Shadow Policy Committee

The inconsistent claims made by Barisan Nasional (BN) on DAP’s relationship with PAS shows that the ruling coalition’s leaders were misleading, Lim Kit Siang said today. The DAP parliamentary leader said claims by Umno leaders that PAS was “under the thumb” of DAP contradicted MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek’s charge that DAP was a “stooge” of the Islamist party. “Who has lied? Najib and Muhyiddin or Chua Soi Lek?” Lim asked in a statement. “Umno and MCA leaders cannot all be telling the truth — as the DAP cannot be a stooge of PAS and PAS also a stooge of DAP [at the] same time. “Either Umno or MCA leaders have lied.” But Lim alleged it was more likely that all three — Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak, his second Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Dr Chua — were being devious. The Ipoh Timur MP said the trio were guilty of “perpetuating lies” to ensure their respective parties stood a chance in the next general election. He added that ordinary Malays stood to gain should Pakat...

By R Kengadharan The fundamental problem in Malaysia today is racism, and each day it escalates to a more dangerous level. We cannot ignore the ugly truth that racism is the consequence of privilege, institutionalised discrimination and the claim of supremacy by one group. The sad thing is that there is no national effort on a credible scale to destroy the racist mentality. We must destroy racism by openly condemning it and rejecting it in whatever form it takes, including the form of a race-based political party. The result of the 2008 general election did provide a ray of hope for a political system dominated by two multiracial parties, but the euphoria was short-lived. No true political observer can be oblivious of the fact that racial politicking is making a comeback and threatening to push the nation ever backward. While the vast majority of Malaysians see nothing but ugliness in racial politics, there are still many politicians who believe they cannot survive unless they continue...

According to the home minister and Umno vice-president Hishammuddin Hussein, all these PSM 6 detainees arrested in connection with the Bersih 2.0 rally has had "terrorist" connections and their attempt is to establish a communist state in Malaysia. Until today, we have yet to see any evidence from the home minister, the police and special branch and reliable sources from inside the police force also indicated that these 6 detainees were repeatedly interrogated on the Bersih 2.0 programmes and activities instead of the alleged "communist" and "terrorist" activities that the ministry and police officials had alleged to the press. So, which is which? Saying this and doing another. How could we trust this government when it lied to the people not only once but too many times. If both the home ministry and the police force do not have any solid or even a simple evidence, then release all these 6 detainees at once.

By Shannon Teoh The DAP demanded today that Datuk Seri Najib Razak replace the Utusan Malaysia editors and reporters responsible for the “false report” of a plot by the DAP and pastors to install a Christian prime minister to usurp Islam’s position in the constitution. Party Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng said that this was the only way for the prime minister to convince Malaysians that Umno disagrees with the “dangerous lies” printed by the newspaper that his party owns. The Bagan MP said that Najib must “direct Utusan Malaysia to withdraw and apologise for the false report and replace the editors and reporters involved in such dangerous lies that can burn 1 Malaysia.” Utusan Malaysia carried a front-page article on Saturday headlined “Kristian agama rasmi?” (Christianity the official religion?), claiming the DAP was conspiring with Christian leaders to take over Putrajaya and abolish Islam as the religion of the federation. The report, based entirely on unsubstantiated blog postings ...

By Melissa Chi Leaders from the Opposition have described the controversy surrounding Malay bibles and the use of “Allah” by Christians as just the tip of the iceberg in the erosion of non-Muslim rights. DAP publicity chief Tony Pua said the government did not seem to be picking specifically on Christians, but other religions other than Islam as well. “I think that the government has the same treatment to all religions, it’s just that the Christians are speaking up today. If you look at the school system, government departments, you can see mild forms of preferences or restrictions of religions increasing over the years. “It is already happening, it’s just that [followers of] other religions are not speaking up about it,” he said. He said for example there was a limit on the number of temples that can be built, and that if it was in a Malay majority area, no other places of worship could be built in the vicinity. The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, S...

By Lim Kit Siang Utusan Malaysia’s daily staple of lies and falsehoods to stoke communal poison and hatred, sowing distrust and national disunity, is the greatest disservice to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia slogan and nation-building. Mingguan Malaysia today is again at its anti-national worst with its daily diet of lies and falsehoods to poison the political system and undermine the nation-building process when it made the completely wild and baseless charge in insinuating in its editorial that DAP is working towards the goal of making Malaysia a republic and the abolition of the system of Malay rulers. In its Sunday editorial “Iktibar kemelut Selangor” by Awang Selamat, Mingguan Malaysia insinuated that the lesson to be learnt from the Selangor crisis is that Malaysia will end up a republic if PKR and DAP’s “rule of Selangor continues”, viz: “Tetapi iktibar daripada kemelut di Selangor itu ialah jika PKR dan DAP memerintah, lagi banyak berlaku kemudaratan. Yang pa...

Utusan Malaysia today raised fears of Selangor joining Singapore as another “country belonging to China outside mainland China” over the ‘state secretary’ tussle between the state and Putrajaya. Assistant editor-in-chief Zaini Hassan’s column called on Malays to “have the same zeal as China, India and Israel” to “defend their sovereignty in governing the country” after seeing Pakatan Rakyat (PR) reject the choice of the federally-controlled Public Services Department (PSD), Datuk Mohamed Khusrin Munawi, as the new state secretary. “Do we Malays (already so few in the world) want to allow another country belonging to China or India outside their own lands? It should be enough with Singapore (a country belonging to China outside mainland China). Do we also want to give away this homeland?” he wrote, referring to Selangor. Zaini cited the Hans in China and the Hindus in India who enjoyed supremacy in their countries as they formed the majority population. “The People’s Republic of China w...

By a Dignified Malay I congratulate the former Mufti of Perlis for his recent statement chiding those who talk about "Malay supremacy". Dr Asri Zainul Abidin is right in making a comparison between this silly battlecry of a section of politicians to Jewish supremacy, which underlines Zionism and all the ugliness that it represents. Of course, this statement by Asri did not make headlines in Utusan Malaysia or the other UMNO-owned media, unlike his previous opinion calling for Anwar Ibrahim's retirement. It is also sad that while UMNO leaders in their ignorance keep harping on this racist and un-Islamic notion, not much effort was done by the leaders of PAS or the Muslim scholars in PKR to argue their opposition to this kind of racism from a religious point of view. Much of the issues have been argued from a political and constitutional point of view, and this has led many to suspect that PAS's stance has more to do with votes than their religious ideology. A cursory g...

By Tunku Abdul Aziz, DAP National Vice Chairman In an article I wrote recently, Rulers for all Malaysians, I had suggested, in a spirit of helpfulness, that their highnesses the rulers should drop the word “Malay” and instead use the more commonly understood title Sultan, for example, of Selangor or Sultan of Kedah as the case may be. Continuing to describe themselves as Malay Rulers at a time when inclusiveness is what is required as part of the process of integrating our disparate community of races seems to be a little perverse. His Highness the Sultan of Selangor, in decrying the suggestion I had made in my article, has, I fear, got the wrong end of the stick. Even a cursory reading of the article will show that the position of their highnesses in the constitutional arrangements of our nation remains inviolate, and Malaysians do not want it any other way. We recognise the crucial importance of stability in the life of a nation. Stability is inherent in the system of constitutional ...

By Clara Chooi A renowned Islamic scholar silenced arguments today over the controversial “Malay supremacy” concept, charging that it was un-Islamic and akin to the Jewish’s “ chosen race” claim. Former Perlis Mufti Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin wrote today that the act of placing the Malay race as more supreme than the others was against the teachings of Islam, which preaches tolerance and the equality of all races. “If someone considers himself more noble simply because of race or ethnicity factors, or considers others lower than himself because they are not of the same race, such belief is wrong and goes against the teachings of Islam. “Should this be the case, it can be likened to the Jewish claim that they are the 'chosen race',” he said. The outspoken scholar added that such “pride” was rejected by Islam. Dr Mohd Asri's view on the contentious concept is a direct blow to Malay rights group Perkasa, whose leaders have been blaring the “Malay supremacy” rhetoric to push fo...

By Clara Chooi DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng accused Umno leaders today of being “blind to history, the Constitution and in their hearts”, claiming that the ruling party promoted racial hatred and intolerance. Citing several racially-charged incidents as examples, the Penang Chief Minister and Bagan MP charged that Umno leaders had “hijacked” the Federal Constitution and used it at their whims and fancies for the purpose of dividing Malaysians. “When Umno talks about the Constitution, they only talk about the special positions of the Malays and not about the legitimate interests of the other communities. “This shows that Umno is blind to history, blind to the Constitution, and blind in their hearts. We must fight them,” he said at his opening address at the Perak DAP 15th Ordinary Convention this morning. Lim (picture) pointed out that Article 153 of the Federal Constitution states, “It shall be the responsibility of the Yang di Pertuan Agong to safeguard the special position of t...

Racial profiling of Malaysians should be blamed for the dismally small number of non-Malays in the armed forces, said a former Sabah chief minister. Yong Teck Lee, who is also Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president, noted that in the early years after independence, the armed forces, police and the civil service were multi-racial. “By way of policy and practice, the federal civil service has changed from Malaysian to Melayu. It is not “lack of patriotism” but a “marginalisation of non-Melayu“ that has turned our armed forces from Malaysian into Melayu,” he said. He was responding to remarks made by the Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in parliament where he cited “lack of patriotism” as one of the reasons for the small number of non-Malays in the armed forces. Ahmad Zahid has since come under heavy criticms from both sides of the political divide. Describing the remark as one of 'poor judgment' and a ‘double insult’ to non-Malays, Yong said after being systemically exclude...

Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has come under fire from both sides of the political divide today for insinuating that non-Malays are not patriotic. His critics wanted the Umno vice-president to apologise and retract the statement made in Dewan Rakyat yesterday. Zahid had listed four reasons why non-Malays were not interested in military service. One of the reasons was that non-Malays were “not patriotic”. His cabinet collegue S Subramaniam led the charge saying that Zahid's statement had disappointed non-Malays. "On the part of non-Malays, I wish to state that we have received many complaints that their application to join the armed forces was unsuccessful for various reasons including failing the physical tests and interviews. Apart from this, lack of promotion for non-Malays in the service is another reason why they are not interested in joining the armed forces. "Taking all these and other factors into account, I feel that connecting patriotism with the participat...

Utusan Malaysia’s editorial describing the May 13, 1969 riots as a “blessing in disguise” could set off another wave of racial riots in the country, said Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers today. Labelling the article as “seditious”, several PR MPs are also considering lodging police reports against the Umno-owned daily. The Utusan Malaysia editorial today described the May 13 racial clash as a sacred day for Malaysia and warned DAP to recognise its significance. “Utusan Malaysia, which is a racist mouthpiece for Umno, has put in a framework to put some sort of meaning and interpretation to May 13. I would like to remind Utusan Malaysia that May 13 was paid in blood, and as much as there was Malay blood there was also Chinese and Indian blood being spread over those many days of chaos,” said DAP MP Jeff Ooi. Ooi also questioned the juxtaposition of the Utusan Malaysia piece today with the Malay daily’s assertion of non-Malay dominance in the Malaysian economy currently. “Are they then setti...

Malaysians are aghast with the latest incident of political violence in our country where Sekinchan state assemblyman Sdr Ng Suee Lim was attacked by UMNO members while he was doing his duty as a people's representative. Malaysia is a country ruled by law, not by brute force. No one and definitely not those from the ruling party UMNO should act in violence especially against political opposition. Sdr Ng was invited as a wakil rakyat to visit some farmers at Tanjong Karang afflicted with problems. The people, especially the oppressed farmers have rights to seek redress from any leaders they want, from any political party they desire. UMNO should not take the laws into their own hands and prevent our wakil rakyat from executing their duties. If UMNO members can be so arrogant and beat up a YB and wakil rakyat, ordinary people will have no security from UMNO's hegemony and abuse of power. We fully support Sdr Ng to continue to serve the people and hope he will not be affected by t...

by Wong Choon Mei Umno and its own ‘special’ brand of IsIam have drawn fire from the Muslim community in the country, which is balking at the uproar it has tried to create by accusing the Penang state government of being anti-Islam and wanting to cancel the birthday march of Prophet Muhammad. “Such processions are only held in this part of the Malay world. With or without the procession, Muslims can remember and celebrate Maulidur Rasul. Do not turn this episode into a racial or religious dispute for political gain,” a reader Syed Imran Syed Ahmad wrote in to a popular news portal. Syed Imran's comment was just one of the hundreds of such feedback that have poured in to news websites and blogs in response to the ruckus kicked up over Penang's alleged intention to do away with the annual procession on February 25. Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has already denied the accusations, confirming that the march would carry on as usual. “I would urge Umno to remember the history of Abu Ja...

By Viktor Wong In the prime minister’s speech at the recently concluded Gerakan national delegates conference which he officiated, Datuk Najib Razak told the Gerakan delegates and the people that racist comments from one or two Umno leaders should be ignored, Umno is not a racist party and don’t listen to one or two leaders’ talk. Does Najib think that by ignoring these “one or two racist Umno leaders” would be enough? Or why does he think that by ignoring these racist would be effective to curb them out of political influence? And are there really only “one or two” racist Umno leaders as he claimed? Since from the beginning of Umno’s inception till today, we had seen more than just “one or two” racist Umno leader wielding and yielding racist and supremacist jargons as well as threatened the lives of other communities. So, we want to correct Najib’s error, it is actually between “one to two thousand”. And we hope he does acknowledge his error. By just ignoring these racist Umno leaders...