Dr M, what about the 'monsters' back home?

COMMENT And so Dr Mahathir Mohamad is upset - perhaps this is too timid a description of his outburst. Perhaps it would be more apt to phrase it as him being in high dudgeon with the Jews over the bombardment of Gaza.

Such anti-Semitic frothing in the mouth is nothing new for the old chap.

Mahathir has always harboured a hard spot for the Jews and judging from his recent blog post, titled simply as "The Jews", the ill-feeling has not mellowed with age.

On the contrary, it seems to have ascended a notch or two on the scale of viciousness.

Over in Gaza, the never-ending tale of hostilities has unraveled once again, with both sides accusing each other of barbaric acts and having the blood of the innocent on their hands.

But when images of civilians, including children, perishing in the war surface, Mahathir's indignation is understandable.

However, to condemn all Jews for the actions of the Zionist regime is akin to blaming all Muslims for the violence permeated by terror networks like Al-Qaeda.

Post 9-11, numerous Muslim luminaries both in politics and the religion reminded the world not to equate the two in order to prevent a backlash on the innocent.

Similarly, many Jews around the world have taken to the streets to protest against the ongoing bedlam in Gaza, with one such protestor in New York brandishing a placard, which read: "New York Jews, Say Not In Our Name."

When a "learned" man like Mahathir refrains from making the distinction, firing his salvo on all Jews, would not the average man be consumed with blind hatred for all that is Jewish?

The former premier lashed out on how the holocaust had not taught the Jews the meaning of suffering and now took delight in massacring the Arabs.

He commented on their "imbued" superiority complex stemming from the belief that they are the "chosen ones" of God and therefore considered themselves above criticism.

He then blamed the United States and Europe for "creating this monster" vis-a-vis Israel.

What about monsters he helped create?

But what about the "monsters" he helped create, who seem to behave in a similar fashion to the "chosen ones" depicted in his anti-Jew tirade?

These "monsters" who choose to divide this nation along ethnic and religious lines, branding all efforts geared towards unity as being the work of the devil?

These individuals, politicians and groups like Perkasa, of which Mahathir is the patron, and Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) operate on the same "superior" wavelength that empowers them to belittle and deride Malaysians of other races and faiths.

They bombard the "insignificant other" not with missiles but insults and do this without the slightest remorse and worse, believing that their deeds are justified, with their supporters heralding them as heroes.

And it must be pointed out that the "chosen ones" exist on both sides of the political divide.

Given the often repeated "threats, reminders and warnings" of a repeat of the racial bloodletting which rocked the nation more than four decades ago, it seems like the "chosen ones" here would not hesitate to emulate the "chosen ones" in Mahathir's diatribe and spill the blood of those whom they consider to be a danger to their divine status and birthright.

And with unscrupulous characters continuing to sow the seeds of division and hatred in impressionable minds, perhaps there may come a time in the not too distant future that there would be a pogrom "for fun" similar to what, according to Mahathir, the Zionist are executing.

Another strange and rather comical phenomenon that emerged under Mahathir's 22-year watch is a group - with significant numbers-  masquerading as the "chosen ones" and joining the bandwagon to lash out at others, including those from their own ethnic background.

For example, even Mahathir, who is speculated to have paternal relatives in India, questioned the granting of citizenship to Chinese and Indians.

And this comes from the man who envisioned Malaysia to be a developed nation in 2020, when a sizeable portion of its inhabitants, much to his own doing, still dwell in caves with regard to their mindset.

Skycrapers, bigots in designer suits and elephantine malls, make not a developed nation.

It requires an evolved state of mind that transcends the narrow peripheries, where respect is accorded to all regardless of color and creed.

It is a state where bigotry and bigots are shunned and not celebrated.

Ironically, the bridges are burning under Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's nose, the man who rode into office on the 1Malaysia slogan, promising to bridge the gaps.

And to those who champion and desire for change, do not be disheartened by the voices of detractors. Do not allow them to extinguish the flame.

"Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can't ride you unless your back is bent." -Martin Luther King, Jr.

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RK ANAND is a member of the Malaysiakini team.

Dishonourable of Khalid to cling on to MB post, say DAP leaders

Senior DAP leaders have voiced their concerns over Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim’s insistence on remaining in his post as Selangor menteri besar, saying it is inappropriate for him to stay on when he has lost the support of his own party, PKR, and its partners in Pakatan Rakyat.

The DAP leaders, who requested anonymity because they were not authorised to speak about this issue, said they were tired of Khalid's "authoritarian" leadership and his insistence on serving out his term in office, especially having known since March that he would be replaced.

"It is dishonourable of him to insist on staying despite losing the confidence of his party and the majority of the Pakatan pact," said a DAP leader with knowledge of Khalid's way of doing things.

Khalid, a former corporate captain, became MB six years ago when PKR and its allies scored a shock win over Barisan Nasional (BN) in the 2008 general election.

The DAP leader said the two-term MB's idiosyncrasies became obvious after his first term.

Efforts were made after last year’s general election to bring to Khalid's attention as well as secure his agreement on outstanding issues that needed to be resolved or improved in Malaysia's richest state, but Khalid blithely went about his own way, the leader said.

"Instead of things getting better, they became worse," said the leader.

"He is not a man of his word."

Another DAP leader said Khalid's insistence on staying despite broad opinions that he has to go was tantamount to disrespecting the views of his party.

It is also reflective of Khalid's leadership style of not taking into account the opinion of other Pakatan assemblymen as well as those from his party and from DAP and PAS.

"It is this kind of authoritarian style that makes us tired of him," said the leader.

Collectively, Pakatan’s three component parties control the majority in Selangor’s 56-seat assembly with 44 seats ― 15 each for DAP and PAS, and 14 for PKR.

Despite this, the leader said there was hardly any power-sharing among the three parties as Khalid preferred to do things unilaterally.

"A lot of times, we asked him to resolve certain issues but he refused to listen to us. How do you expect things to move?

"It all depends on his choices and preferences. That is why so many things are not moving in Selangor.

“How can one man resolve everything?"

Khalid’s dare to his allies to table a no-confidence vote against him with the real possibility of triggering a snap election in the state, showed his "real face" in wanting to hang on to power, said the leader.

"He is treating the MB’s position as his own. He has forgotten that it is the consensus of the three parties that agreed to his nomination as MB."

The leader added that they had tried to keep a lid on things and not criticise him openly until recent developments in the state showed that it was untenable for Khalid to remain.

These include his handling of issues, such as water rationing, the Selangor Islamic Religious Department's seizure of Malay and Iban Bibles as well as Khalid's push for the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex), which had upset some Pakatan leaders as it went against the pact's election manifesto to abolish tolled highways.

PKR has endorsed Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as potential MB candidate, completing its "Kajang move". This was agreed by top leaders in Pakatan's leadership council meeting last week.

However, the situation went into a tailspin when PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang openly supported Khalid remaining as menteri besar until the end of his term, a stand contrary to that of his party colleagues who attended the Pakatan meeting.

Hadi’s endorsement of Khalid, which was followed by his deputy president Mohamad Sabu's reply that Hadi was merely expressing his "personal view", might split the Ismalist party.

Influential PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat also backed Hadi's support for Khalid.

The latest development caused PKR secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail to issue a statement that the party would stick to PR's decision that Khalid had to go and Dr Wan Azizah was the top choice for the post.

Netizens lash out at PAS over divisive Selangor MB issue

Netizens are angry with PAS over their resistance to removing Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim as Selangor menteri besar, with many calling for the Islamist party to leave Pakatan Rakyat.

Others hit out at the loosely-held coalition over the "mess" in Selangor, saying that PR was bound to lose Malaysia's richest state to Barisan Nasional if it did not resolve the matter soon.

"This may be a blessing in disguise – Purging Pakatan of those whose vision is too small and doesn't include Putrajaya, @MengoYee tweeted, referring to Islamic party PAS.

@kcwai said: "So, Hadi is willing to lose Sgor to BN in GE14 despite calls to remove Khalid as MB, just like how PAS lost Kedah?"

The user was referring to PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang who has publicly thrown his support behind Khalid and said he disagreed with replacing the latter.

"PAS needs to be split instead. Then the moderates can continue to ensure PR thrives. Enough of proUmno gang antics," said @kcwai.

Twitter user @oonyeoh concurred, saying: "Never mind, I'm prepared to see PAS return to its old days of being an opposition party that can win only Kelantan.

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng had said earlier that the refusal of PAS to respect and adhere to views agreed together could lead to the break up of the coalition.

"If the decisions we have achieved together in the Pakatan highest leadership council is dismissed just like that by one party, the survival and credibility of Pakatan will continue to be undermined," he had said.

@lawofmalaysia warned that: "if this happens PAS will lose all non-Malay support in Selangor!"

"Its for Pakatan to lose rather than BN to win," said @SharaadKuttan.

Others hit out at the coalition saying that the support for Pakatan could dwindle following the differences in opinion within the parties.

"Paras air di empangan-empangan di Selangor mungkin sama rendah dengan paras sokongan rakyat Selangor kepada Pakatan. aku rasa la," said @norman__g. (the water level in Selangor dams is probably the same level as the support of the people of Selangor towards Pakatan, I feel).

@askaychan added: "The political game in Selangor for MB post amidst the tragedies of MH370, MH17 and Gaza is downright disgusting."

@ahmadridzalman also said" "100% agree..mmg padan muka kalau hilang kuasa disebabkan isu ini." (I agree 100%..it would serve them right if they lost their power because of this issue."

PKR initiated the "Kajang move" to replace Khalid with its de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim after numerous complaints against the two-term MB for running the state unilaterally without consulting his party PKR as well as the national Pakatan leadership.

He had also been criticised for his handling of issues, such as water rationing, the Selangor Islamic Religious Department's seizure of Bahasa Malaysia and Iban-language Bibles and support for the Kinrara Damansara Expressway (Kidex), which upset some Pakatan leaders as it was seen as going against the pact's election manifesto to abolish tolled highways.

Anwar was supposed to run as the party's candidate in the Kajang by-election but the plan was scuttled after the Court of Appeal found him guilty of sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

His wife, PKR president Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail ran in Anwar’s place and won the state seat and has been endorsed by PKR as the candidate for the Selangor MB post and a consensus was reached at the PR leadership council meeting on Wednesday.

However, Khalid has remained adamant that he would not step down as MB, saying he would continue to hold the post until his term ended.

Hadi’s endorsement of Khalid, followed immediately by his deputy president Mohamad Sabu's reply that Hadi was merely expressing his "personal view", might split the Islamist party.

Influential PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat also weighed in on the issue, backing Hadi's support for Khalid.

Leaked PAS message: Team up with Umno in S'gor

 

A leaked screenshot of a conversation on the instant messaging application WhatsApp has inadvertently revealed that PAS central committee leaders have been actively discussing possible scenarios of leaving Pakatan Rakyat.

In what is probably the biggest hint to date that the threat of Pakatan disintegrating is true, the screenshot circulated on Facebook showed central committee member Mohd Zuhdi Marzuki discussing teaming up with Umno.

Zuhdi, a lecturer, outlined a scenario on how PAS could defect from Pakatan and later form a simple majority government in the Selangor state assembly with the help of Umno, while keeping Khalid Ibrahim as Menteri Besar.

The conversation took place in a WhatsApp group involving all PAS central committee leaders.

PAS members who did not want to be named confirmed with Malaysiakini that the screenshot was authentic.

Later today Zuhdi in a Facebook posting did not deny the message, but instead denied that he was part of the group that has put forward the idea of leaving Pakatan.

"I was just outlining scenarios based on my imagination because I was asked to come up with a few scenarios.

"But I am not part of the group that has proposed to leave Pakatan. This is slander aimed at implicating me as the one who came up with the idea," he said.

Zuhdi is the operations director of the PAS research centre (PPP).

Friction within PAS revealed

What would be more unsettling for Pakatan insiders is Zuhdi's admission that no less than 10 central committee members, some of them strong allies of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, "has strongly supported the proposal" to leave Pakatan.

This development follows a week in which PAS' top leadership appears to be breaking ranks with PKR and DAP as well as some of its own members over the replacement of Khalid.

This despite a Pakatan Rakyat council meeting comprising leaders from all three parties that claimed to have arrived at a consensus over the matter.

Meanwhile the leaked WhatsApp conversation also appeared to show the friction running deep within PAS itself.

When Zuhdi included co-operation with Umno in the possibility list, Kuala Krai MP Hatta Ramli (above) immediately shot it down.

"Working together with Umno? I'm out!" he appeared to have replied instantly.

Racist face of PAS?

The screenshot of the conversation started making rounds in the social media earlier this morning.

Another highly disturbing feature of the conversation is the blatant tone of racist politics, with Zuhdi commenting that his scenario would return political dominance to the Malays and that they could negate "DAP and non-Muslims".

"After this, if DAP and non-Muslims make noise about the Allah issue or raids, we can just swat them away," he said.

"At the end of this year just change the borders to return all the Malay-Muslim political power," he wrote, without any apparent disagreement from the group.