[ Laman Ehwal Semasa ReformIS ]
Date: 18 Aug 1999
Time: 22:16:31
Remote User: -
Unprecedented name-calling as polls near
No one from both sides of the political divide is spared the name-calling, the intensity of which is unprecedented
By BRENDAN PEREIRA IN KUALA LUMPUR
NAME-CALLING is fast becoming an art form in the run-up to Malaysia's general election, with no one being spared, not even the Prime Minister, and some of the country's respected Muslim leaders.
Over the past few months, Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been called an infidel and other labels to make him seem less Islamic in the eyes of Malays.
When these names lost their sting, Parti Islam (PAS) president Fadzil Noor dug into his bag and pulled out another one.
Malaysia's leader for the past 18 years should be known as the Pharaoh, he suggested. Why? Just like the Egyptian rulers, he had built monuments to himself, said Datuk Fadzil, pointing to Putrajaya, the new administrative capital.
Political analysts say that while name-calling is not new, the intensity of attacks by both sides of the political divide is unprecedented.
Much of the heightened verbosity is due to the crisis sparked by the sacking of Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and the battle between Umno and Malay-based opposition parties to win over Muslim voters.
Mr Ahmad Shabery Chik, an aide to Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, blames the trend squarely on PAS.
He said that after PAS pulled out of the National Front in 1978, it became more extreme in its Islamic approach.
"To win over people and to show that it was more Islamic than Umno, PAS leaders started labelling Umno leaders as infidels and apostates. But now, the personal attacks go beyond religion," said the man, who worked closely with PAS when he was with Semangat 46.
One person who has suffered frequent slurs to his reputation is acting Umno Youth chief Datuk Hishammuddin Tun Hussein. His nemesis in PAS, Mr Mahfuz Omar, slighted his manhood at a nightly ceramah before thousands of people by calling him pondan (transvestite) for refusing to participate in an open debate.
Other opposition politicians, especially former Umno Youth members who crossed over to Parti Keadilan Nasional, have also targeted the rising star, saying that he was too spineless to speak up against alleged misdeeds in government.
Datuk Hishammuddin has not returned the fire from the opposition. But other National Front leaders are getting drawn into the politics of name-calling, and revelling in it.
Dr Mahathir surprised many, including close supporters, when he tore into Datuk Harun Din, a former university lecturer and religious authority.
He ridiculed the man as a bomoh, who claimed that he could cure the sick by merely sprinkling water over them.
"But when Harun Din had heart problems, he did not drink his special water. He went to Australia to seek medical treatment," the Prime Minister revealed.
His attack was aimed at removing the veneer of spirituality that the turbaned PAS leaders wore while on the campaign trail.
According to Umno Supreme Council member Ibrahim Ali, Kelantan Mentri Besar Nik Aziz Nik Mat is like Mr Bean -- amusing but, really, nothing but a clown.
"There is no logic in what he says," said the politician.
Actually, the opposition thinks the Umno Supreme Council member is a frog. After all, he crossed from Umno to Semangat 46 and then back to Umno, they argue.
He disagrees with this label. "I am not a frog but the Prince of Frogs. But we know who is the Mother of All Frogs," said the Deputy Minister, referring to Ms Marina Yusof, a politician who left Umno for Semangat 46, then rejoined Umno, only to leave it for Parti Keadilan.