The prime minister’s warning against the threat of ‘human rightism’ to Islam is but the latest “bogeyman” created by the government to tighten its hold over the Malays.

And it is also to mask the government's own human rights violations, Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari said today.

The government, Zairil ( right ) said, should in fact have nothing to fear from the human rights movement if it had nothing to hide.

"As the Malay adage goes, siapa makan cili, dia yang terasa pedas ( whoever eats the chilli, will feel the spice).

"In other words, only repressive regimes have reason to fear human rights because they violate them," Zairil said in a statement.

He was to Najib Abdul Razak's statement on Wednesday that Islam is being tested by "deviant" mindsets under the guise of humanism, secularism, liberalism and human rights, or " humanrightism ".

According to Zairil, Najib’s “irrational attack” was his admission that the BN government has been suppressing the right to freedom of speech and assembly of ordinary Malaysians, as well as to free and fair elections, through the use of oppressive laws and policies.

Among proof of Najib’s “muddy” track record is the number of death-in-custody cases and his unkept promise to repeal the Sedition Act that he made in 2012, Zairil said.

“Yet two years on, the law (Sedition Act) is not only still in effect, it is still being used by the government against its political opponents, most recently against the late Bukit Gelugor MP and (former) DAP chairperson Karpal Singh and now against DAP’s Seputeh MP Teresa Kok ( above ) and PKR’s Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli."

Tried and tested strategy

Zairil also pointed out that while the Internal Security Act (ISA) was repealed, the government introduced new preventive laws such as the controversial Security Offences (Special Measures) Act and the Prevention of Crime Act in its place.

He said as a leader, Najib should not shirk his responsibilities by dismissing human rights as a “Western demon that threatens Islam”, adding that such attempt to do so was “laughable” as the world already “knows the truth”.

Even so, it was nonetheless “sadly consistent with the government’s tried and tested strategy of creating fictitious threats to ensure the Malay community remains under siege".

"In recent times, it has been the Christians, then the Chinese, and now human rights activism, which have become the bogeymen to the Malays.

"This proposition then justifies continued rule by Umno, the race’s self-declared ‘protector’ against these so-called threats.

"Never have I ever imagined that the values of human rights, which are essentially justice, equality and freedom, could be a threat to Islam," Zairil added.

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