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By Mihar Dias (C) Copyright March 2023
The lengthy questioning of Muhyiddin by MACC took place in Putrajaya followed by charges against him read out in a Kuala Lumpur court but the pain is felt in the Malay heartlands.
We emphatise with Mahathir Mohd Rais our fellow writer on Newswav who claims the "Malays stand behind Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin" in his latest column.
We are aware that Mahathir Hj Mohd Rais is PN Information Chief (Federal Territories) and he could be just doing his job to project the right image of the party and its President to the general public.
However, underlying his arguments on the charges levelled against Muhyiddin is a valid question, are they 'kosher' or not.
The word kosher which means "clean" or "pure," refers to food that has been ritually prepared or blessed so it can be eaten by religious Jews. It comes from the Hebrew word kasher, meaning "proper" or "lawful," and commonly used in English during the mid-19th Century. But kosher colloquially mean it is generally approved of or considered to be correct.
So, if it was kosher then there is nothing to worry about as a New Yorker from the Jewish community would say. But if it was not then there's everything those involved may have to worry about when the charges levelled against Muhyiddin are deliberated in courts. Of course, it's up to the courts to decide. But that's still a long way to go.
For the moment, we couldn't agree more with Mahathir that most Malays sympathise with the former PM whom they nicknamed as Abah.
On Friday after Muhyiddin Yassin was charged, the masjid in Wilayah Persekutuan did not say a word about that because it's a political issue but there was an announcement as part of the khutbah that PMX plans to meet the Muslim rakyat at Cheras stadium. I guess that's not political because it is an intiative by the government of the day.
During lunch before prayers, 10 out of 10 Muslim-Malays asked responded that they were with Abah because they felt it was unfair for him to be charged for corruption or abuse of power.
That's when I heard someone asking "Do you think it's kosher?" Everyone at lunch laughed out loud except for a 15 year old who was with his dad whispering into the old man's ear wanting to know what it meant. But not a single person I met on Friday prayers was happy to see Muhyiddin charged in court. The pain was clear on their faces.
For me, that group was a good enough sample of Malays in the urban Malay community of Wilayah Persekutuan who showed they were hurt by the treatment against the BERSATU President.
After Friday prayers, I had a zoom chat with a non-partisan Malay preacher from a place in Kedah. He said most Malays symphatise with Muhyiddin. That they are sad the government of the day has to resort to such means to win votes treating a former Prime Minister this way. But being Malays and Muslims who by definition surrender their fate to Allah, the preacher said "We'll leave it to the Almighty to decide."
They'll pray for Muhyiddin Yassin because he has the backing of Malays everywhere.
We are with Mahathir when he said, "Many people are frustrated and outraged by this move, believing it is a targeted prosecution of the opposition. Many people believe Muhyiddin has made significant sacrifices for the country and should not be treated this way because he has served the country for a long time. His contributions are not to be overlooked."
Only time will tell whether this gamble of charging Muhyiddin be it kosher or not would yield results for PH led government of the day.
If they were thinking of capturing Malay votes in the Malay heartland by charging Muhyiddin I doubt it is a wise move.
In fact, charging Muhyiddin may even strengthen Malay support for him and PN. Sympathy for Muhyiddin might even attract the fence sitters to vote PN at the expense of PH in the coming state elections.
Mihar Dias is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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