Najib Warns Not To Play With Race Or Religion, But Does He Mean Perkasa or PAS

Written by  Melissa Lee

Prime Minister Najib Razak said his government would not compromise with groups acting for their own interests without regard for the consequences of their actions, as these people were playing with fire by fanning racial and religious sentiments.

Najib did not name any groups but it is likely he was referring to the country's political opposition, especially PAS which scored a major victory after its members voted in a new, progressive lineup to challenge his increasingly hardline BN coalition in the coming general elections.

“We have painstakingly built and nurtured our relationship over decades. As such, we will not compromise on, and will reject, any attempt by specific groups to act for themselves without regard for the consequences that their actions will have on the majority of Malaysians and the country,”Star reported Najib as saying.

Doublespeak

There are also some who believe that Najib could be referring to extremist racial-rights group Perkasa, which has strong links to his UMNO party.

However, political watchers dashed such hopes, pointing to the many incidents in the past where Najib had closed an eye to Perkasa's racial rabble-rousing despite the public outrage it created, especially amongst the non-Malay minorities.

"In 2010, when Perkasa insisted Article 153 in the federal constitution meant the Malays were the supreme race in the country and PKR's Nurul Izzah slammed them for it with her article Malaysia or Malay-only, Najib also made these sort of comments," Eddie Wong, a Pakatan Rakyat watcher, told Malaysia Chronicle.

"In the end, it was Nurul that the police called up while Perkasa was left untouched."

Led by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, Pakatan consists of PAS, PKR and DAP. The coalition rules 4 out of the country's 13 states.

Tell It To The Right Party

Of late, Najib's UMNO has been sounding the war drums in preparation for the GE, widely expected to be called within months. But despite Malaysia being a multi-racial country, Najib has chosen to pursue a Malay-supremacy plank in a bid to win over the community, which forms nearly 60 percent of the 28 million population.

PAS, the second-largest Malay-based party after UMNO, had on Friday rejected a call from Najib to merge. Instead, PAS members endorsed a new line-up of leaders perceived to be 'centred' liberals, rather than go head to head with UMNO's right-wing and racist, hardline stance.

Nonetheless, Najib warned unidentified quarters from gambling with the future of the nation.

“Eventually both the victors and the vanquished will be the losers. Shouldn't we learn from what's happening elsewhere, such as in the Balkans in Europe?" said Najib.

- Malaysia Chronicle