KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 — Veteran Umno member Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz urged the Barisan Nasional (BN) government today to stop the perpetuation of narrow-minded politics that prioritise one race over others, with a reminder that it was jeopardising the country’s progress towards Vision 2020 and development as a whole.
In her inimitable style, the former international trade and industry minister voiced relief that yesterday’s #Merah169 rally ended with little incident, barring the fire of water cannons on unruly Malay protesters in Petaling Street, and called on the government and other groups to get on with the programme to make Malaysia a success.
“Now that people have got what irks them out of their hair, off their chests and have somewhat been able to get rid of whatever ‘geram’ they might have … is it not time for all of us to gather our thoughts and think through our way forward… together as Malaysians,” she wrote on her Facebook page.
At the top of her list was a six-point dos-and-don’ts guide for the BN, which included calls on the 13-party coalition to return to its non-partisan approach in drafting out policies and programmes; to speak to each component member instead of being at odds with each other; to go beyond sloganeering and to emphasise that it swam or sank together as a team.
“Government…[must] NOT to allow narrow Politics dictate National Priorities [sic]..and to jeopardize the interest of us all… AND NEVER TO ‘PLAY.POLITICS’ with something as crucial as National Unity… AND TO GOVERN ONLY FOR THE SAKE OF THE PEOPLE AND COUNTRY,” Rafidah wrote.
The Perakian who had been nicknamed Malaysia’s Iron Lady while in government for her steely approach also broadened her suggestions to civil organisations, the private sector, the country’s youth and the public at large on what they ought to do next.
To the civil groups, she urged them to continue their outreach programmes to dismantle all kinds of racial, religious and cultural barriers so the people could be of one heart and soul, borrowing from this year’s National Day slogan “Sehati, Sejiwa”.
She pleaded with the private sector to stay the course and keep their investments in the country, despite the trying economic situation currently, reminding them of Malaysia’s potential to be a global economic leader.
Rafidah’s words of wisdom to the student activists and youth leaders were to practise constructive criticism and to steer clear of repeating the mistakes of their elders.
“Not everything you see being done is right… BUT youths have the time to put things right… to learn from past mistakes… and not to repeat them,” she wrote.
She urged Malaysians to act to prove to the world that they are a “peace-loving” and caring people, with a nod to the outbreaks of civil strife and conflict plaguing other Muslim countries in the world now.
Rafidah was among a few Umno stalwarts who had criticised the need for a Malay demonstration in the city streets ahead of yesterday’s “red shirt” rally, which saw thousands of people bussed into the federal capital to protest a purported ethnic Chinese domination during last month’s Bersih 4 civil disobedience show demanding Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s resignation and for the government to carry out institutional reforms.
The public protest was largely peaceful, marred only by sporadic outbreaks of racism targeting the ethnic Chinese minority, with one Malay protester recorded calling a reporter “Cina gila babi” [Crazy Chinese pig] and telling her to “Balik Cina” [Go back to China].
The rally dubbed “Himpunan Rakyat Bersatu” [United People’s Rally], alternatively called “Himpunan Maruah Melayu” [Malay Dignity Rally], also saw placards with racially-tinged slogans in Malay like “Malaysia belongs to the Malays”, “Defend Malay rights”, and “Get rid of SJKC”, referring to Chinese vernacular schools.
Police were forced to briefly deploy water cannons against protesters who refused to disperse from Petaling Street, though the gathering at Padang Merbok ended peacefully.
