BN/Umno government secret funding of Perkasa the most abominable government con-job in nation’s 56-year history

Two months ago, former Cabinet Minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim urged the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to dissociate himself from the extremist, racist and Malay supremacist group Perkasa because of its “toxic ideas” and “warmongering”, warning that Europe made the same mistake in the Nazi era which had taken a world war to correct.

Zaid had blogged:

“Even if Perkasa has a prominent patron, the organisation should not be allowed to run amok. Its very existence is an embarrassment to the country, especially to the Malays. The issues this group champions are just plain ridiculous, and there is nothing in Perkasa’s struggle that merits serious consideration. It has continued to cause consternation and fear among both Malaysians and also potential investors, and the Prime Minister should categorically denounce Perkasa and its allies for its disruptive politics and warmongering. After all, there will be no General Election until 2017-2018.

“The Government cannot maintain a cavalier attitude towards Perkasa, hoping that its toxic ideas will disappear and have no effect. Europe made the same mistake in the Nazi era and it took a World War to correct it.”

But truth is stranger than fiction. Who would have imagined that in actual fact, while Najib was strutting the international stage to launch his “Global Movement of Moderates” and present himself as a model for moderates in the world to emulate, his government was funding Perkasa to carry out its extremist, intolerant, racist, religious and seditious campaign including attacking Najib’s own signature policy of moderate and inclusive 1Malaysia.

The Umno/Barisan Nasional government secret funding of Perkasa in the past four years must rank as the most abominable government con-job in the nation’s 56-year history which stinks to high heavens and must be condemned and deplored by all decent, reasonable and patriotic Malaysians.

I have ten questions for Najib, the Ministers and leaders of Umno/Barisan Nasional with regard to this “most abominable government con-job in the nation’s 56-year history”, viz:

1. When did the government secret funding of Perkasa begin, in what form and under whose authority? When was approval by Cabinet given or was the secret government funding of Perkasa so secretive that the Cabinet was completely kept in the dark. If the Cabinet was denied knowledge, who were the Ministers and Umno/BN leaders who were let into the secret about the surreptitious government funding of Perkasa?

2. What was the rational for the government secret funding of Perkasa? Was Najib armed-twisted by former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, adviser to Perkasa, to provide government secret funding to Perkasa? Malaysians are entitled to know what was Mahathir’s full role in the government secret funding of Perkasa.

3. What was the “deal” which Najib reached with Perkasa in providing government secret funding to Perkasa?

4. Perkasa secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali admitted receiving funds from government agencies such as the National Security Council (MKN), National Civic Bureau (BTN) and Special Affairs Department (Jasa). What were the various and total funds provided to Perkasa by MKN, BTN (both of which were under the Prime Minister’s Department) and Jasa (under the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia) in the past four years and the specific objectives of each funding. What were the justifications for MKN, BTN and Jasa providing funding to Perkasa?

5. Were there other government agencies, whether by the Federal government or BN-controlled State Governments, which provided funding to Perkasa in the past four years, furnishing full details.

6. What were the other extremist and racist NGOs in the country which had been given “immunity and impunity” like Perkasa in the past four years to conduct criminal and seditious campaigns in the country including repudiation of 1Malaysia Policy and were granted government secret funding, providing full details of government agencies involved and amounts of funding in the past four years.

7. How did the government secret funding of Perkasa and other NGOs, through an assortment of government agencies, evade the notice and audit of the Auditor-General in the past four years? The Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) should give top priority to this serious lapse by the Auditor-General in the past four years, calling up both the Auditor-General and the heads of the various government agencies providing secret funding to Perkasa and other NGOs in the past four years so that a special PAC report on this matter could be tabled in the March meeting of Parliament.

8. Was the Attorney-General aware of the secret government compact with Perkasa resulting in Perkasa leaders enjoying immunity and impunity from arrests and prosecutions for a series of criminal activities, including seditious statements and speeches by Perkasa leaders stoking and inciting racial and religious tensions and hatred, threatening another “May 13”, a “holy war” against Christians and making insensitive and sacrilegious attacks on Hinduism as well as open breaches of the law acting like thugs and gangsters in public.

9. Did Ministers and leaders of “7-11” MCA and the other 12 BN component parties give approval for the secret compact reached between Umno and Perkasa resulting in the government secret funding to Perkasa and why they took no action to ascertain from the Prime Minister the real relationship between the BN government with Perkasa?

10. In the 2013 general elections, the UMNO/BN candidate in Pasir Mas gave way to the Perkasa President Ibrahim Ali who was contesting as an independent while Perkasa Vice President Zulkifli Noordin stood as an UMNO/BN candidate in Shah Alam. Although both were defeated, the question remains as to the role of MCA and other BN component parties in endorsing their candidature on behalf of BN.