By Dr Lim Teck Ghee
We are heartened that the controversial ‘Melayu Bangkit’ rally in Terengganu planned for tomorrow to commemorate May 13 has been postponed indefinitely.
It would be even more reassuring to hear that any future events to remember this fateful date in our history will take a more constructive note. May 13 should be a collective reaffirmation by all of Malaysia’s peoples that such an incident must never again happen.
In any country in the world which has experienced a tragic outburst of national racial violence, its anniversary is normally one of sombre reflection, collective shame and reconciliation.
The rally organizer is however, Gerakan Kebangkitan Rakyat — its acronym ‘Gertak’ translated into English means ‘to intimidate’ — and thus an organization whose name has an ominous ring to it.
Gertak has endeavoured to rouse a single race at a time when groups and individuals should come together to condemn the shedding of innocent blood and vow to walk the path of peace.
It is simply beyond belief that Dr Mahathir Mohamed has allowed his name to be associated with a gathering that might be misconstrued as reminding Malaysia that the senseless and brutal events of May 13, 1969 could possibly reoccur.
How can Dr Mahathir justify his participation if inadvertently, he becomes the possible catalyst for another spasm of ‘uprising’ as the jingoistic name of the movement ‘Kebangkitan Rakyat’ implies?
We urge Dr Mahathir to give sober thought to how he wants to go down in history. The right of freedom of assembly was severely curtailed during his administration. Now that he is in retirement, it appears he has made an opportunistic about-turn to support the democratic value allowing citizens to peacefully gather.
As a former Prime Minister of the country, Dr Mahathir should instead have advised the rally organizers that they must not only seek to ‘motivate’ the Malay community – an approach that could be misinterpreted as pitting the dominant race against the minorities.
Rather than a mono-racial mammoth rally to stir up the Malays as the theme ‘Bangkit Melayu’ suggests, the anniversary of 13 May ought to be a day of national reconciliation.
It is for all the communities to remind ourselves of the senseless deaths and the folly of seeking revenge or aggravating old hurts and wounds. The timing and the purpose of this ‘Bangkit Melayu’ rally implies reopening a dark chapter with sinister motives.
A silver lining behind this episode is that cooler heads have prevailed and many across the political spectrum have come out to condemn the proposed rally.
The ball is in now Dr Mahathir’s court to persuade the rally organizers not merely to postpone but to cancel it altogether unless they can undertake to promise a coming together that engenders goodwill in the spirit of the Prime Minister’s 1 Malaysia.