Nik Aziz vs Mahathir: Who’s the Real Traitor to Malays?

by Al-Jafree Md Yusop    A political statement made by PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat during the party’s recent by-election campaign had caused much controversy. Nik Aziz was said to have issued his own fatwa (edict) during the campaign for Tenang state by-election in Johor that Barisan Nasional's (BN) supporters were the people of Jahiliyyah (Ignorance) because they rejected PAS, the party he claimed to be upholding Islam. Responding to the statement, former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Nik Aziz's struggle was only to win the election and not to uphold Islam.  Mahathir said that Nik Aziz’s wish was to win the general election and rule the country with DAP and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR). Mahathir, in his blog posting on the Feb 26, also accused PKR advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Nik Aziz of being traitors to the Malays because they are willing to split the community for politics. According to Mahathir, Anwar is prepared to cause rifts among the Malays to get support to become Prime Minister while Nik Aziz regarded people who strived for their community as non-Muslims. The former prime minister continued his Opposition bashing by stating that he doesn’t know from which hadith (sayings and examples of Prophet Muhammad) or part of the Quran Nik Aziz got such statement from. The accusations by Mahathir really struck the Kelantan Mentri Besar at all the right places. Being a Malay Muslim leader he really made it sound like the accusation is totally unacceptable. This is a leader who makes a big effort to appear modest in his way of life. A friend of mine visiting Kota Bharu chanced upon the man himself at a ‘nasi belauk’ restaurant eating alone without an entourage. When was the last time you see a top leader doing that? He even invited this friend of mine to join him for lunch. Talk about a leader of the people, for the people. Nik Aziz in a press statement lashed out at his critics by accusing Umno of continually oppressing the Malays through undemocratic means. He claimed that Umno’s governing methods were un-Islamic, saying that the country’s largest party had never emphasized Islamic teachings, only secular nationalism. “I want to ask Tun Mahathir, what is the basis of Umno’s struggles? Has Umno in any way put Islam as the basis of its struggles ahead of national struggles? Practically, can Umno even call themselves pious?” asked the obviously angry Nik Aziz. He listed down events which showed that Umno did not care about the rights of the Malays or even Islam. He brought up instances like the federal government’s now-aborted plans to award gambling licenses, the government’s abolishment of the Jawi script in schools back in 1968 and also a reduction of national funds for Islamic schools during Mahathir’s administration. Nik Aziz also accused Umno of using undemocratic means to stay in power, claiming that Umno had “kidnapped” PAS assemblymen and MPs back in 1961 just to deny the Islamist party a win in Terengganu and Kelantan. He continued by stating that in Perak, Umno toppled the government from behind and in Selangor Umno appointed the state secretary without any prior discussion with the mentri besar. According to him, this is the same ‘ketuanan Melayu’ party which had opposed an amendment to return the powers of the Selangor Sultan. “In Kelantan, they (Umno) deny us oil royalty rights and instead set up a federal development department (JPP). This is not democracy, federalism and a far cry from being Islamic,” argued Nik Aziz. According to Nik Aziz, Umno had also ordered the mass killings of Malay followers of Ibrahim Libya during the Memali incident in Kedah on 19 November 1985. “Tun Mahathir labels me and PAS as the reason for the division among the Malays. Perhaps it was me then who caused Umno to be banned in 1987 which lead to the formation of Semangat 46. Perhaps it was me who caused the deputy president of Umno to be sacked in 1999 and eventually form PKR. I am worried... Tun Mahathir has already contracted the ‘Melayu mudah lupa’ disease which he talked about some time back,” added the veteran leader. To cut a long story short, Nik Aziz is calling Mahathir a hypocrite for accusing him of being a traitor to the Malays. You decide who’s the one calling the kettle black…-Malaysian Digest-