Umno\u2019s continued silence as the voices of Malay right-wing groups grow louder by the day could end up being misconstrued as Putrajaya\u2019s endorsement of extremism and racism, analysts have warned.<\/p>\n
By staying passive to appease its supporters in Malay-Muslim Malaysia, Umno also risks having its own grip on power weakened in the event such groups later decide to enter the political arena as opponents, the analysts added.<\/p>\n
Director of independent pollster Merdeka Center Ibrahim Suffian acknowledged the strategy, saying the easiest, tried and tested way to shore up support from a particular group, is to use emotive issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cCertainly by not curbing this, by not doing anything, (it) actually condones these kinds of statements.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt also has a counter-reaction, not only espousing more extreme and conservative views by allowing more leeway for them to do whatever they want, but it might also increase the politicising among religious groups, the Christians for example, could be more politicised and resort to being extreme as well,\u201d he told The Malay Mail Online when contacted.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of BN\u2019s (Barisan Nasional) strength is the party\u2019s ability to maintain political stability and peace; if overtime they let this behaviour unchecked, it will also undermine its strength\u201d.<\/p>\n
Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) chief executive officer Wan Saiful Wan Jan stressed the need for Umno\u2019s top leaders, especially Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his deputy, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, to drown out the voices of right-leaning groups like Perkasa and Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) before the brewing racial and religious tension spiral out of control.<\/p>\n
\u201cUmno is the one who has to say they distance themselves from these voices and then it will really isolate the far right voices from anybody else,\u201d he said, warning that it would otherwise be lumped in with the group.<\/p>\n
Isma has been at the forefront of attempts to discredit the Coalition of Malaysian NGOs in the Universal Periodic Review Process (Comango), which has come under fire from other Muslim activists who claim the group\u2019s human rights recommendations to the United Nations ran counter to the \u201ctrue\u201d teachings of Islam and the sovereignty of the Federal Constitution.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, the Home Ministry declared Comango as an \u201cunlawful organisation\u201d and accused it of promoting anti-Islamic values here.<\/p>\n
Protests by the Youth wing of the Malay rights group Perkasa also forced Putrajaya Corporation to abandon plans for a Hard Rock Cafe in the administrative capital, after the group claimed it was inappropriate to serve alcohol and have \u201cwild entertainment\u201d in the city is said was modelled after the Muslim holy city Medina.<\/p>\n
Centre for Policy Initiatives director Dr Lim Teck Ghee said it was difficult to understand Umno\u2019s silence so far, saying it dented the moderate Muslim image Malaysia has cultivated.<\/p>\n
\u201cExternally, the country\u2019s moderate image \u2014 besides that of the PM\u2019s \u2014 has taken a beating which will impact on business, tourism and other spheres of activity,\u201d he told The Malay Mail Online via e-mail.<\/p>\n
Wan Saiful pointed out that most of those who are promoting the far right ideas are Umno supporters.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the reason why they are continually behaving like this is because the weak leadership in Umno is unable to stand up against the far right voices.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are pushing the country towards a more right-wing agenda, even in the realm of public policy. If it is only rhetoric, it\u2019s fine, but when it comes to public policy, it\u2019s dangerous,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Agreeing, Lim said keeping silent on the growing voice of extremism is a betrayal to Malaysians who voted for the ruling coalition and their liberal, moderate agenda.<\/p>\n
\u201cVoters did not vote for a government that is wishy-washy and is intent on playing up to the Malay and Islamic gallery. The payback will surely come at the next elections,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Ibrahim also agreed that Najib\u2019s moderate stance and efforts to promote moderation may seem less convincing than his predecessor Tun Abdullah Badawi because of the former\u2019s lack of Islamic background – source themalaymailonline.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Umno\u2019s continued silence as the voices of Malay right-wing groups grow louder by the day could end up being misconstrued as Putrajaya\u2019s\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19198,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"bo_wartawan":[],"bo_jenis":[],"class_list":["post-19197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-c48-news"],"better_featured_image":{"id":19198,"alt_text":"","caption":"","description":"","media_type":"image","media_details":{"width":600,"height":399,"file":"2014\/01\/perkasa.jpg","filesize":178274,"sizes":{},"image_meta":{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0","keywords":[]}},"post":19197,"source_url":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/perkasa.jpg"},"yoast_head":"\n