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Rally focus on Malay rights turns some off
19-Sept-2015, thejakartapost.com
Tens of thousands heeded the call to support Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak against demands by electoral reforms group Bersih for him to step down, but Wednesday’s “red shirts” rally ended up focusing on affirming Malay rights rather than Najib’s leadership.
Indeed, the rally was a clear indicator of how strong the PM’s grip on his ruling party UMNO (United Malays National Organization) is. But it gained him little favor with critics and non- participants, what with some groups turning unruly and scuffling with riot police. It also failed to address the allegations against him.
Najib has faced challenges on numerous fronts since having to fend off charges — from even within his own party — of financial misappropriation in debt-laden state investor 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), whose advisory board he chairs.
Additionally, he is suspected of receiving US$700 million linked to 1MDB that was deposited into his private bank accounts.
While Najib has since eliminated the internal threats by dropping the party’s deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin and a vice-president from his Cabinet and replacing the Attorney-General and head of police intelligence in July, his actions contributed to shrinking confidence in the economy.
It was this last straw that prompted Bersih to announce its Aug.29-30 rally as it accused the PM of “taking every possible move to protect corruption” and putting at stake “the credibility of the very institutions of government”.
But the turnout of mostly ethnic Chinese in yellow T-shirts at the Bersih event took on racial overtones, with pro-Najib voices calling it an attempt to usurp the Malays’ political power.
There was an undoubted irony when Najib’s biggest critics - influential former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad and Muhyiddin, two men known for their pro-Malay stance — spoke out against the red shirts rally. But their criticism was meant to undermine support for Najib.
The PM has disclaimed responsibility for the rally but stopped short of barring UMNO members from taking part. The party chiefs seen mobilizing and leading the large turnout of red shirts showed that Najib’s authority was still solid.
But Oh Ei Sun, from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said that such rallies, Bersih’s included, rarely swayed voters but instead “reinforce voters’ existing preferences”.
He also noted that control of UMNO is often conditional as there are “purse strings attached”, with “political wannabes trying to curry favor”.
Tellingly, many who took to the stage at Padang Merbok — the final assembly point — pressed the PM to revive the controversial Internal Security Act that his government had repealed in 2012.
Poll findings released by the Merdeka Center on Sept. 15 showed that only 24 percent of Malays supported it, with fear of trouble the main reason given to stay away.
That some red shirts bullied their way past police lines and later clashed with riot police, would scarcely have endeared them to the Malay community. The two areas, seen as symbols of Chinese business, had been declared off-limits ahead of the rally.
Merdeka Center’s executive director Ibrahim Suffian said those who were not for the rally would be further turned off by the violence and lack of discipline. - See more at: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/09/19/rally-focus-malay-rights-turns-some.html#sthash.eBftm0sC.dpuf |
