MP SPEAKS | There are three reasons why Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s joint propaganda campaign of fake news and false information that the DAP is the “devil” and that the Malays and Muslims are under siege in the 14th general election will be proven wrong.

Firstly, the demonisation of DAP as anti-Malay and anti-Muslim has passed its zenith.

It is the most disgraceful fake news and false information manufactured in the history of Malaysian politics indulged by those who wanted to perpetuate their political power at the price of a peaceful, harmonious, united, progressive and prosperous multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-lingual and multi-cultural Malaysia.

DAP has, from its formation in 1966, been a Malaysian political party, promoting the rights and interests of all races and religions in the country, and we have within our ranks Malaysians from all races and religions - Malays, Chinese, Indians, Ibans, Kadazans and Orang Asli; Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and Taoists.

DAP is not anti-Malay and anti-Islam, as demonstrated by the record of the 10-year DAP-led Penang state government, serving interests of all Malaysians in Penang, regardless of race, religion or socio-economic background.

DAP cannot be anti-Malay or anti-Islam for this will be anti-Malaysia, which comprises the diverse races and religions in the country.

This is why a DAP leader of Chinese descent had done what even Umno or PAS leaders had not done – gone to jail, disqualified as a member of Parliament and denied of civil rights to vote and stand for elective office for five years for defending the honour and dignity of an underaged Malay girl.

This is also why the DAP had a rainbow slate of candidates for parliamentary and state assembly elections in the past five decades, having Chinese, Indian, Malay and Kadazan elected representatives – which no single political party, whether Umno, MCA, MIC, Gerakan or PAS have achieved in the nation’s 61-year history.

Was DAP anti-Malay and anti-Muslim in the nine years from 2008 to 2015 and if so, why did PAS under Hadi formed the Pakatan Rakyat together with DAP and PKR?

Secondly, the pernicious Najib and Hadi propaganda of fake news and false information that the Malays are under siege, that DAP dominates Pakatan Harapan and the Malays will lose political power if Pakatan Harapan replaces the Umno/BN coalition.

Hadi is now following the footsteps of Najib and Umno leaders who are trying to hold Malays to ransom by generating the fear that if Umno is defeated in a general election, Malays will lose political power and become strangers in their own land as they will never recover from such loss of political power.

Such a fake news and false information run contrary to the demographic reality since Merdeka 61 years ago.

In 1957, Malaya’s population comprised 49.8 percent Malays, 37.2 percent Chinese, 11.1 percent Indians and two percent Others.

In 1970, Malaysia’s population comprised 44.32 percent Malays, 34.34 percent Chinese, 8.99 percent Indians, 11.89 percent non-Malay bumiputera and 0.67 percent Others.

In 2010, the percentage of Malays in the Malaysian population increased to 55.07 percent, Chinese reduced to 24.34 percent, Indians dropped to 7.35 percent, non-Malay bumiputera maintained at 11.94 percent and 1.3 percent Others.

Chief Statistician Hassan Abdul Rahman expects the Chinese percentage of the population to shrink to 19.6 percent in 2030 and 18.9 percent in 2035.

Why are Najib and Hadi beating the war drum of the “Chinese peril” in Malaysia, when Chinese population percentage has fallen from 37.2 percent in 1957 to 34.34 percent in 1970, and further down to 24.3 percent in 2010, and is expected to fall below 20 percent after 2030?

Why are Najib and Hadi trying to create the “Chinese fear factor” among the Malays and Muslims when the population ratio of the Chinese has reduced drastically over the decades, completely oblivious to the slogan of “Instant Asia” and Malaysia’s unique multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-lingual and multi-cultural characteristics?

Najib and Hadi should cease and desist their propaganda campaign of fake news and false information to create the “Chinese fear”, and they should answer the two questions which had been posed by the National Laureate Pak Samad:

Firstly, How are Malays under threat? How can religion (Islam) and Malays be threatened when those in power have been Malays for six decades?
Secondly, what have they (Malay leaders) been doing for six decades (if Malays can be under threat)?
Thirdly, more and more Malays will realise that the best way to guarantee the best interests of the Malays (as well as the non-Malays) is to have a change of federal government in Putrajaya, the first in six decades, to ensure that all Malaysians can benefit.

Far from a disaster to the Malays, a Pakatan Harapan federal government will be a boon to them.

This is because a Pakatan Harapan federal government in Putrajaya will have to demonstrate in five years that it can better look after the interests of Malaysians, whether Malays or non-Malays, or the voters have the power in their hands in the 15th general election in five years’ time to vote out the Pakatan Harapan federal government and even vote back the Umno/BN coalition to Putrajaya.

If there a change of federal government in the 14GE, Malaysia will become a normal democracy like Western countries and Asian democracies like Japan, Taiwan, India, Indonesia and the Philippines, where voters can peacefully and democratically change the government through the ballot box.

Malaysian parliamentary democracy will be more vibrant and competitive, with political parties and coalitions competing as to who can better serve and unite the nation and the people instead of polarising and dividing the country with negative and destructive politics of race and religion.

LIM KIT SIANG is member of Parliament for Gelang Patah and DAP parliamentary leader.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.