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Malaysia Should Eliminate Racism In Politics
by Kazi Mahmood
SINGAPORE, March 22 (IslamOnline) - While Malaysia's council of regents decided on Thursday not to force the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) to drop the word Islam from its name, critics of Mahathir Mohamad's government urged the ruling coalition to drop racism and communalism from politics.
A PAS insider, preferring anonymity, told IslamOnline that Malaysia's government was making a terrible mistake by attempting to remove the word "Islam" from PAS's name.
He said the Rulers Council's decision was a respite for the entire country and Muslims in general, as the move by politicians to force a ban on the use of "Islam" in politics and other matters would have caused serious rifts in the country.
Wednesday, the PAS Youth wing, in apparent retaliation, urged the Rulers to take away the word "Melayu'' (Malay language) from the United Malays National Organization (UMNO).
Its deputy chief, Salahuddin Hj Ayub, told a press conference that the UMNO had violated Malay interests when it opened its membership to non-Muslim bumiputras, a reference to all indigenous groups in Malaysia.
The use of the word "Malays" also smells of racism and could cause unnecessary tension among the multi-racial people of Malaysia, Ayub said.
The PAS insider said to IslamOnline that the current troubles in the slums around Old Klang road, where unknown groups attacked four more Indians Wednesday, could be caused by the extreme race- and communal-driven policies of the current regime.
He said it was obvious that the ruling coalition composed of racially-based parties, with the UMNO as the leading Malay party, the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) as the major Chinese party and the Indians grouped under the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC).
"This type of grouping should be avoided and the parties should become national based, not racial or communal. Malaysia is a multi-racial and cultural nation. It is time the ruling parties understand that," he lambasted.
"Look at the opposition Alternative Front [AF], it has parties which are free from racism. Even the PAS allows non-Malay Muslims to join. It groups Chinese, Indians and other Muslims alongside the Malays.
"The Democratic Action Party [DAP] and the National Justice Party [NJP] are both national parties. They do not brandish race or religion as their political battle horse," he added.
The PAS, however, said it was relieved that the Council of Rulers did not bend to the UMNO, the ruling Malay party, in its efforts to curb on the use of Islam in politics.
The party had warned that it expected massive protests around Malaysia and said the National Front (NF) was heading towards it worst crisis if the word "Islam" was to be dropped from the country's major Malay-Muslim party.
The PAS has made inroads into the Malay heartland since the sacking of Anwar Ibrahim as deputy Prime Minister. Observers say his jailing, beating and outcry over sentences meted to Anwar, have turned Malays off from the UMNO.
The PAS managed to grab two states, Kelantan and Terengganu, in the northern Malay belt area and even seriously diminished the influence of the UMNO in Mahathir's hometown, Kedah.
It also tripled its parliamentary seats and helped the NJP win a few parliamentary seats in the two PAS-ruled states.
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