Umno's divisive politics, not of unity? - The Malaysian Insider
AUG 8 — What does Khairy Jamaluddin and Datuk Seri Khir Toyo have in common?
Quite a bit it seems.The stench of corruption follows them from the Umno Youth leadership election and both at different times tried to fashion themselves as inclusive with a Malaysian agenda. (Khairy tried to resurrect his tattered image after the dismal Election 2008 and Khir's attempt after losing Selangor in the same polls.)
And Khir even said that the New Economic Policy (NEP) should be reviewed – taboo for any self-respecting Malay nationalist politician.
Both share a penchant for similar tactics, as evinced by events this past week especially with regards to the beer dispute in Selangor.
Both believe that Umno's only way to the top is by driving a wedge between Pakatan Rakyat allies, exploiting issues and differences to weaken the rival coalition in the age-old "Who is badder, not who is better?" game.
They don't care about reinventing the Malay nationalist party and turning it into a party which can provide refuge and comfort for all Malaysians.
On the flip side, there are chauvinists too among the Pakatan Rakyat leaders but Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi was way off the mark for labelling Penang Municipal councillor Mohd Razali Abdullah as an extremist because of his affiliation to the Jemaah Islah Malaysia (JIM).
It is that easy for coalitions and pacts to crumble over tiny issues when it is the big issues that need focus.
So, members of Malaysian society and that includes Muslims must surely prefer the approach of the PAS national leadership to have an even handed approach to the beer issue, leaving it to the chief executive of the state to make the decision.
Because it is too easy to jump in and score political points and practise divisive politics where race and religion is concerned.
Yet, thankfully the majority of Malay leaders in PAS and PKR don't see the need or value in doing that. After all, beer is available in 7-Eleven convenience outlets in Kota Baru. And it is just demeaning to think that Muslims will fall for beer upon first sight.
For the people in PAS, it is far more important to focus on fighting corruption, defending human rights, defending their faith from real rather than imagined threats and promoting good governance, values which all faiths share.
Perhaps these issues are just too tough for Khairy and Khir.
And these guys are the future of Malaysia, or at least Umno. How sad.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please avoid profanities, swearing, curses and the like, and let's be civil with our comments. Thank you.
Norman