1Malaysia - does it signify racial equality or supremacy

Written by Wong Choon Mei, Malaysia Chronicle

A slew of government ministers including Information chief Rais Yatim have rushed to defend the 1Malaysia slogan, accused of being designed by shadowy Israeli-linked firm APCO as a subversive political tool to help Prime Minister Najib Razak and his Umno party stay in power by promoting racial supremacy under the guise of racial equality .

1Malaysia is the slogan unveiled by Najib when he came to power in 2009. The slogan sounds as if it is meant to unify the races, but few really understand the concept or believe in it because of Najib's own dual behavior. The PM, who is also Umno president, defends Malay supremacy when speaking before a Malay audience but plugs racial equality when he is facing a non-Malay one.

Umno has ruled Malaysia since 1957, practicing a brand of political hegemony that promotes Malay supremacy in order to remain in power. Malays are the predominant ethnic in the country forming nearly 50 per cent of the population.

But with snap polls expected to be called next year, the political opposition has stripped away much of the artifice and packaging behind the 1Malaysia slogan they say was insidiously planted by APCO. The question now burning across the country is - does 1Malaysia stand for racial equality or racial supremacy?

“This is why some states like Selangor have banned 1Malaysia because firstly, it is misleading the people. Secondly, it is also very dangerous because of the APCO link since many of the firm’s top management are former senior officers in the Israeli secret service. We have to ask ourselves - have Zionists infiltrated our country through Najib's 1Malaysia. After all, we are considered a progressive Muslim nation and it would be to the interest of certain foreign groups to control a weakened Malaysian government,” PKR vice president Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

“Then racially, what does 1Malaysia really promote – racial equality or racial supremacy? How can it be unifying when Najib himself doesn’t dare to say that it defends the equality of all races? The citizens have the right to know exactly what his policies really mean. He must stop saying different things to different ethnic groups because this is exactly what he is doing now and which is why nobody respects or understands his slogan.”

But 84 percent of Malaysians love 1Malaysia, says Rais

Yet, according to Rais, who was recently accused of benefiting tycoon Francis Yeoh’s business empire with a high-speed broadband spectrum without open tender, 84 per cent of Malaysians understood what 1Malaysia was about - more than the 75 per cent targeted.

“A poll of 15,353 respondents showed that 84 per cent regarded it (1 Malaysia) as good and will not cause disunity, and acceptance of the concept was 72 per cent,” Rais told reporters during a 1Malaysia Christmas event.

His information was based on an in-house poll undertaken by his ministry.

Experts have pointed out that slogans like Pauline Hanson’s OneAustralia and Ehud Barak’s OneIsrael were similarly designed. To the man in street, the slogans may come across as intended to unify because of the word “One”, but the reality was completely the opposite.

In fact, it did not take long for Australians to suss out that the real intention behind Hanson’s OneAustralia was to promote “white supremacy”.

Using the '1' word to hide racial-religious supremacy

Meanwhile, Najib has defended 1Malaysia, saying it was not a political tool but meant for nation-building. His comments sparked a slew of fresh criticism.

“How can a tool for nation-building be de-linked from politics? Najib must stop giving third-rate excuses. Look at the long overdue Inter-Faith panel which until now Najib is not able to launch despite all the unity talk. This reveals his insincerity. 1Malaysia is an empty slogan and Malaysians won’t be fooled by a false Santa Claus so easily,” Taiping MP Nga Kor Ming told Malaysia Chronicle.

Earlier on Christmas day, the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur Murphy Pakiam had urged Najib to empower the Inter-Faith panel with greater consultative clout. However, Najib who was attending a tea party at the Archbishop’s residence side-stepped the issue, hiding behind a cloud of grandiose words instead:

"In today's world where a small group of extremists has drowned the voices of reason and common sense and hijacked the agenda of peace and moderation, it is important for the moderates in every faith -- Muslims, Christians, Hindus and Buddhists -- among us to speak up to reclaim our rightful place and the moral high ground," the Malaysian PM said in his speech.

But did he take note that earlier this month, it was his own Umno-backed Institute of Islamic Understanding or IKIM that drew fire for saying that not all religions are equal in a direct attack against Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim who had called for religious pluralism.

There are some Muslim conservatives in the country who are opposed to an inter-faith panel on the grounds that it would put Islam on the same footing as the other religions. To them, their religion is supreme.