The loose coalition of Malay rights NGOs, Gerakan Kebangkitan Rakyat (Gertak), will be holding yet another forum on the issue, hoping that the turnout would be better than the last meeting.

 

Smarting from the Melayu Bangkit rally held two weeks ago which only managed to garner a lukewarm response, Gertak is opting for a "smaller and more intimate" function.

 

NONE The coalition president Razali Idris said that this time, he is only targeting a modest number of 500 "serious participants" for the forum, a paltry number as compared to the 5,000 expected in the last rally - where only about 1,000 people eventually turned up.

 

"At that time, there were a lot of people who said that they were scared to come, because of all the negative press surrounding it," he said, referring to the uproar when it was initially planned for May 13, coinciding with the 41st anniversary of the bloody racial riots.

 

"We also did not give anyone any incentive such as duit minyak (fuel money) and T-shirts. We didn't even provide lunch. Maybe that's why a lot of people didn't want to come," he told Malaysiakini .

 

Razali says the forum, slotted for end of October in Terengganu, will discuss six topics - religion, Malay rulers, social issues, politics, education and the economy.

Starry lineup

The forum is also expected to have a star-studded lineup of speakers which includes former deputy prime minister Musa Hitam, Perak mufti Harussani Zakaria, former Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (now Bursa Malaysia) president Muhammad Salleh Majid, and Royal Professor Ungku Aziz.

 

NONE Expected to speak on the social aspect is Utusan Malaysia columnist and senior lecturer at Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia Ridhuan Tee Abdullah ( right ). A Chinese Muslim convert, Tee has been criticised by many as a ‘racist’ and ‘insensitive’ towards non-Malays.

 

"He is a Chinese, and he is also a Muslim. Maybe he can also give insights on the Chinese race. We also want to know why, despite so much advancement and advantages given to Malays, we still have the most cases of social ills," said Razali.

 

Tee had notoriously written an article referring to deceased political aide Teoh Beng Hock's child as "an illegitimate baby" in reference to his untimely death at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission premises on the eve of his wedding.

 

However, Razali insisted that the forum is not meant to criticise other races.

 

"We just want to address our own weaknesses in the Malay race. We don't mean to bully the non-Malays with the forum," he said.