The Malaysian Insight

BY the looks of it, and with PAS’ help, the anti-anti-discrimination rally today could just be the tonic for Umno’s revival after its historic and disastrous loss in the May 9 general election.

The party lost the government, lost its coalition, lost more lawmakers and have seen its leaders being slapped with more criminal charges than even the most famous criminal of all time in Malaysia – Botak Chin, who had pleaded guilty to three charges under the now-repealed Internal Security Act (ISA).

But this afternoon, organisers expect some 500,000 to turn up at Dataran Merdeka to protest any possible ratification of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) by Malaysia.

The government led by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has already said it will not ratify the convention but the protest is still going on, say the organisers.

To make sure they fulfil their boast, PAS-ruled Kelantan has declared Sunday a public holiday to enable its residents to make their way to Kuala Lumpur and back without fear of missing work.

A planned World Human Rights Day event in nearby Petaling Jaya today has also been postponed to tomorrow after police said it presented a national security risk, unlike the anti-ICERD rally.

Yet, the rally at the historic space in front of the Sultan Abdul Samad building is not a security risk, and perhaps more about the insecurities of the majority Malays stoked by politicians who lost in the 14th general election.

These losing politicians have found their voice again, as seen by former defence minister Hishammuddin Hussein lecturing ministers and deputy ministers about Malaysian troops in the Yemen conflict.

Apart from him, the ones that will benefit from today’s rally is Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and his disgraced predecessor Najib Razak – whose extravagant administration was kicked out in the May 9 polls.

Both face a slew of criminal charges, 45 for Zahid and 38 for Najib, but their supporters believe it is all trumped up to distract attention from Dr Mahathir and Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) inability to handle an economy burdened by the excesses and extravagances of the past.

So, ICERD and issues of race and religion have given Umno some oxygen to survive and even flourish after their unimaginable defeats at federal and state levels seven months ago.

Umno has much riding on the turnout for today’s event to the point that some of its leaders warned the government not to go ahead with the human rights celebrations.

The party needs to show its relevance to the community it claims to represent – the same community that has supported it through thick and thin until the last elections when supporters either did not vote for them or refused to vote at all.

Notwithstanding all the financial scandals during its time in power that is being exposed now, from the dodgy investment deals undertaken by agencies and statutory bodies such as Felda and Tabung Haji.

For PAS, it is business as usual to protest at the square with its current allies, and to justify its support for Umno in the general elections. Linking up with like-minded allies and those from the far right fringe gives it purpose and a way to keep its support base intact.

For all of them, insisting that ratifying ICERD will erode Malay special privileges and the position of Islam as the country’s official religion is the only way to keep their share of the votes in the last election for future elections. – December 8, 2018.