The Malaysian Insight

NAZRI Aziz and his Umno friends believe that they have found a formula to catapult themselves back to political power – and Malaysians should be worried.

They believe that they must stoke the embers of hatred between Malays and non-Malays and plant discord between Muslims and non-Muslims.

They care not if this blessed country goes up in smoke and if we see each other as enemies. 

What they want is for Malays to feel under siege, fearful of an imagined bogeyman that is supposedly on a march to strip them of rights guaranteed by the Constitution. 

Nazri Aziz and his dangerous Umno comrades believe that only by playing the race and religious card to the max will they stand a chance of rising from the ashes of GE14’s humiliation.

On Saturday while stumping for the Umno candidate at the Semenyih by-election, Nazri accused the Pakatan Harapan government of being weak and unable to defend Malay rights.

He cited the appointments of Richard Malanjum as chief justice, Tommy Thomas as attorney-general and Lim Guan Eng as finance minister, as examples of Malay rights being eroded under the new government.

He sought to put a racial spin on the case of firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim, wondering why four men arrested in connection to the incident at the Seafield temple riots were released. Was it because they shared the same colour as the AG? Nazri suggested.

Today, the former Umno minister was questioned by the police over his incendiary speech. And as usual, he tried to shovel the blame on someone else, saying that he was merely articulating Malay ground sentiment.

As if repeating a lie perpetuated by someone else makes it all right. 

Here’s the thing: Nazri’s racial comments were made several days after the government ordered inquest into the death of Adib began. Reports about the inquest have been widely covered in all media and evidence offered so far is far from conclusive on Adib’s cause of death. Some believe he was assaulted by several rioters, while others think he was accidentally knocked down by a fire engine that was reversing. 

Nazri, a lawyer, knows that in such a high-profile case and where there is much conflicting information, the best way forward for everyone is to hold a public inquest. 

At the inquest, lawyers holding a watching brief for Adib’s family have been able to cross-examine witnesses. At such an inquest, the government’s handling of the case is open to scrutiny. Under the glare of saturation coverage by the media, there is just no where to hide or order a cover-up. 

Nazri knows this. 

But he and his Umno friends are not interested in facts or the reality. 

They want to snare a larger share of the Malay vote in Semenyih and believe that the most effective way to do this is by painting the Chinese, Indian and non-Muslim Bumiputeras from East Malaysia as the ogre. 

This is about creating a false narrative about Malaysia after the May 9 elections, repeating it as many times as possible and hoping that it gets traction in the Malay community.

Nazri wants Malays to believe that they cannot get fair treatment and justice from non-Muslims. Rich coming from a politician from a political party synonymous with plundering and theft. 

The million-ringgit question for the Dr Mahathir government is this: Are you going to allow Umno politicians to lead the country to the precipice of disaster or are you going to take down those who agitate for racial strife? – February 25, 2019.