KUALA LUMPUR, April 16 ― Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Umno must not continue polarising Malaysians with its growing Islamism or curbing freedoms for the sake of narrow political interests, a columnist with Financial Times (FT) warned today.
The column on FT’s website noted that the country was already shaken by a series of events, including the jailing of former Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the 1 Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal, and attacks by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
It also warned that PAS’s pursuit of implementing hudud nationwide might motivate Umno to adopt a more Islamist approach, amid the possibility of the Pakatan Rakyat pact breaking up over the Islamic penal code and Anwar’s jailing.
“The danger for Malaysia is that, in order to shore up the majority Malay vote, Umno will shift to more overtly Islamist ground,” it said, claiming that the moderate section of the country is complaining of growing intolerance.
“Najib and his party must resist the temptation to polarise the country or to clamp down on its freedoms in the cause of narrow political interests,” it added.
Dr Mahathir last night similarly warned Umno over its support for PAS’s hudud ambitions, saying he hoped his party’s elected representatives “understand what they have done”.
PAS must still count on Umno’s support in Parliament to remove legal roadblocks to hudud, which has already prompted sections from Sabah and Sarawak to demand a renegotiation of the country’s founding agreements over the continued push for the Islamic penal code.
The Parliament in its last session pushed through two Bills to pass a new anti-terror law and amendments to the Sedition Act, both heavily debated and were subjected to bloc votes hours past midnight.
The FT column claimed that Malaysia’s political system has grown inherently unstable during Umno’s rule of almost six decades, with the sense of crisis rearing its head this time around following Anwar’s second conviction for sodomy.
“Anwar is by no means a straightforward figure. He has flirted with radical Islam and was a champion of the system of positive discrimination towards Malays that he now favours dismantling.
“Still, his removal neutralises the country’s most gifted politician, creating a dangerous vacuum,” it said.
The 1MDB scandal also has left its mark with the administration of Najib, which the column claimed has so far presented itself as fiscally responsible and reform-minded.
Added to that, was the recent attacks by Malaysia’s longest-serving prime minister Dr Mahathir, who openly said that Najib cannot defend the interests of Malays nor ensure a win for Umno in the next polls.
“Yet, in the absence of an obvious successor, his intervention has left Umno scratching its head as to who could come next,” it added.
