Persistent allegations that the Penang government discriminates against Malays in the state have not been borne out by the statistics, according to Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari.

Although its policies are not race-based, most of its beneficiaries have been Malays, he said, despite the opposite picture had been portrayed in mainstream media.

“It is a perception that is being built to disparage DAP and the Pakatan Rakyat as a government that is anti-Malay,” he told a forum themed ‘Are Malays and Islam under threat?’ last night.

As a result of the propaganda war, Zairil said that when he travels outside of Penang, he is often confronted with questions such as whether it is true that the azan (Muslim call to prayer) or the parades celebrating the anniversary of the birth of Prophet Muhammad had been banned in the state.

“I am stumped by these questions. Islam is the religion of the federation. While it is true that there is no sultan in Penang, it couldn’t be so bad that even the azan or the parades are banned.

“However when such questions are asked, it reveals the perceptions that BN had successfully built through its mainstream media,” he said.

Zairil was amongst the audience at the forum, but was invited by the moderator come on stage and respond to allegations of racial discrimination.

Negative media portrayal

As an example of negative media portrayal, Zairil said when the state government moved to demolish 20-odd illegal hawker stalls in Taman Pelangi, TV3 zoomed in on the four Malay hawkers claiming oppression while the rest of the hawkers were ignored.

In another case where Chinese Malaysian-owned stalls were demolished due to licensing issues, Zairil said the stalls “suddenly” became Malay-owned when it went on air.

He said that in reality, based on the Penang City Council (MPPP) statistics, most of the illegal stalls it demolished are in fact owned by non-Malays.

In addition, he said about 90 percent of recipients of the state’s microcredit scheme are Malay entrepreneurs, and about 70 percent of successful bidders under its open tender system are Malay contractors. Recipients of the state’s cash aid for the poor are also largely Malays.

As for Islam, he said the state’s allocation for Islamic authorities have increased from RM12 million to RM45 million over the past six years of Pakatan rule.

The state had also bought over land from non-Muslims for use as a Muslim cemetery, and had provided state land for the construction of a new syariah court, he said.

“If one is to say Malays are not on par with non-Malays on socio-economic terms, there is some truth to that.

“But how can it be Pakatan’s fault? We had been in power for only six years. Things are already like that when we took over,” he added, while stressing that the real threat to Malays are BN.

As an example, he said 980 acres of land in his constituency was sold to a developer for RM1 per square foot for redevelopment as a resettlement area for Malays when the state was under BN rule, but luxury houses were built instead.

Spending increased 29-fold

Meanwhile, DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang, who is speaking as a panellist, highlighted that the federal government’s spending on Islamic authorities have also increased many folds over the past 30 years.

He said Malaysian Islamic Development Department’s (Jakim) predecessor, the Islamic Affairs Department, had a budget of RM4.3 million in 1980 and RM125 million in 1997, before it was superseded by Jakim - a 29-fold increase.

Jakim started out with a budget of RM130 million in 1998, and has been allocated RM283 million for the next year budget he said.

The budgets of other agencies such as the syariah courts, the Department of Awqaf, Zakat and Hajj, the International Islamic University of Malaysia, the Islamic Science University of Malaysia have also seen large increases over the years.

“The sum of all the figures I have mentioned is from RM4.3 million in 1980 to RM1.6 billion next year – a 375-fold increase.

“All these spending are for Islam-related activities. If the claim now is that Islam is under threat, we want to know if all these spending is for naught,” he said, referring to claims by right-wing groups.

Another speaker, PAS vice president Husam Musa (left ) cited studies by the Khazanah Research Institute showing that Malays earn less that their non-Malay counterparts.

However, he said this wealth disparity should not be blamed on non-Malays, but on the failure of the government.

As an example, he highlighted the federal government’s refusal to pay oil royalties to Kelantan although most of its population are Malays, and pro-bumiputera policies that had turned into cronyism.

“As (Gerakan founder) Syed Hussein Alatas wrote in his book, if the position of Malays from before until now has deteriorated, that is mistake and weakness of the leaders in power.

“So we cannot say that the Chinese are a threat to Malays or that Indians are a threat to Malays. It is Malay leaders who are a threat to Malays,” he said.

Husam also lamented the fact that “racial extremist groups” are claiming to be defending Islam, even though Islam itself preaches against racism.

He said this also narrows Islam to just Malays, and leaves a distaste to non-Malays who would then refuse to accept the teachings of Islam.

“Malays may rise and fall, but the message of Islam is universal,” he said.