THERE is a Malay saying that goes, Air tenang jangan disangka tiada buaya. It means that beneath calm waters, there could be a lurking crocodile.
In Sarawak where man-eating crocodiles rule the rivers and waterways you always have to be prepared when you travel in the rural interior.
I should know having written a book on man-eating crocodiles and a monstrous 19-footer called Bujang Senang that killed at least 20 people during its reign of terror in the Batang Lupar river.
Ever since the end of Bujang Senang in 1982, a new type of crocodile has emerged – opportunist politicians roaming the rural hinterland trying to stir up racial and religious sentiments.
Racial and religious supremacy has always been deep in the mindset of some of our religious leaders – Muslims and Christians alike.
But we are reminded that religion in itself is not bad but it is politics that taints all its good values.
You only have to look at the religious states of Kelantan and Terengganu as examples and reminded in an article written by an old friend The Star columnist Wong Chun Wai, who took us on the religious journey that PAS took 20 years ago.
After PAS came to power in Terengganu in 1999, the first thing Menteri Besar Abdul Hadi Awang did was to demolish a replica of a turtle at a roundabout in Kuala Terengganu, using the same reason that it was similar to idol worshipping.
A year later, Terengganu PAS state executive councillor Wan Hassan Mohd Ramli vowed to tear down every sculpture in the state, including those of prawns and squids in the fishing district of Marang.
Wong in his Sept 12, 2016 report said, “In Kelantan, the PAS state government destroyed the replica of a deer at the Tuan Padang roundabout in Kota Baru immediately after it came to power in 1990. It also changed the name of the famous Pantai Cinta Berahi (Beach of Passionate Love) to Pantai Cahaya Bulan (Moonlight Beach).”
It is such narrow-minded politicians who incite their followers to act irrationally; for example, the imposition of dress codes where security guards or Rela officers were known to have prevented non-Muslim women from wearing skirts deemed as “too short” from entering government offices.
In the old days it was okay to shake the hand of a Muslim woman but today, even in Sarawak, there is a chance your friendly gesture may be considered inappropriate or haram.
In one of the elections about 20 years ago, PAS campaigners dressed in angelic white robes donned hand gloves when they shook hands with “unclean longhouse folk”.
Even though religious bigots within PH are rare, the astute and seasoned Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is trying his best to ensure we must respect each other, irrespective of race and religion.
But one of his biggest challenges is whether they can read his mind. One of his biggest challenges is having competent leaders within the new government to administer the country.
To ensure that the PH government has more experienced politicians to fall back on, Dr Mahathir has even extended the olive branch to his former friends in Umno when only days ago seven MPs were accepted into Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM).
Dr Mahathir, the PPBM chairman who initially said that PH would not accept the so-called “political frogs”, felt it was an important decision to bring in a few old hands to advise the new government greenhorns.
And who can blame him if his current new cabinet members have still not been able to perform to his expectation.
My former straight-talking no-nonsense boss, ex-NST editor-in-chief Datuk A Kadir Jasin took to task the current PH machinery as they had failed badly in dealing with the socio-economic issues facing the people.
He wrote in his personal blog that after almost nine months, the existing PH machinery had not been able to address the problems.
“I’m sorry to say that I said it is useless to talk so highly if the basic things like price and food, unemployment, transportation, education, health and housing are no better dealt with than the previous government.
“The people have felt the government change. They will change the government if their expectations are not met,” he said.
But in the latest arrangement, PH appears to be unhappy with this arrangement and DAP has indicated so.
On the surface, all appears well but within the PKR fraternity, there are two camps with different agendas.
In the social media, columnist and critic Mariam Mokhtar said that all the PH promises made after the election about democracy and fair play appeared to have been poured down the drain and in it was now open season for a witch-hunt.
She said despite all the promises of “Justice for All” irrespective of race and religion, racism still thrived and there was little that PKR’s Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim or DAP’s Lim Kit Siang could do about it.
Whatever the good boys in Umno or Bersatu say, the Ketuanan Melayu platform is so strong that it will be difficult to transform Malaysia into a respected country where the dream is to create a true Malaysian identity, a Bangsa Malaysia.
A retired leader told me that if this ketuanan thing gets out of hand, just imagine how the other communities would react.
I was told through the latest political grapevine that some communities within Sarawak are trying to practise their own brand of ketuanan system.
If Dayakism is resurrected – it was first initiated by Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) in 1983 – one cannot blame the Dayaks for believing in Ketuanan Pri-Bumi supremacy.
If the Malays of Malaya believe they are a superior race, the one million Dayaks would also like to play the race card as natives of their homeland Sarawak.
If this gets out of hand, how about the two million Indians in Malaysia who have been sidelined for too long? Where does that put them?
The Chinese have learnt a bitter lesson from the days of 1969 that they will forever be second-class citizens in the country no matter what, even though Malaysia’s strong economic foundation was established by their ancestors.
Back to crocodile hunting season, the government has lifted the ban because the reptiles are having a whale of a time attacking humans.
This brings to mind a famous quote by the late Pehin Sri Adenan Satem at the launch of an exhibition on my life as a journalist in 2013.
“I’m glad that the forest department is doing something about the overpopulation of crocodiles. Even in the Santubong river, you can see them basking on the mud waiting for you,” he said with tongue in cheek.
“Our crocodiles are protected and most probably over-protected. So if you have to choose between a human being and a crocodile, now that I am human myself, I prefer my own species.”
Indeed my church friend said that Sarawakians had to be on guard against the religious human crocodiles dressed in flowing robes, who in their enthusiasm might have over-stepped the boundaries of native traditions.
Some have hoodwinked a small section of locals with their sweet promises.
While religion still rules over logic, beware of parochialism which can raise its ugly head.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the New Sarawak Tribune.
