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By Mihar Dias (C) Copyright September 2022
In the Malay heartland, realpolitik is not a fight for multiracialism but for the survival of the Malays.
Mahathir knows this and so does the UMNO leadership. This involves the system of politics or principles at the grassroots of Malaysian Malay politics.
It is based on practical rather than moral or ideological considerations.
Mahathir understands this well so does the party that his new Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) that he recently established, is trying hard to unseat.
Both GTA and UMNO are aiming at capturing the hearts and minds of the gullible Malays in the Muslim-Malay heartlands throughout the Malay Peninsula. In this battle, the non-Malays will take a backseat.
On 24 September Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad himself said despite Malaysia being a multiracial country, the reality at the grassroots did not reflect this sentiment at all. (Source)
At the root of the system is early education. Speaking at the GTA press conference Hard Talk held at Bangi Convention Centre. Tun M said the vernacular education system entails Malays entering public schools and ending up speaking in only Bahasa Melayu while the Chinese attend Chinese public schools and end up conversing in Mandarin.
To him, it means that the Chinese want to maintain the identity of another nation while Malays are intent on preserving the identity of this land.
He interprets this to mean that the Chinese in Malaysia are more "racist" because they are prioritising the land of their forefathers and not this country.
In addition, he also said in a Malay-dominant area, it would be hard for a Chinese to contest because Malays would not support the Chinese candidate. The same applies in Chinese-dominant areas.
But for Malays, he said race has a special meaning because it is strongly linked to religion.
Malays are automatically Muslims if born in this county. Thus, "If we fight for Malays, automatically we are also fighting for Islam. If Islam is safe then Malays will also be safe. The strive for Islam is the same as the strive for Malays,” he said.
To this end, he said "We (GTA) will use this Malay-led movement to go against the current Malay-led UMNO party during the next general election. To successfully go against UMNO, we must have a political group made up of other Malays; otherwise, it will not succeed".
He said his GTA coalition is made up of Malays and Bumiputeras, "but we will fight for all Malaysians."
Tun said to defeat UMNO, his party the GTA will convey the message to the Malays that the fate of the Malays is in their (own) hands.
To cement his belief in the realpolitik for the Malay heartland Tun M said, "The Malays must choose whether to remain marginalised and backwards led by Malay leaders who are corrupt, have no integrity, have problems with morality, or choose a new Malay leader who is really clean, efficient, and trustworthy."
That is not hard to understand, is it?
But Tun M himself forget one key element, that UMNO has been in the Malay heartlands for a long time and they know action speaks louder than mere words.
UMNO under Tun M or now under Zahid's leadership has the machinery to win the hearts and minds of the people in the Malay heartland. But will GTA has similarly well-oiled machinery like that of UMNO?
They have the means to show that their action always speaks louder. Most of these actions are laced with funds as they did in Melaka and Johor recently.
On the other hand, GTA wants to wipe out corruption at all levels but we are not sure whether UMNO may want to refrain from enticing voters with goodies to win support from the gullible on the ground in the coming election.
That's when Mahathir's realpolitik comes face to face with UMNO's money politics in the Malay heartlands.
We'll have to wait and see how GTA Muslim-Malays face off against UMNO-Malays at the grassroots in the very heartlands of the Malays.
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