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Sunday 10 January 2010

Post Mortem of a Fire Bombing

Whoever organized the firebombing of the 3 churches, I think they botched it. If they hired Mat Rempits to do it, in only one case was some serious damage done while in another a pastor was manhandled. This is in stark contrast to the popular image of Mat Rempits swarming the roads and highways striking terror to road users who happen by.

By batsman

In addition, the dastardly fire bombings were done surreptitiously in the dead of night in cowardly fashion by a few panicky gangsters. If American white supremacist bikers had done it, the results would have been completely different on the havoc scale and they would have done it in broad daylight.

I think this shows that the ability of the mysterious organizers to wreak havoc has been much reduced from early historical episodes of mysterious havoc wreaking. Maybe it is the recession. The money available to hire serious gangsters is no longer big time.

After all, the prize is not paltry. As RPK claims, it is political control of the richest state in Malaysia – Selangor. The organizers would have ensured that the havoc they caused is commensurate with the excuse to force the government to impose a state of emergency, but there was no big time havoc to give the excuse to impose a state of emergency.

I believe it was not due to the recession or to lack of money. I think it is a simple case of Malaysians being fed up with being manipulated for political gain. Malaysians no longer support dirty tricks and I think a stronger opposition has something to do with this.

Even the protests (whether coordinated or timed to occur with the fire bombings or not) were not the mass demonstrations promised and the protest organizers had to disavow any connection with the fire bombings.

The PR did its job well to educate Malaysians to reject extremism, provocation, manipulation of religious sensitivities and dirty tricks in politics. If ever there is a case to support the PR wholeheartedly and without stinting, it is this episode of political dirty tricks backfired in the face of the mysterious organizers.

The PR must now organize to be the next federal government with the upcoming General Elections. It must no longer content itself to be just a strong opposition. The country cannot afford the irresponsible manipulation and selfish political maneuvering that threatens peace and even its very survival any more.

We need to say “enough is enough”. It is time to bring back sanity and decency.

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