Angry protests shunned by the majority. — file pic
By Syed Jaymal Zahiid
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 14 — While the recent attacks against churches and the raging debate over the “Allah” issue have sparked fears about the fragility of religious and race relations in the country, there is a clear absence of the kind of tension that could potentially tear the country apart.
Most Malaysians appear to have confidence in the sanity of the majority and believe that the police will act decisively.
Khairul Azman Muslim, a 36-year-old civil servant, is one of the many Muslim Malaysians who are deeply affected by the ongoing debate over the “Allah” issue between the country’s Muslims and Christians.
Khairul is “profoundly” upset by the High Court ruling that allowed a Catholic weekly to use “Allah” in its national language edition.
“Memang la kita maghah (of course we are upset),” he said in a thick Kedahan accent. But his despair does not extend beyond words: “Tapi toksah dok buat kalut, ada cagha betui. Protes-protes ni tak baguih untuk ekonomi, kalu buat nanti, la ni, sapa yang susah? (But there is no need to make trouble. All these protests are not good for the economy. If we do all this, who will suffer?)”
Despite vigorous attempts by some from the far-right to fan the fire further, the likelihood of violent clashes remains slim. Political observers believe the easy access to accurate and reliable information has allowed Malaysians of all races to tackle sensitive issues maturely and pragmatically.
“Yes, Malaysians are more mature now compared to 20 years ago,” Ibrahim Sufian told The Malaysian Insider. Ibrahim is the director of Merdeka Center, an independent polling house.
“The current generation is a generation that has faced many challenges and they are also more exposed to information and with this, can think more pragmatically,” he added.
The space to express opinions such as through popular social networking websites like Facebook has “uncapped the pressure valve” and allowed the public to vent their anger through a “dialogue”-oriented channel.
Ibrahim also noted that since the 2008 general elections, the “political evolution” has developed so rapidly that Malaysians are somewhat “de-sensitised” and “would take a few steps back before getting excited over an issue.”
His views are shared by Khoo Kay Peng, an independent political analyst with a local think tank, who said that Malaysians now have more access to information.
“Information say, 20 years ago, was tightly controlled and the only source came from government-linked mainstream media,” he said, adding that this is one of the factors why Malaysians could be easily swayed by communal issues and politics of religion.
The calm demeanour and unthreatening language and gestures by politicians on both sides of the political divide are likely to have helped ensure the generally calm response from ordinary Malaysians.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was also quick to condemn the attacks on the Churches as “heinous”. Other leaders from the party who are known for their right wing views have also blasted the attacks.
Reconciliation and peace was also the order of the day with several Islamic NGOs, despite earlier protests against the “Allah” issue, quickly offering to guard the churches from attacks.
However, Khoo said the reconciliatory undertone of Najib’s and other Umno leaders’ language should not absolve the prime minister from his responsibility.
For Khoo, Najib has to share some of the burden of accountability for the tension that may have led to the attacks on the churches.
“Yes the language has been calming and it did help defuse the tension a bit but Najib should have shown more leadership by not allowing the protests,” he said, suggesting the tacit backing of the demonstrations led to perception that Umno had fanned the flames which led to the attacks.
A total of 54 Islamic NGOs held nationwide protests outside mosques after Friday prayers last week.
Najib allowed the demonstrations to proceed amid fears it may have led to violent clashes on a larger scale.
No untoward incident took place, however.
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