What’s wrong with race, religion, royalty?
And now Pakatan Harapan and its supporters say that is wrong. Why is it wrong? What’s so wrong about defending and fighting for your race, your religion, and the institution of the monarchy? Does that make you a lesser human being than those who fight for gay marriages, LGBT rights, Chinese schools, Chinese language, Chinese education, the right of Muslims to leave Islam, the right to use “Allah” in the Bible, etc?
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Umno and PAS, a.k.a. Muafakat Nasional — and since March 2020, PPBM and Perikatan Nasional as well — are constantly being attacked by Pakatan Harapan and its supporters on one particular issue. And that issue is Muafakat Nasional and Perikatan Nasional are using race, religion and royalty as their political platform.
But then what is wrong with that? Pakatan Harapan and its supporters try to make it appear like that is a mortal sin. This is politics and each political organisation needs to choose a platform to fight on. And Umno, PAS, PPBM, Muafakat Nasional and Perikatan Nasional have chosen race, religion and royalty as their political platform. Nothing wrong with that.
DAP has chosen Malaysian Malaysia, Chinese schools, Chinese language and Chinese education as its political platform. DAP wants to be more Chinese than MCA and Gerakan so it has chosen a platform that they feel will be closer to the hearts of the Chinese. Everything that DAP talks about is regarding Chinese interests.
DAP is about Chinese interests
Is that wrong? DAP, MCA and Gerakan have chosen the Chinese route while Umno, PAS, PPBM, Muafakat Nasional and Perikatan Nasional have chosen the Malay route. So now they can fight it out to see which route has more supporters. It is all very legitimate and hunky-dory.
We must not forget that Umno saw life in 1946 due to the British plan to create the Malayan Union. In that Malayan Union, the rulers would see their powers eroded and the immigrants would be given automatic citizenship.
The British were not concerned about the local Malayan population — the Malays and the immigrants. They wanted to solve a problem that would become a British problem if one day Malaya was given independence. And that would happen because India, Burma, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, etc., had already gained independence or were just about to be given independence.
Umno and PAS are united in their cause
In fact, Malaya, Singapore, Borneo, Hong Kong and Brunei were amongst the last British colonies in the region but Malaya was the more complicated of the lot because of its huge immigrant population.
Hence the Malayan Union was not to solve a Malayan problem. It was to solve a British problem. When, finally, Malaya was given independence, the British would have to absorb millions of Chinese and Indians whom they brought into the country as labourers for the British-owned businesses.
But then China and India did not want them back. So, all these millions of Chinese and Indians would have to be shipped over to England. However, England did not want them either. England had no need for millions of Chinese and Indian labourers. So, what to do with what was going to become stateless or unwanted Chinese and Indians?
And that was the reason for the Malayan Union — so that these Chinese and Indian labourers could be abandoned in Malaya when the British decide to go back to England. The Malayan Union would turn a British problem into a Malay problem — which is what to do with millions of stateless or unwanted Chinese and Indians.
Pakatan Harapan has only one cause: to make Anwar Ibrahim the prime minister
And that is why the Malays opposed the Malayan Union. Not only would the Malayan Union see the powers and authority of the Malay rulers or Raja-Raja Melayu eroded, it would also reduce the Malay population from over 90% to just 50% or so. In short, the Malays would lose their majority in the country.
And, because of that, Umno was born. The very reason for the creation and existence of Umno was to defend the Malay position in the country. That was the reason in 1946. And that is still the reason today. So, what is wrong with that? Umno has not deviated from its original charter.
Then, five years later, some in Umno wanted to see more Islamisation. The new Umno president, Tunku Abdul Rahman, was more secular — just like most members of the Malay royalty and Malay elite at that time.
It was quite common for the pre-Merdeka members of the Malay royalty and Malay elite to be more English than the Englishman — what we would call “Brown Englishman”. They played cricket, had tea at four, and enjoyed a glass of brandy or whiskey with a cigar after dinner. And nearly all the homes of the members of the Malay royalty and Malay elite (even up to the 1960s) had a well-stocked bar.
PAS was born from the need to uphold Islam
The more religious-oriented Malays in Umno were not too comfortable with this secular lifestyle so they pressed for more Islamisation. When they faced resistance from their Umno comrades, they left Umno to form PAS. Hence the creation of Umno, and then PAS, in the pre- and post-1950 era was because of race, religion and royalty.
And now Pakatan Harapan and its supporters say that is wrong. Why is it wrong? What’s so wrong about defending and fighting for your race, your religion, and the institution of the monarchy? Does that make you a lesser human being than those who fight for gay marriages, LGBT rights, Chinese schools, Chinese language, Chinese education, the right of Muslims to leave Islam, the right to use “Allah” in the Bible, etc?
