The nation is saddened by the deplorable antics by a group of men who claim themselves to belong to some Islamic NGOs.

The act of slaughtering the chickens and smearing the blood on a banner depicting Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang, DAP Member of Parliament Teresa Kok and PKR state assemblyperson Lee Khai Loon, is an insult to all Malaysians.

Such an act simply does not augur well with the qualities of being a good Muslim and a citizen of this country. It surely does not represent the good values in Malay culture.

To say that blood was shed to remind the people of May 13 is nothing but seditious. On its own, it is a threat to both our national security and to the democratic process of this country, where well-respected people’s elected representatives are being trampled upon.

In my opinion, political satire is acceptable, but not urgings for violence and physical intimidation.

Najib Abdul Razak as the prime minister should immediately act on such moral decays before it gets worse.

No one is above the law. If Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia (PPIM) activist Mustafa Hamzah had made the outrageous offer to pay RM500 to anyone who slaps MP Teresa Kok, he should face the music. There is no reason for the police not to act immediately.

It has happened before with the parading of a cow’s head (cows being the Hindus’ holy animals) in Shah Alam, and now, the same deplorable act is repeating.

Since these are NGOs carrying the name of Islam, both the Registrar of Societies and the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim), instead of dragging their feet, should also act immediately to stop such despicable acts.

May 13 as I look back

I was growing up in a Chinese New Village when May 13 happened. Despite the tender age of five, I could understand most of the things said by the adults.

In the early days of our nation, people were largely still ignorant. When May 13 happened, they were not prepared for it, and most people did not know how to react. Not many people carried out an analysis of the news as one event after another unfolded.

May 13 may have come and gone, but we are a new generation of Malaysians who understand Bahasa Malaysia, who would not give a hoot to any more threats by people who want to sabotage the democratic process of this country by creating another riot.

In retrospect, I have recently come to a realisation that May 13 was never a racial riot in the first place. If anything, it was political intimidation after Penang and Selangor fell into the hands of the then opposition parties led by Mr Opposition, Dr Tan Chee Khoon.

While the riots were happening in the federal capital of Kuala Lumpur, my late father who was working and living in either Pahang or Kelantan was still having his breakfast with his fellow Malay colleagues. Elsewhere, it was peaceful, but in Kuala Lumpur, we were under curfew.

Should such a riot happen again in Malaysia, it is not going to benefit any race, especially the urban poor who are already affected by recent price hikes. Businesses will be adversely affected, and the country’s image as a country which is truly Asian, will be marred by a group of troublemakers. We are only into the second month of Visit Malaysia Year.

As prime minister, Najib has a lot to lose. The Malays, too, have a lot to lose when another riot is triggered by those who have political agenda behind the chaos. The same goes with the Indian, Chinese and the bumiputra communities in Sabah and Sarawak. As Malaysia’s economy is largely dependent on international trade, our country’s gross domestic product (GDP) would be in bad shape.

We certainly do not want to become another Zimbabwe, or be forced to be bailed out by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Stand up, Malay brethren

During the May 13 riots between certain factions (more like the thuds) of two major races, I remember one story where a Chinese family came under the shelter of a Malay family.

What I predicted in today’s context has come true. In the wake of a group of Malays using the Chinese and the Christians as a punching bag, the people who will rise up against these thuds are the Malays themselves.

Was it not Marina Mahathir and a group of Muslims who came to visit a Catholic Church in Klang while a group was demonstrating nearby? Whilst the demonstrators were prepared to carry out undignified acts of burning the effigy of The Herald Catholic weekly editor Father Lawrence Andrew, Marina has acted as a sensible Malay, who upholds the virtues of being a Malay. Bravo to Marina!

More Malays should step out to stop the nonsense created by a bunch of thugs. If the Chinese retaliate, it will only be used as an excuse for another May 13 incident, but if the Malays themselves rise up against those who claim to represent them, this spells disaster for those who try to use such scare tactics to ‘unite’ the Malays under their own banners.

I should say that the mistake Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, as Bapa Malaysia, had made is to allow his political nemeses to have the upper hand. During his time, the Malays were generally not very educated and they listened to only a few political leaders.

Today, with education and information available through the Internet, our moderate Malay brethren have no reason to remain silent. Edmund Burke has once said, “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing”.

Do we want to allow a handful of thuds to erode the moral standards of our civilised society? Do we care enough to put a stop to the ugly politics that is being played in front of our eyes in the name of race and religion? Is it too troublesome for you to write and express your disgust over such issues in letters to the editor?

Can we allow to ignore our conscience and do nothing and allow evil to triumph?

STEPHEN NG is a chemist by training. He dealt with printing ink, paint and emulsion polymer for 15 years before becoming a freelance writer.