Isma and Perkasa, a ploy to keep Umno in power

MP for Raub says all thinking Malays must understand that the extremist views of Isma and Perkasa is a ploy to keep Umno in power.

PETALING JAYA: In his latest blog posting, MP for Raub, Ariff Sabri called on Malays to reject Isma and Perkasa, saying they are merely the political tools of Umno to attain its main aim of “self-preservation” at all costs.

Lamenting over the fuss created by these two groups regarding Oktoberfest and concerts by foreign artistes, Ariff Sabri said this had resulted in Malays “thinking in a dysfunctional manner” with Umno’s blessings.

He also criticised Isma and Perkasa over their attacks on Chinese schools and bibles containing the word “Allah” rather than doing anything concrete to address drug addiction and the breakdown of family values among Malays.

Saying, “These are the things that affect them (Malays) directly,” he questioned the logic behind kicking up a fuss over issues that did not have a bearing on how they, as Muslims, led their lives.

Saying Muslims “ought to be concerned that Islam is being hijacked by extremists”, Ariff took a swipe at prime minister Najib Razak, who he called a “back-boneless leader” who said nothing because the rantings of Isma and Perkasa over race and religion helped keep him in power.

He wrote, “Najib has already set the tone for the upcoming UMNO general assembly by saying that Chinese must respect the Malays.”

The MP however said that by “respect” Najib meant “subservient and pliant to the wishes of the Malay elite who will go on to deceive, rape and plunder the wealth of this country.”

Ariff was also of the opinion that the majority of Malays did not buy into the “thinking and articulations” of Malay supremacy groups simply because they already knew that it was Umno and not the Chinese or any other race who kept the Malays backward.

He wrote, “The majority of the Malays see the many problems weighing upon the Malays as being the result of the policies and politics of UMNO. They have nothing to do with the actions of the other races in Malaysia.”

Calling on all “thinking Malays to explain and educate” other Malays that this was all a game of politics, Ariff said, “These are all about UMNO’s desperate measures to stay in power so that they can plunder the country’s wealth and resources and enjoy the trappings of power.”

Saying Isma’s and Perkasa’s meddling into affairs that did not concern them was the “lazy man’s solution of using might to foist what we believe onto others”, Ariff called for an outright rejection of these two groups’ views adding, “UMMO has spoken through ISMA without having to say it on its own.”