COMMENT Due to a lack of the whip and a good public relations, Umno’s culture has degenerated into one of political bullying and intimidation.

This is the result of having basked in power for too long. Unless it changes its culture, Umno will find itself in put in a bad light from one episode to another.

Just last Sunday, a group of 50-odd demonstrators who are mainly linked to an Umno branch in Petaling Jaya, demonstrated in front of a church, forcing the church to remove the cross .

This act of tyranny of the majority has already been condemned by various quarters, from religious leaders to politicians, and from civil society activists to the people in East Malaysia.

Ironically, Umno leaders at the demonstration said that they were there to support the locals, and that majority of the people are Muslims, but apparently in 2013 during the general election, Umno’s Muniliza Hamzah lost to PKR’s Haniza Mohamed Talha by a margin of 4,433 votes. Haniza has since condemned the politically-motivated demonstration.

Such ill-conceived actions by Umno members will only alienate people from Umno. MCA’s Ti Lian Ker was among those who also spoke up against the demonstration last Sunday.

“If we do not put a stop to this act of aggression in the name of protecting one's religion, we may come to a point whereby there may be extremist demanding the removal of the letter 't' from our alphabets as it resembles the cross and there may be a subtle way of influencing Muslims to convert to Christianity,” he wrote in a press statement.

 

Threat to disrupt forum on GST

Just as the dust is about to settle, another group in Kluang has threatened that it would disrupt a meeting featuring DAP elected representatives to discuss the goods and services tax (GST).

Even before the event had started this evening, Johor Umno Youth chief Khairul Anwar Rahmat was already pre-empting that it would be linked to racism. There is hardly any basis for Khairul Anwar to make his allegations.

Johor PAS Youth member Sheikh Omar Ali is wondering what is so racist about the meeting.

The only thing that I could think of that is behind the threat to disrupt the seminar is because Umno Youth felt that the issue of GST will undermine the Malay support in Kluang. But whether people will attend or listen to the talk featuring two DAP state assemblypersons is one’s right and freedom, and there should be civility on the part of Umno Youth in Kluang.

Khairul Anwar ( left ), for example, can organise his own version of Anti-Anti-GST and use this to present counter arguments. Alternatively, Khairul Anwar can offer himself for a public debate with someone from the DAP or PAS and the debate can be viewed by the locals.

Apart from this, I cannot think of any other possible reasons why the issue of racism is being mixed into the meeting on GST. Even if Khairul Anwar wants to hog the media, this is not the way to go about it - and he should know that Umno has a whip that can be used against him.

There is no excuse, if the slightest commotion is created by him or his people, and even if Umno lets him off, Malaysians at large, in particular, the people in Kluang, would no longer buy into his story that he will be “present at the demonstration to ensure that things do not get out of hand”.

He better make sure that civility rules instead of creating chaos or disrupting the meeting. The demonstration that is being organised for this evening would not meet the requirements set by the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012.

This happening within the space of less than one week after the protest against a cross was staged at Taman Medan, is simply unacceptable.

There were also other incidents in the past, when even the opposition leader’s vehicle was attacked and splashed with paint. This is an immature way of handling the real issues. Splashing a tin of red paint or smashing a windscreen will further alienate one’s political ideology from the civil society.

The root of the problem

GST, as we all know, affects every community, but in particular, the lower-income group. Even the middle income group - people like you and I - find it hard to survive without tightening the belt. This has forced some of us - the ‘puteri lilin’ - to go down to the street to protest against the government of the day.

Malaysiakini recently highlighted a BN Sepanggar MP Jumat Idris who felt the pinch , when he paid RM1,200 on GST for his son’s medical bills, prompting a reader to immediately respond: “If you as MP feels the pinch, what about the average wage earner?”

In fact, prior to April 1, I had written on a number of occasions to warn the government of strong repercussions from the implementation of the GST. I referred to my observations based on May 1 demonstration last year in Kuala Lumpur. However, this has fallen on deaf ears.

Instead, the government has proceeded to implement the GST instead of addressing the issues on scandals, corruption, wastages and huge losses in a number of projects.

What is aggravating the situation further is the cancellation of a hospital in Padang Besar in Perlis due to a lack of budget, while at the same time, the government has gone ahead to purchase a new executive jet. This is why a seminar on the GST now would attract almost everyone.

In most countries where the GST is implemented, the government of the day has been voted out in the following general election. This has prompted even Hong Kong to abandon the implementation of the GST, but in Malaysia, we have walked right into a landmine.

If tomorrow the government reverses the GST, I can vouch that there will no longer be another seminar on the GST. Want to bet?

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.