COMMENT | In November 2011, then-Umno information chief Ahmad Maslan made a shocking speech fully laden with racial sentiments and religion-based tirade in the run-up to the Umno general assembly. It was expected – BN had lost Selangor and Penang and its parliamentary majority had been slashed.

“The Malay language will be lost, say goodbye to the Malay sultans, because the opposition DAP does not respect the royal institution. They have never received a royal title despite being offered to them.”

Citing the names of Selangor exco lineup, he accused DAP of being a “Christianisation agent” seeking to replace Islam with Christianity so that a Chinese prime minister could exist. It was pure political rhetoric.

But former BN minister turned Pakatan Harapan stalwart, Chua Jui Meng, gave the perfect riposte to Ahmad’s rantings: “If Ahmad Maslan’s comments are the prelude to the assembly, the non-Malays could be ready for a batting session in the Ku Klux Klan style of Umno delegates this year,” he said.

The Klan adopted white supremacy, or white supremacism, as an ideology based upon the belief that white people are superior in many ways to people of other races.

They held the view that they should be dominant over other races. Like the neo-Nazis, the Klan opposed members of other races, including Jews.

According to Wikipedia, the term “white supremacy” is used in academic studies of racial power to denote a system of structural or societal racism which privileges white people over others, regardless of the presence or the absence of racial hatred. White racial advantages occur at both a collective and an individual level.

Members of the Klan dressed in robes and sheets, intended at preventing identification and supposedly designed to frighten blacks. The Klan burned churches and schools and drove thousands of (black) people out of their homes.

So, why the interest in the Klan, you may ask. Chua’s prophecy, then made for political expediency, is slowly but surely surfacing in our backyard.

Seven years after those tumultuous exchanges, with BN out of power and DAP wielding strong influence in government, nothing of that sort of “Christianisation” has happened. But the sounds of sabre-rattling ala the Klan are reverberating around the country.

If you Google “Ku Klux Klan Malaysia,” you would be taken to page with a Petaling Jaya address. It has even a Facebook page which has no information to offer. This may have been a mix-up or a genuine mistake.

But judging by recent actions and words, its headquarters are rumoured to have been moved to a small town called Pasir Salak, somewhere in Perak.

However, unlike their American counterparts, the Malaysian chapter members don’t hide their identities. On the contrary, they wear skullcaps and other headgear, and have no qualms of being photographed or videotaped thumping their chests and shouting racist slogans.

If the American Klan was made up of ex-army personnel including commissioned officers, the local chapter only attracts unemployed or unemployable politicians, losers and dropouts who are seeking to make a fortune without hard work.

The similarities

The Klan became a powerful political force in the US in the 1920s, but its popularity dropped over the years. The Malaysian chapter too was a political force (which was reduced to almost non-existence) and is also promoting supremacy, and to a certain extent, violence.

But there are other similarities. The Klan targeted not just blacks, but immigrants, Jews, and Roman Catholics. Similarly, our local and vocal members turn their wrath and detest anyone who does not subscribe to their religion or not belong to their race.

By 1944, the Klan had lost most of its influence and membership. The Klan operated in spurts and was revived during the era of Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement. It remains as a small organisation that continues to stage demonstrations in favour of white supremacy and fundamentalist Christian theology.

The local chapter too operated in gushes, having been happy until support waned due to excesses, weak leadership, corruption and kleptocracy. The opposition started making inroads capitalising on its misdeeds. When it was decimated in the May 9 hustings, the voices of its leaders became even louder. They too favoured the Klan’s brand of supremacy and promoted its hard-line brand of religion.

Flashback to September 2015: The local chapter imitated their American counterparts with stakes and torches. They set on fire effigies of opposition leader Lim Kit Siang and his son. The chapter’s then ally and sub-group tried to register its unhappiness.

The MCA Religious Harmony Bureau chief Ti Lian Ker rebuked the Malaysian Klan by saying: “The burning of effigies amidst racial and religious chants must be condemned because it reeks of intimidation detrimental to public peace and security.”

He was treated as a court jester and his views were summarily dismissed. Indeed, could anyone have taken him seriously?

R NADESWARAN is fascinated that those who protest against Western influence seemed to have embraced the Klan’s policies and their modus operandi. Comments: citizen.nades22@gmail.com.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.