The usually wordless Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim with regard to 3R (race, religion and royals) issues, today urged that strong action be taken against those who incite hate.
Speaking at a civil service assembly in Putrajaya, he instructed enforcement agencies to act against those fanning hate.
It is a surprising reaction from the PM considering the fact that in the past two years of his term as PM he has maintained a frustrating silence on 3R-related public issues. Perhaps, he has finally been correctly advised that if he didn’t say anything, things may get out of hand. With regard to the current issue, however, his instructions came too late to make a difference.
The PM’s comments came on the heels of a hyped-up gathering last night in Kepala Batas, Penang, over a mistake in flying an upside-down Malaysian flag by an unsuspecting citizen. A video of a hardware shop owner hoisting an upside-down Jalur Gemilang with another man recording it went viral a week ago.
It triggered a barrage of criticisms, with Umno Youth chief Akmal Saleh picking up the issue as a desecration of the national flag and demanded that the authorities take police action against the hardware shop owner, who had explained that it was a mistake because he was just trying out the flag. He later hung the flag correctly.
But Akmal was not placated. He went on a relentless tirade, berating the hardware shop owner as a traitor and threatening to converge at his shop to “teach” him how to fly the flag if the authorities failed to act.
His taunts got the DAP to go to the defence of the shop owner. DAP leaders stressed that it was a mistake and that they would not tolerate bullying and intimidation but Akmal showed no sign of backing down. He lamented that the Chinese were united behind the shop owner but that the Malays were not.
This Russian-trained doctor just could not see his words, attitude and action for what they really were, but seized the issue of a flag error to turn it into a racial issue. The exasperated DAP finally said they, too, would gather at the hardware shop — but to distribute the Malaysian flag.
So, both parties, components of Anwar’s so-called unity government, headed for a showdown at the hardware shop. Despite the heated exchange of words, there was no comment from Anwar.
A day before both parties were to meet at the hardware shop, the police asked both sides to cancel their plans. Lawyers for Liberty (LFL), however, said they would turn up to provide free legal services.
Last night (Thurs, Aug 14) was when the “meeting” took place. According to reports, all the shops shuttered down early.
Akmal later came with his supporters of a couple of hundred. Bersatu Youth also came with their supporters to show Malay solidarity. LFL came with placards urging Umno Youth not to be like zionists. But DAP did not turn up. Its veterans’ club members, instead, came to distribute flags.
According to media reports, Umno Youth held its gathering not outside the hardware shop but a little way away. The only incident of worth was that Umno Youth leaders were not happy with LFL’s placards and asked to take them down and they would go away. LFL complied and the crowd dispersed. No untoward incident.
LFL’s presence, led by its leader Zaid Malek and DAP’s absence presumably defused tensions in the absence of national leadership.
Everyone, Umno Youth, LFL and the DAP, no doubt, have the right to assemble. But when a group wants to assemble in front of a citizen’s house or shop over a mistake, that amounts to threatening a citizen’s life and privacy and is inexcusable.
It should have been prevented and the PM should have taken steps in that direction before, not after the event.
In this case, Anwar was lucky because the turnout of Umno Youth supporters was, some say, 100, and others 300. After all the bombastic words from Akmal, the turnout was relatively small. If it had been much larger, the outcome might have been different.
Perhaps that is the reason for Anwar’s post-event comments. They are a warning that any future gathering, big or small, inciting racial disharmony will face action by the authorities.
One positive thing, however, needs to be noted about the turnout of Akmal’s supporters. It was smaller than expected. The size may be indicative of an emerging trend: that more and more Malays do not really identify with the strategies that Malay leaders like Akmal use.
Perhaps, the majority of Malay voters don’t really care for racial politics and it is time for Malay leaders to step away from racial politics and come up with real issues that appeal to the people to win their support.
21stcenturycitizen 