That bigot called Ibrahim Ali

“I am prepared to die, but there is no cause for which I am prepared to kill,” were the words of India’s father of independence, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

Great words by a great man, unlike the words of a bigot called Ibrahim Ali, who goes on living each day thinking he has every reason to kill anyone questioning Malay rights and Islam.

Recently, during a Parliament sitting, Ibrahim questioned what action the government was taking to prevent non-Muslims from reciting Quranic verses in public, “questioning” Muslim practices such as Maulidur Rasul, the azan and all matters concerning Islam and the Muslims.

In short, Ibrahim wants the government to do whatever possible to scare the non-Malays and keep them on a tight leash, as far as questioning Malay rights goes.

Ibrahim, the founder of Malay-rights group Perkasa, is a noted racist but he is quick to deny it, saying: “There is not even a single police report against us (Perkasa).”

In spite of that, Ibrahim has unabashedly made no bones over his dislike for the non-Malays.

There have been numerous occasions when Ibrahim has threatened to kill all those who dare question Article 153 of the Federal Constitution which assures the Malays of their special privileges. Such threats are made openly time and again, so much so that the hatred Ibrahim has for the non-Malays has become mutual.

Ibrahim’s threats of physically harming anyone who “interferes” with Malay rights has never been taken seriously by the federal government, leaving the non-Malays to wonder whether Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is sincere, after all, about his propaganda of “People first, performance now”.

If Najib is truly serious, which “people” are those that he is according priority to? Had the non-Malays welfare been his concern, Najib would never have tolerated such threats from Ibrahim and would have pulled him up over his insidious remarks.

Ibrahim has gone all out to promote “ketuanan Melayu” or Malay supremacy, often warning the non-Malays to back off from so much as even mentioning it.

“Denouncing ‘ketuanan Melayu ‘ is a crime and politicising it, is a human crime to the Bangsa Melayu and its existence throughout the evolution of our Malay history and good values of Islam,” online news site Malaysian Insider quoted Ibrahim as saying last year.

Perkasa getting too big for its shoes

Last month, Ibrahim instructed its grassroots members to keep a hawk’s eye on bloggers, tweets, news reports and news portals which raised sensitive issues. They have been assigned by Ibrahim to attend talks and seminars where certain individuals tended to raise sensitive issues.

Ibrahim claims to be in the know of 15 personalities who raise sensitive topics and is going all out to trail their movements.

Ibrahim’s henchmen have been tasked to zero in on sensitive issues pertaining to Islam, Bahasa Malaysia, special privileges of the Malays, citizenship of non-Malays and issues relating to the position of the King.

“I have told them to immediately lodge police reports and give us a copy of the report (if they come across such articles),” Ibrahim then announced to the press.

Perkasa’s grassroots leaders total 5,940 and are located in 99 districts throughout the country. They comprise former army personnel and police officials and ex-parliamentarians and assemblymen.

“I want them to record and lodge police reports. In our interpretation of the law, these issues are sensitive, so we lodge reports. We’ll let the law take its course,” Ibrahim, who is also Pasir Mas MP, had said.

Obsessed with Malay rights?

Making sure he “educated” the non-Malays on the A to Z of Malay rights, Ibrahim has despatched Perkasa’s grassroots representatives to convey the “right” message on Article 153 and the basis of the Federal Constitution.

“The core of our constitution that arose from the jus soli (right of the soil) principle is similar to the Medina Treaty signed during Prophet Muhammad’s time which (formed the basis ) of the understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims,” Ibrahim had said.

It is puzzling as to why Ibrahim keeps stretching the Malay rights and Malay supremacy issues to the point of no return, giving the impression that he is obsessed with the Malay rights to the extent of becoming paranoid.

When the issue concerns the Muslims, there seems to be no full stop for Ibrahim’s little battle with the non-Malays. It has come to a stage where he seems to be “recycling” issues for the sake of staying relevant and in the public eye, despite the racial haemorrhage Perkasa is guilty of.

Perkasa’s many ‘guises’

Ibrahim takes great pain in reminding the public that Perkasa’s status is that of a non-governmental organisation and has no intention of turning political. Ironically, whatever Perkasa says borders on politics, contradicting the claims made by Ibrahim himself.

Take the remark made by Ibrahim that Malaysians lack “jati diri” or true identity because they gave precedence to foreign languages instead of the national language, Bahasa Melayu or Malay language.

Accusing Malaysians of not loving their national lingua franca, Ibrahim questioned the need for many languages, saying countries like China, Japan and France used their mother tongues and not English.

Clearly missing the point on why English is preferred as the medium of communication, Ibrahim conveniently passed the blame to the government, saying it was responsible for strengthening the Malay language.

Obsessed with Perkasa’s aim of making Malaysia into “all things Malay”, Ibrahim found it unnecessary for leaders to speak in English, a move which he claims will erode the identity of the national language should the trend to speak in English continue.

How has Ibrahim neglected the fact that English is the “tool” of “getting things done” and a language favoured internationally? To force people to neglect other languages and speak in Malay is definitely not going to strengthen the national language. If anything, it is only going to cause a conundrum since English is the preferred language for obvious reasons.

The more Ibrahim tries to justify Perkasa’s existence, the more obvious its redundancy appears to be. To threaten the non-Malays and to force the Malay language down everyone’s throat is not how an NGO operates.

Perkasa manipulating its existence

There is no focus, only obsession that keeps Perkasa going. Ibrahim’s agenda is clear-cut, to defend the Malay rights at all cost. For that, he has no qualms manipulating the existence of Perkasa to make sure the non-Malays are kept at bay, never overtaking the Malays in any which way.

When Ibrahim was quick to exempt the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka from failing to do its job in the implementation of Bahasa Melayu as the “uniting” language, it confirmed Perkasa’s spineless existence.

Playing the blame game is the only move Perkasa has been making since its inception after the 2008 general election. As for Ibrahim, he can rest assure his words mean next to nothing to the non-Malays for he has failed to earn their respect.

To support NGOs like Gapena and National Writers Association in their effort to strengthen the Malay language is not going to win Perkasa accolades, especially after how Gapena reacted to the controversy surrounding the “Interlok” novel.

“We will support them as they are strong NGOs. If need be, we will raise issues that crop up,” Ibrahim was quoted by FMT as saying early this month.

Ibrahim cited as example Perkasa’s objection against the Penang government’s move to install signboards in multiple languages several years ago, based on Article 152 which stipulates Malay language as the official language.

But then Article 152 says, too, that:

No person shall be prohibited or prevented from using (otherwise than for official purposes) or from teaching or learning any other language and,

Nothing in this Clause shall prejudice the right of the Federal Government or of any State Government to preserve and sustain the use and study of the language of any other community in the Federation.

Instead of realising the need for signboards in multiple languages, Ibrahim foolishly latched onto the Federal Constitution. Is common sense something unheard of to Ibrahim, in comprehending the purpose of erecting signboards in several languages? Does Ibrahim expect foreign tourists to be born fluent in the Malay language?

Or perhaps Ibrahim himself needs some help in brushing up on his English and work on his vocabulary?

Clearly, Ibrahim’s arrogance has blinded him to the facts of life. For now, Ibrahim thinks the ball is in Perkasa’s court but that is a fallacy. While the non-Malays have been patient with Ibrahim’s racist nature, the tsunami of their dissatisfaction, should it come to be, will drown Perkasa and Ibrahim for good.

Source - http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/04/25/that-bigot-called-ibrahim-ali/#idc-cover