Hardline Malay groups more vocal in Malaysia

Hardline Malay groups more vocal in Malaysia

To Mr Abdullah Zaik Abdul Rahman, Malaysia's majority Malays are under threat from a grab bag of liberal, Christian and gay rights influences, all of which are threatening to sideline not just Malays but also Islam itself.

"These groups clearly wish to dominate the Malays and this is dangerous for the future of Malaysia," the president of the Malaysian Muslim Solidarity group, or Isma, told The Straits Times in an interview this week.

His views might seem outlandish to many people.

But in today's Malaysia, hardline groups like Isma are gaining support among Malays who feel that mainstream political parties - such as the ruling Umno and the opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) - have failed to defend Malay-Muslim privileges in their eagerness to woo non-Malay voters.

"Many members of these groups are inactive members of existing political parties who feel their parties have not been assertive enough on Malay or Islam issues," said Associate Professor Shamsul Adabi Mamat, a political analyst at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

Sixty per cent of Malaysia's 29 million people are Malays who are automatically Muslim by law. The rest are Chinese, Indians and non-Muslim natives.

Malays and other natives such as Kadazans and Ibans have bumiputera status, which entitles them to economic perks that include quotas in public universities and property discounts.

But after more than 40 years of affirmative action, many non- Malays - and indeed some Malays - see race-based policies as outdated, and feel it is time for policies that help the poor, rather than a particular race.

That has provoked a backlash from groups like Isma.

"Race-based groups like Umno cannot be voicing Islam and Malay rights too much, or they will lose the multiracial votes so they need some prominent pressure groups to do it for them," noted Universiti Teknologi Mara political analyst Shaharuddin Badaruddin.

From now till February, Isma plans to hold at least 20 forums. Topics include "Christianisation and survival of the Malay", "Christian threat in Malaysia" and "Threat of liberalism".

Mr Abdullah Zaik said Isma has 20,000 members across the country and is recruiting "hundreds" by the month. Media reports say another hardline group, Perkasa, has "hundreds of thousands" of members. Perkasa's membership overlaps with that of Umno.

The groups have been vocal. In 2011, protests from groups such as Perkasa and Jati helped shut down Seksualiti Merdeka, an annual gay and transgender rights festival in Kuala Lumpur.

More recently, these groups came out in defence of last month's court decision banning Christians from using the word "Allah" for the Christian God - which some churches have done for decades - in their Malay-language publications.

When the judgment was delivered, hundreds of Malay Muslims thronged the court, praying and chanting "Allah is great", and holding banners that said "Do not question Malay/Muslim rights".

Mr Abdullah Zaik has urged Christians who disagreed with the court's decision to migrate.

Former human rights commissioner Muhd Sha'ani Abdullah said Imsa and their ilk hurt their own cause by vilifying those they do not agree with."Asking people to get out of Malaysia if they disagree with certain issues is not an argument, it's a bully method."

But these hardline groups see evangelical Christians and "deviant" Shi'ite Muslim groups as threatening the sovereignty of Malay rulers by "invoking equality and freedom of religion".

These Malay rights groups say their race remains at an economic disadvantage. Last year, they note, bumiputeras earned an average of RM4,457 (S$1,734) a month compared to RM6,366 and RM5,233 for Chinese and Indians, respectively.

Isma is not distracted by those who accuse the group of being racist or disruptive to national harmony.

"Muslims are attracted to NGOs (non-governmental organisations) like ours because the political parties cannot prioritise Malay and Muslim rights," said Mr Abdullah Zaik.

lestkong@sph.com.sg


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