating with Mahathir merely to make Mukhriz the Prime Minister. That does not serve Islam or Malaysia. The PAS-Umno cooperation is for a larger and bigger agenda that not only serves Islam but ensures peace between Muslims and non-Muslims while guaranteeing the stability of Malaysia. 

NO HOLDS BARRED 

Raja Petra Kamarudin

At times, I find myself quite irritated with PAS and Umno over their own stupidity. Many times, the problems they face is due to their own doing rather than because of the cleverness of their enemies. In fact, the other side is not really that clever and they make many mistakes that are not being properly exploited by PAS or Barisan Nasional.

Let us look at one issue, race and religion. The majority of the Malays would consider religion first and race second before they say or do something. Of course, the more educated, urban or younger Malays would say race is not an issue and they consider themselves more Malaysian than Malay.

Perpaduan ummah is compulsory in Islam while Mahathir’s collaboration with anti-Hudud DAP is blasphemy

Actually, this is not true. These more educated, urban or younger Malays are products of the New Economic Policy or NEP. These people are amongst the five million Malays who since the beginning of the NEP 48 years ago received a higher or tertiary education, some of them overseas.

They can afford to say they are Malaysian first and do not really care about the NEP because they have already benefited from being Malay and from the NEP. Assuming, like before 1969, if they are still working in the kampung as farmers, fishermen and land settlers, would they still be saying they are Malaysian first and do not care about the NEP?

This is like the children of billionaires who say they do not care about money. Of course, if you have billions, you can afford to say you do not care about money. But if you are behind on your rent and your water and electricity have been cut because you are six months overdue you will definitely care about money. In places such as the Philippines, destitute families from the Manila slums sell their five-year-old children to paedophiles for pittance. When you have nothing in your pocket you care about money.

Verse 3:103 of the Qur’an explains why PAS and Umno should cooperate for the sake of Islam and why perpaduan ummah is compulsory

So, those educated, urban or younger Malays who already benefited from being Malay and from the NEP do not care about the NEP and consider themselves more Malaysian than Malay. And yet the children of these more affluent Malays still receive benefits from the NEP and get to go to university, even overseas, when they actually can afford it without government help.

As what one friend from Terengganu, Dr Menon, told me back in the 1980s, “I cannot understand why the children of these rich Datuks still get government aid to study overseas when we have so many poor people who receive nothing from the government.” Yes, and these are the same ‘children of Datuks’ who condemn the government and say they do not care about the NEP and consider themselves more Malaysian than Malay.

But that is the attitude of these educated, younger or Malays from the urban areas. Those Malays from the rural areas do not think like these educated, younger or Malays from the urban areas. Saying you do not care about the NEP and consider yourself more Malaysian than Malay is a luxury those people who go to Mekah every year, and sometimes twice a year, after which they fly to London for shopping, can afford. Those Malays who can afford to go to Mekah only once in their life just before they die, and sometimes even die in Mekah, do not think like those educated, younger or Malays from the urban areas. And these are the Malays that PAS and Umno should focus on, like what Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad told Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak in 2013 soon after the 13th general election.

What is more important than race to the rural Malays is religion. Most rural Malays consider themselves Muslim first and Malay second (and Malaysian third). But PAS and Umno are wasting so much time denying that there is cooperation between both parties. Even this very morning itself they are still denying that PAS and Umno are cooperating for GE14.

Nik Aziz places perpaduan ummah above politics, which is fundamental in Islam

Why are PAS and Umno spending so much time and energy denying that they are cooperating? It is like denying that Najib stole RM42 billion of 1MDB’s money. You can deny it till the cows come home but Pakatan Harapan is still going to insist that RM42 billion of 1MDB’s money has ‘disappeared into thin air’ even though we all know that is not true.

Just reply, “So what?” Even if it is true that PAS and Umno are cooperating, so what? Is that worse than DAP cooperating with Dr Mahathir? PAS and Umno cooperating is not as bad as DAP cooperating with PPBM or Dr Mahathir.

Remind people about what the late Tok Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat said. Nik Aziz said PAS does not consider Umno its mortal enemy. PAS only disagrees with Umno regarding Islam. If Umno is prepared to laksanakan (implement) Islam then there is no longer any need for PAS. PAS can close down and everyone can join Umno, said Nik Aziz.

Lim Kit Siang and DAP always talk about the ‘good old days’ when Nik Aziz was alive. Well, in the ‘good old days’ when Nik Aziz was alive that was what he said. He said if Umno is prepared to implement Islam then there is no longer any need for PAS and the party can close down and everyone can join Umno.

Nik Aziz said if Umno is prepared to implement Islam then there is no longer any need for PAS and the party can close down and everyone can join Umno

Lim Kit Siang, DAP and the rest of Pakatan Harapan said they have great respect for Nik Aziz. Remind the people that the person who Lim Kit Siang, DAP and the rest of Pakatan Harapan have great respect for said if Umno is prepared to implement Islam then there is no longer any need for PAS and the party can close down and everyone can join Umno.

So, this is what PAS and Umno are doing. They are not cooperating to win GE14. They are fulfilling the wasiat or will of the late Tok Guru Nik Aziz, the person who Lim Kit Siang, DAP and the rest of Pakatan Harapan have great respect for. PAS and Umno are cooperating to find the best way for Islam to be implemented in a multi-cultural society like Malaysia so that Islam is best-served and yet the rights and interests of the non-Muslims are not jeopardised.

Hence, PAS and Umno should stop being defensive and apologetic. Stop talking as if any cooperation between PAS and Umno is blasphemous. Explain the reason and benefits of the PAS-Umno cooperation. Explain that DAP is cooperating with Mahathir merely to make Mukhriz the Prime Minister. That does not serve Islam or Malaysia. The PAS-Umno cooperation is for a larger and bigger agenda that not only serves Islam but ensures peace between Muslims and non-Muslims while guaranteeing the stability of Malaysia.