It's election season in Malaysia once more, which means that the likelihood of Singapore being used as an election issue has gone up.
True to form, a Perikatan Nasional candidate running for a state seat in Kelantan has warned voters to choose him, or risk becoming like the "Malays in Singapore" or southern Thailand.
Malaysiakini reported that during a public speaking event on Aug. 1, a politician named Mohamed Farid Mohamed Zawawi claimed that Malays in Singapore and the southern Thailand region of Patani are "isolated" and their culture "eroded".
Farid, a Bersatu party supreme council member, is contesting the seat of Kok Lanas in Kelantan.
Bersatu is in an alliance with the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) and a few others, forming the Perikatan Nasional coalition.
Malays in Singapore think of themselves as Singaporean first: Farid
Farid said Malays in Singapore are supposedly "losing their identity" and wish only to be known as Singaporeans.
He said that if you get into a Grab car or taxi in Singapore with a Malay driver, and if asked whether they are Malay, they will respond that they are Singaporean.
"We are asking about his race, not nationality. Only when I ask again he replied he is a Singaporean Malay. This means that racial identity in Singapore has vanished," he said, according to Malaysiakini.
Colour politics
Farid also told his audience that he was worried about DAP and non-Muslim MPs in the current government of Anwar Ibrahim, even though they are minorities.
He warned that the political power of non-Muslims can be "further enhanced", and reportedly drew a comparison to the PAP in Singapore, saying that they managed to win 87 per cent of the seats despite winning only 61 per cent of the popular vote.
However, this is a common feature of democracies with first-past-the-post voting systems, including Malaysia's.
In the 2013 general election, the Barisan Nasional coalition of then-Prime Minister Najib Razak won the majority of seats in parliament, and therefore formed the government, despite winning less than 50 per cent of the vote.
"Imagine if we don't defend the seats we have in Kelantan, who else will do it for us? If the brown-skinned people don’t rule this land, do we expect the yellow-skinned people to defend our religion and state? Impossible," Farid said, according to Malaysiakini.
Old pitch
This is not a new line of argument for Malaysian politicians.
In 2019, at the PAS annual assembly, a delegate warned that Malay rights could be sidelined under the then-Pakatan Harapan government. He also referred to the DAP, saying it was a "reincarnation" of the PAP, and could turn Malaysia into a "second Singapore".
The Straits Times quoted Malaysian politics expert James Chin as saying that the accusations against DAP are not new.
"They used the same narrative during elections. Malays are discriminated by DAP, and DAP controls the PH government. PAS and Umno want to use this narrative for the next general election. PAS is playing racial politics to the hilt," Chin said.
Against tribalism in Singapore
In 2021, then-Finance Minister Lawrence Wong warned against allowing tribalism and identity politics to take root in Singapore.
While concerns based on matters of identity are real, Singaporeans should aspire to the "founding ethos" of Singapore, that "every Singaporean deserves a place in our society, regardless of his or her background, status or racial or cultural identity," said Wong.
The challenge then is for society to do its best to address these concerns, without allowing politics to be based exclusively on identities or tribal allegiances.
Favoured candidate
While the Kok Lanas seat has remained in the hands of Umno and the Barisan Nasional coalition, previous fights have been close.
Berita Harian reported that Farid feels confident about his chances, alluding to the strong performance by the Perikatan Nasional in the national-level general election in 2022.
He also mentioned that he has been receiving positive messages when on TikTok.
Related story:
Top image from Srikandi Muda Kelantan.