KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 — Human rights groups branded “Jewish Capitalists” by an increasingly shrill right-wing Malay organisation said the label is both ill-judged and ill-defined, serving only to spread fear of a random bogeyman.
Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma), in its fervour to protect and promote an ethnic Malay and Islamic agenda, has consistently painted rights-based groups as enemies of the race and their religion. It also stands against any form of liberalism.
In its latest tirade, issued on the eve of Hari Raya, Isma urged Malaysia’s majority race to safeguard their constitutional rights and uphold the sovereignty of the Malay rulers, claiming that both have come under threat from agents pursuing a “Jewish capitalist agenda”.
“Isma seems bent on fear-mongering among Malaysians by stringing together random buzz words, like ‘Jewish’ and liberalism’ and ‘capitalism’,” Suri Kempe of the women’s rights group, Sisters in Islam, told Malay Mail Online via text message.
Sisters in Islam is one of the groups targeted. Others in the long list include Lawyers for Liberty, Seksualiti Merdeka, the Malaysian Bar and news portal Malaysiakini .
Executive director at Lawyers for Liberty, Eric Paulsen, called the attack “bizarre” and “paranoid”.
“Instead of spreading falsehood and hatred, I would recommend they go back to the basic tenets of Islam and communicate love, care, charity and forgiveness.
“We don’t take them seriously, but it is unfortunate that they seem to have a strong influence on their members who view them as an important institution,” he said.
Isma had claimed that all the groups it named are bent on turning Malaysia into a faithless nation.
An Isma spokesman also claimed — without providing any supporting evidence — that the “agents” are funded by foreign bodies linked to the Jewish cause.
The right-wing group has also pursued variations on the same theme. Last week, it said Malaysians must stop the country from becoming a “liberal democratic” nation, as planned by a global Zionist movement.
Suri at Sisters in Islam said Isma’s vitriol could only be explained by its distrust of any movement that seeks to unite Malaysians across boundaries of race and religion.
Ironically, Suri’s organisation was targeted in online attacks for its pro-Palestine stance, but got no help from the likes of Isma.
“Obviously, they are not about any other cause, other than trying to defame human rights groups they feel threatened by,” she said.
Among other groups Isma targeted were the Islamic Renaissance Front, Liberal Banter, Merdeka Center, Suaram, Pusat Komas, Independent Monitoring Election Commission (Mafrel), Institut Kajian Dasar, Pusat Komuniti Kesedaran Selangor (Empower) and Tenaganita.
Empower president Janarthani Arumugam called Isma’s accusations “baseless and racist” and pointed out that rights organisations work with marginalised communities irrespective of race, class and religious affiliation.
“Our work promotes equality and non-discrimination using a feminist lens to promote a more democratic society.
“We are committed to consistently challenging discourses, such as ISMA’s, which are racist, exclusionary and sexist,” she said.
