KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 — If MCA and Gerakan are really breaking away from the political hegemony of Umno, they should demand that Umno Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishammudin Hussein apologise to all Malaysians for waving the keris at the last two party assemblies.
DAP’s Lim Kit Siang threw this challenge to the two Chinese-based political parties and other colleagues in the Barisan Nasional. Speaking at a ceramah and public consultation event with the party’s MPs, state excos and assemblymen in Ipoh, he noted that since March 8, a few BN component party leaders have begun to find their voice.
This was “as if to prove to Malaysians that after the March 8 political tsunami they have learnt their lesson and are breaking away from their past culture of silence and subservience in the Barisan Nasiona," he said.
Since Election 2008, Gerakan and MCA leaders, reacting to feedback from voters and their grassroots, have said that they can no longer be silent achievers and have to been seen and heard championing the cause of their constituents.
As a result, MCA and Gerakan have publicly attributed BN’s poor performance in the polls to the arrogance of Umno.
Kit Siang last night tested their new resolve of speaking out. He noted that MCA and Gerakan leaders have blamed the insensitivity of Umno leaders like Hishammuddin for their losses in Election 2008.
But they had not demanded a public apology from the Education Minister for his “Malay keris” antics. Hishammuddin decision to wave the keris as part of the opening ceremony of the Umno Youth general assembly since 2006 has been widely criticised by non-Malays. To Chinese and Indians, the keris has negative connotations, with many linking it to the race riots of 1969 and the testy race relations before Operasi Lalang.
The decision by Hishammuddin to continue carrying the keris after loud protests in 2006 was interpreted as a show of arrogance by Umno. Today, the keris episode is widely recognised as one of the reasons why Chinese voters rejected BN candidates across the country. In recent speeches, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Umno information chief Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib chastised Hishammuddin for his insensitivity.
Hishammuddin has not responded publicly as he is abroad but the Insider has learnt that he knows that much of the goodwill attached to his family name has been lost because of that keris act. He is the party founder’s grandson and the son of Malaysia’s third Prime Minister. Both men were respected by the non-Malay community for their progressive approach and fairness.
With Umno elections in December, it is unlikely that Hishammuddin, who is keen to snag one of the three vice-president’s slots, will apologise for his keris act. Among party rank-and-file and the all powerful 2,000 delegates who elect Umno’s leaders, saying sorry will be taken as a sign of weakness.
On the flip side, if Gerakan and MCA want to burnish their credentials for speaking up for what is right, they will have to consider pushing Hishammuddin to at least issue a statement of regret.
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