THERE are two narratives on Malay dominance. One is that it has diminished substantially since Pakatan took over. The other is that, despite the eclipse of Umno and PAS in the political domain, Malay dominance has remained unaffected or has even been enhanced.
To ascertain which narrative is correct, it is necessary to check the facts, and analyse the empirical data in the areas in which Malay dominance is holding sway.
Malay dominance can be seen in at least four important spheres: religious, educational, administrative-political and economic.
The claim of Islam being under threat, sidelined or bullied is the most emotive but also perhaps the easiest to deal with.
This nation has nine sultans and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong who are religious leaders and constitutional protectors of Islam. We also have 14 muftis in charge of matters relating to Islamic law and whose position is to ensure the protection of Islam.
We can expect these highest levels of Islamic authority to be the first to sound the alarm should the religion come under attack.
In addition to these guardians, there is a large and still growing Islamic bureaucracy to safeguard and advance the interests of Muslims and the religion.
This bureaucracy includes Jakim, which was allocated RM1.2 billion of the federal budget for Islamic development activities; Yadim, which has a smaller budget to propagate Islam; YaPEIM, the Islamic economic development foundation that made headlines for spending RM290,000 to hold two marriage courses in Paris in 2015 and was recently again in the news after admitting wrongdoing and negligence by its previous management; IKIM which is home to many Islamic scholars; academic institutions such as IIUM, USIM, UNIZA and a host of other state and federal sponsored bodies with professors and junior staff engaged in teaching and researching Islamic studies.
Any attempt to marginalise or undermine Islam and Muslims can be expected to meet with resistance from the bureaucracy and the Islamic forces embedded in it.
At the same time, it is indisputable that, since independence and especially since the 1980’s, the role and practice of Islam in the public sphere has been considerably enlarged beyond what was originally envisaged by the drafters of the constitution as well as the nation’s founding fathers.
Despite the growing Islamic ascendancy and dominance, there has been a general reluctance and few efforts by Islamic institutions and authorities directed at countering misleading stories put out by zealots and their supporters advocating an Islamic state. Many of these stories relate to claims of the religion being under siege in one way or another.
Thus some NGOs and officials – supported by taxpayers’ funds – have had a gala time stoking the insecurities within their community. They include one organisation which singled out a stamp with a church building as “another example of Muslims being bullied”; some other organisations which appear engaged in a competition to see which NGO can come out with the most sensational revelation on the loss of Islamic power; and even a state mufti, who recently claimed that political realities have allowed Islam to be bullied.
Responding to the most recent, accusation, Patriots president, Brig-Jen (Rtd) Datuk Mohamed Arshad Raji noted in his press statement: “It all depends on which side of the news the learned mufti chooses to lend his ears to. Surely he cannot be ignorant of the work by spin masters concocting lies on race, religion and royalty issues, the bullets of last resort; as the opposition parties have nothing on national issues to fault the PH government with.
“Peddlers of fake news are aplenty in the arena of psychological warfare of racial politicking. By listening to uncorroborated grievances of the people, then his concerns are misplaced.”
Since May last year, the Patriots Association has been consistently rational, reasoned and well grounded on the controversies that have cropped up. This peerless national integrative organisation needs to be supported by other stake players, especially those exercising authority and influence to reassure the majority that Islam is not in any danger of being marginalised.
In the absence of similar judicious and clear-sighted voices, perhaps the simplest and most effective way to rebut the claims on the decline of Islam is for the Prime Minister’s Department to provide the public with figures of the staff and budget provided for ensuring the advancement of Islam the past 30 years.
This information can be displayed on advertisement hoardings.
If presented with suitable quotations by Islamic leaders on the religion’s unassailable position and reiteration by political leaders on the importance of respecting the rights of other religions, these hoardings can help allay the concerns of Muslims as well as build the inter-faith understanding that is crucial to religious and racial harmony.
This is the first of a series on the state of Malay dominance. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com
