The target is Selangor, the jewel in Pakatan Rakyat’s crown. Najib wants back Selangor and he wants it back this month. So Umno has to do a ‘Kelantan December 1977’ revisited to get back Selangor in January 2010.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

ABIM, TERAS, PERKASA, PPIM, PKPIM, PEWARIS, KIMMA, PEKIDA, etc. What do all these NGOs, associations and movements have in common?

Well, they all serve the Umno agenda under the guise of ‘protecting’ Islam.

To understand Umno’s agenda you have to take a walk down memory lane, all the way back to Kelantan in 1977. In 1977, Umno wanted to bring down the PAS state government of Kelantan. So Hussein Ahmad ‘imported’ some gangsters from across the border town of Golok, Thailand, and paid them to burn Chinese shops, houses and cars.

(Hussein Ahmad used to be a rice smuggler in Rantau Panjang before he became a Cabinet Minister so he had good links with the Thai underworld in Golok).

Kota Bharu was in utter chaos so the federal government had ‘no choice’ but to declare an emergency in Kelantan and suspend the Kelantan State Assembly for a few months. Then, fresh state elections were held in March 1978 (only for the State Assembly and not for the Parliament seats) ahead of the 1978 General Election.

Invariably, Umno swept Kelantan and PAS was kicked out where it remained in the opposition until Umno split into two (Umno Baru and Semangat 46), which enabled PAS, in ‘joint venture’ with Semangat 46, to take back the state in the 1990 General Election.

Read: Kelantan Emergency of December 1977 (http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/echoes_of_the_past/kelantan_emergency_of_december_1977.html)

Remember Malaysia Today wrote some months ago that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak plans to take back Selangor around January 2010? Pakatan Rakyat of course denied that this would happen. Maybe they thought Najib was going to pull off another Perak exercise by buying over some Pakatan Rakyat State Assemblypersons.

Of course, in Perak this was possible because of the narrow three-seat majority that Pakatan Rakyat had whereas Pakatan Rakyat has a much larger majority in Selangor. So it is not that easy.

But there is more than one way to skin a feline and who better than Najib when it comes to skinning pussies? In fact, he can even make the fairer sex and their immigration records disappear if he wants to. That is how good he is with pussies.

And another way of skinning felines of any kind is to do a repeat of Kelantan 1977. Trigger another chaos in the state, declare an emergency, suspend the State Assembly, and a few months later call for new state elections with maybe an ‘Operasi Lalang 2’ thrown in for good measure.

Notice that the church burnings and car smashing are only in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur? Kelantan and Terengganu have a Muslim population of more than 97%. And there are churches in these predominantly Muslim states as well. Why are there no problems there? In fact, other than Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, there are no problems in any other parts of Malaysia.

Simple, really -- the target is Selangor, the jewel in Pakatan Rakyat’s crown. Najib wants back Selangor and he wants it back this month. So Umno has to do a ‘Kelantan December 1977’ revisited to get back Selangor in January 2010. And that is why Umno paid its goons to burn churches just in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur but not in any other area in Malaysia.

Yes, I know, they are now going to make another police report against me for this article. But with about 15 or 20 police reports made against me over the last year alone, does one more make any difference?

Now let’s all sing the song ‘Get me to the church on time’! (See video on Youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScSd03OjVx4)

Malay rights group Perkasa has lodged a police report against Malaysiakini over a comment posted by a reader in the online news daily.

The report, which was made by Perkasa secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali late yesterday, said that the comment could offend the sensitivities of the Muslim community.

The National Union of Malaysian Muslim Students (PKPIM) lodged a police report against Herald for its usage of 'Allah' in its Catholic publication.

The report was lodged at the Dang Wangi police station today at 3.30 pm following a protest at the Kampung Baru Mosque earlier today.

Abu Qasim Nurazmi, the deputy president of PKPIM accompanied by Muhamad Raimi Abdul Rahim, the secretary-general of ABIM filed the report.

They alleged that The Herald is using 'Allah' in their publication with malicious intent and that their action is mala fide.

"We urge the police to conduct a through investigation on the motive of The Herald for insisting on using 'Allah' in their publication," said Abu Qasim said.

In the police report, the Muslim group said The Herald should respect Article 11 (4) of Federal Constitution and not try to confuse the Muslim community.

Article 11 (4) states that State law and in respect of the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan, federal law may control or restrict the propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among persons professing the religion of Islam. 

According to Muhamad Raimi, state Islamic departments in 10 states have issued a fatwa against propagation of other religions to Muslims.

"Thus, we feel that The Herald is disregarding the provisions of the Federal Constitution and disrespecting Islam, creating disharmony among Malaysians," he said. 

Abu Qasim agreed and felt it could lead to further chaos in the country if The Herald does not respect that Islam is the official religion in the country.

Earlier, cries of 'Allahu Akbar!' and 'Takbir' were heard moments after Friday prayers concluded in the Kampung Baru mosque.

About 50 people gathered within the compounds to protest against the usage of the word 'Allah' by non-Muslims.

Calling it a "Youth Awareness Campaign", the group proceeded with their speeches despite calls to "go home" by other Muslims who were leaving the mosque.

"The churches have already been blown up, and now you want to 'blow up' here as well? Just go home!" said one man. 

However, the group's leaders were quick to add that they condemned the incidents of arson on the three churches.

'Accept the fact, Islam is the official religion'

Representing 38 NGOs including Abim, PPKIM and Sahabat Insan dan Iman, the group presented a declaration titled: "Declaration for Harmony between Religions".

It said all must "understand and respect sensitivities of Muslims, and accept that Islam is the official religion of Malaysia and that the constitution was written based on this fact."

It also said society must "realise that the consitution has placed Islam in a special place and this has been agreed upon by those of different religions and races in Malaysia."

Thus, the NGOs called for "a halt on all claims on matters pertaining to Islam that disrupts and hurt the feelings of Muslims, and undermines national safety".

They also said matters like the 'Allah' issue must be "handled out of court".

However, Muhammad Raimi said they supported the Home Ministry's decision to appeal the lift of the ban on the usage of the word 'Allah' by the The Herald.

He stressed that they respected the court's decision, but are gathering to show their dissatisfaction regarding the issue. 

'Don't test our patience'

"We want to send a message that this is a sensitive issue. Leave 'Allah' for the Muslims," he said, matching banners which read: "The word 'Allah' is only for us".

Others who spoke included Zaim Shaari from Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia who said: "We don't want our land to be colonised."

"There is a limit to our patience; don't challenge us or try to incite our anger. We do not want to invite altercations. If we can respect other religions then why can't they respect us and not try to mix everything in one bag?" he asked.

PKPIM president Muhammad Faisal Abdul Aziz called on all Muslims leaders in the country to produce a joint statement "to defend the word 'Allah'".

"This is not a political issue, so I urge the leaders to overcome the political divide and to unite in the name of 'Allah'," he said.

Despite what the group claimed that the use of 'Allah' by non-Muslims offends all Muslims, members of the faith appear divided on the matter.

Groups like the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) supported the lifting of the ban.

Muhammad Raimi said: "Perhaps they have this view because they are a minority (in North America). They are entitled to their own views but we don't agree with them." - Malaysiakini

Translated into Chinese at: http://ccliew.blogspot.com/2010/01/19772010.html