A handphone theft resulted in chaos engulfing the Bukit Bintang area last night, leaving several injured after a mob set upon them.

PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli delves into the issue to uncover the forces that powered what is now dubbed as the 'Low Yat incident'.

"The incident is a symptom of something much more worrying, that is the easy tendency that a simple issue can snowball into a race issue.

"In the past we have seen demonstrations and Molotov cocktails thrown into houses of worship, but this is the first time that violent brawls were involved.

"One has to ask why such a simple issue snowballed into a race issue?" he told Malaysiakini .

Rafizi ( photo ) said the concern that politics post-2008 has been too racialised with race dimension adopted as the main narrative to explain Umno's weakening position has finally come one full circle.

He added that the effect of using race politics as the main ammunition against the opposition has finally manifested itself in the form of the fragile race relations in this country - so much so that a simple theft incident can turn into a national race issue.

Race narratives

"Umno has itself to blame. After all it was Umno after its 2008 electoral loss that gave space and even encouraged race motivated groups like Perkasa.

"Over the years, Umno allowed radical groups like Isma and Perkasa to openly campaign on extreme race and religious platforms," he pointed out.

Rafizi noted that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak himself gave legitimacy for the race narratives championed by these groups when he blamed the Chinese minority for BN's worst ever electoral performance in 2013.

"When a sitting prime minister used the same kind of lingo against specific ethnicity in the country, it magnified the stereotypes many times.

"We have a lot of work to reverse this but the recognition that the race politics post-2008 is a key factor is the first step towards defusing this," he added.

In the pursuit of maintaining political power, certain weapons are created, but the danger, according to Rafizi, is when there is no control over the weapons.

In the end if left unchecked, he said the weapons have the potential to destroy everyone, including its creators and those who nurture it.

Related reports

Blogger Papa Gomo tops police's arrest list

'No evidence man cheated by Low Yat trader'

Bukit Bintang is safe for all, police declare

Rafizi: Defusing racial tension more important than 1MDB

PAS: Don't let Low Yat distract from 'bigger issues'

Stop racialising Low Yat fracas, say PAS and DAP

Mob violence near Low Yat Plaza, several hurt

Low Yat Plaza: Not different, just empty

 

Geramm condemns attack on journalists