Mischievous Pas Trying To Revive May 13 Ghost But People No Longer Fear The Bogeyman

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EVERY move DAP makes is seen by PAS as undermining the status of the Malays or the position of Islam as the official religion of the country.
The party is always portrayed as if it is the No. 1 public enemy out to promote a secular state in line with its campaign to make its Malaysian Dream come true.
Recently, DAP mooted a proposal to formulate an anti-racial discrimination act to check the rising number of racial incidents.
This prompted the Islamist party to immediately launch a mischievous attack with the dire warning that such a move would lead to a repeat of the dreadful May 13 (1969) racial riots.
The contention that the proposed law is an insidious attempt to abolish the rights and privileges of the dominant race is shallow and irrational.
But does PAS care? Its behaviour, thinking and actions all point to one inescapable conclusion: it is not interested in preserving and strengthening racial harmony.
When this 74-year-old-old party preached about the need to maintain peace among the various ethnic groups, it has different shades of meaning and interpretation.
Disregard for racial harmony
PAS supreme leader Tan Sri Hadi AwangIts idea of racial harmony has only one single purpose and that is to preserve the pre-eminent position of the Bumiputra with PAS at the centre of the universe.
Hence, its leaders never fail to demonise the DAP at every opportunity it gets with the mistaken belief that only DAP is the main trouble-maker and a big stumbling-block to PAS’ religious-fuelled ambition to create an Islamic state.
They pour strong emotion and scorn into their hate speeches – be it the issue of language, race or religion – in a bid to re-create a toxic environment that could lead to another civil strife.
As always, the DAP is singled out as the adversary who wants to usurp the rights of the Malays with its idea of enacting a law to rein in racial discrimination.
The proposal is innocuous and long overdue but PAS doesn’t see any merit in it. Why? One can only assume which is not far off the mark that the Islamist party wants to peddle the story that the non-Malays do not have equal rights in a society shaped by PAS.

How can racial harmony be nurtured and sustained when one race is seen as more equal than the others?
PAS would rather see the “infidels” ranked at the bottom of the social ladder than treat them as citizens enjoying the full benefits of a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and multi-religious country.
In the absence of cogent, level-headed, pragmatic arguments, PAS could only revive the bogeyman – May 13 – to try and scare the sizeable population of other ethnic groups into submission and acquiescence to the will of the majority.
But times have changed and people are no longer afraid of the shadow of May 13. If anything, they have outgrown their fear and have come to the stage where they are cheesed off with the political antics of PAS.
All these Islamist leaders, including fanatics and extremists, must realise that you cannot push the minorities to the wall anymore.
If push comes to shove, they will certainly fight back for their inalienable rights to stay put in the country of their birth. 
Phlip Rodrigues is a retired journalist.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT.
- Focus Malaysia.

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