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...

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...

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...

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...

By: Salina Abdul Jalil As a Muslim, I am tired of the now-regular statements coming from people like UMNO Youth and Perkasa decrying those they accused of questioning "Malay rights and status of Islam". Pray, since when has preferential treatment of a race ever been linked to Islam? These groups should do Muslims, including those Muslims who are not Malays and who believe in Islamic juctice, a big favour by not mentioning 'Malay rights' and 'Islam' in one breath. For this reason, I applaud the stance by PAS on helping all the poor regardless of their race because this is what Islam stands for. PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang could not make it clearer when he recently said the Bumi discount for property purchase should be extended to all poor. The Prophet Muhammad was not sent to us by Allah for Muslims only, but as Allah says in the Qur'an, he is a "rahmatun lil alamin", mercy to the world. He is sent for the whole mankind, and he lays down laws i...

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...

A fourth Klang Valley church, this time in Kampung Subang, was reportedly attacked with Molotov cocktail which failed to explode while police have dismissed reports that cars with Christian symbols having their windscreens smashed in the Bangsar suburb today, hours after arson attacks on three churches. Police have sent a team to investigate the latest church attack in Kampung Subang which is linked to the controversial High Court ruling allowing “Allah” to be used by Catholic weekly Herald in its Bahasa Malaysia section that has outraged Muslim groups. Selangor police chief DCP Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar said the Molotov cocktail failed to explode. City police have also increased patrols in the middle-class Bangsar suburb after people reported cars with Christian symbols such as crucifixes and rosaries had their windscreens smashed. However, police say no cars have been found smashed. DAP Bagan Parliamentary Liaison Committee would like to the authorities concerned to gear up their presen...