Games played in politics...

The unIslamic game

IT WAS in 1990.The general election was a few days away. Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah had just arrived in Kota Kinabalu for a big rally with the Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) led by Datuk Joseph Pairin Kitingan. Ku Li was then president of UMNO breakaway Parti Semangat 46. He was leading the opposition coalition against the Mahathir led BN. In fact he had formed two opposition front. One for Malay/Muslim parties called the Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah or APU and the other comprising non Muslim parties named the Gagasan Rakyat.

Anyway, Ku Li's rally with PBS in Kota Kinabalu was massive. It was sending chills in the spines of the BN. As only days earlier the PBS, then a powerful force, had pulled out of the BN which caught the ruling coalition off guard, to say the least. Dr. Mahathir called it "a stab in the back". What ever it was, Ku Li ,already riding high then.

With spirits and confidence bolstered, Ku Li arrived in Kota Kinabalu. Upon arrival he was presented , in his honour , a "siagah", a headgear of the Kadazan. Appreciating the gesture, Ku Li wore the headgear. The rally went on as planned with fiery speeches. What Ku Li and those present did not realised was that the fabric of the 'siagah' on Ku Li's head had a "design" which "resembled " or rather appeared like the Christian cross.

The pro BN media went into a frenzy. Visuals of the Muslim prince from Kelantan "with a Christian cross" on his head were shown extensively on TV. Photographs of Ku Li 'wearing the cross" were splashed in the front pages of newspapers friendly with the BN.

For the BN, the "siagah" was like God sent. Like getting a lifeline. The opposition sensed the danger of the damage the "siagah" would bring. They reacted. Supporters of Ku Li distributed a photograph of Dr.Mahathir wearing a similar "siagah" while dancing with a Kadazan lass , supposedly during an official visit to Sabah earlier. But it was a case of too little too late. The damage had been done.

Semangat 46 and its allies did not win the 1990 general elections although Ku Li won his Gua Musang parliamentary sea. But his dream of taking over the federal government did not materialised. To say the opposition lost because of the 'siagah' issue is not right. There were other factors of course. But the "siagah' did cost the opposition in particular Semangat 46, quite a substantial number of votes especially in the Malay heartland. Still that did not prevent UMNO/BN losing Kelantan to PAS, then an ally of Semangat 46.

That was 1990. Now back to current times. Recently, ousted Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Nizar Jamaluddin attended a ceremony in memory of the late Teoh Beng Hock. Accompanying Nizar were his Pakatan Rakyat colleagues, all dressed in black. And at the ceremony Nizar ( many still regard him as the MB of Perak) was required to hold a candle. That he did. And the press photographers snapped away, happily.

Needless to say, the UMNO linked Malay newspapers went to town with it. The picture was splashed together with editors' commentaries, analysis, comments from politicians and religious folks. Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Aziz nik Mat defended Nizar but in the newspapers he was 'drowned' by BN politicians and government religious officials. In short Nizar was and still being portrayed as a Muslim who had done something "unIslamic".

Supporters of Nizar countered. Some how they got their hands on a photograph of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak lighting a Hindu prayer lamp during Deepavali celebrations. And that picture is posted in the internet. A "classic" case of two can play the game.

It's 1990 all over again. But unlike Ku Li, Nizar is "lucky'. He's not due to face any election. At least not for now. Or will he ?
(By Mohsin Abdullah/MySicnhew)

Source: http://www.mysinchew.com/node/27997