A study of the reactions by two researchers from theMalaysia Programme at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) of Nanyang Technological University (NTU) – Prashant Waikar and Rashaad Ali – published by Euroasia Review shows the parties’ stand and also how they manipulate public perception.
PAS framed everything in an “anti-Islam” stance in trying to champion Islam, Umno did the same but was a little less strident, PKR framed it as an overall need for justice for all Malaysians in all areas, the DAP used the occasion to show it was not anti-Islam and the Gerakan tried to show it was still relevant.
Based on a study of the statements issued by the major political players, the duo noted how the tudung ban hotel policy was framed as an anti-tudung and thus, anti-Muslim one.
Although all the parties – whether from the ruling government or the opposition – condemned the ban, the researchers noted considerable nuances between their stances.
The researchers described the statements issued by PAS and Umno against the tudung restriction as “combative”.
“Among the first to voice criticism, PAS information chief Nasrudin Hassan attempted to draw a false equivalence between the reactions people had towards the existence of the ‘Muslims-only’ launderette on Johor and the tudung restriction.”
Nasrudin claimed that while the launderette issue brought out emotionally-charged outrage from every level of society – thus implying most of Malaysia stood against a religiously segregated launderette – reactions to the tudung restriction had been soft.
“To him, this indicates two tendencies: that people are less concerned with anti-Muslim discrimination, and that Muslims are being denied the right to practise Islam. In this context, when Mr Nasrudin argues “Muslims… are not free to practise Islam” in a country “where Islam is the religion of the federation”, he is in effect implying that Islam is at risk of being suppressed in Malaysia.”
Umno leaders took the stand that hotels which ban the tudung should be made to close down, with MP Bung Mokhtar Radin labelling those who institutionalise this restriction “kurang ajar”, or uneducated and rude people, who “need to be taught a lesson” for their alleged insolence.
FT Umno youth leader Razlan Rafii said organisations central to tourism should not be allowed to institutionalise practices that may be “anti-Islam” given that Malaysia’s Muslim-majority demography makes it an ideal site for Muslim-friendly tourism.
The researchers said, in appealing to the religious sensibilities of the Malay masses and reinforcing “an increasingly prevalent siege mentality”. Umno and PAS presented themselves as guardians of Islam and Malay rights, “turning this into a timely pre-election reminder”.
The multiracial but Malay-dominant PKR and the secular but Chinese-dominant DAP sought to frame themselves as leaders capable of providing practical advice to resolve the tudung restriction, emphasising the need for legislative change. They also volunteered to help those affected by the restrictions get legal remedy.
PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli argued that a legislative measure he previously proposed, the Fair Work and Career Opportunity Act, would criminalise and hence provide legal recourse for those who suffered “discrimination based on religion, race, gender, and disabilities” at work.
“Rather than focusing on the semantics of the tudung restriction, Mr Rafizi has placed it in the context of various forms of marginalisation people at large face. This enables him to offer a legislative solution which he can then present as a feasible mechanism to dismantle all practices that engender people to experience marginality,” the duo said.
The researchers added: “It is also significant to note that the Chief Minister of Penang Lim Guan Eng pointed out that hotels in his state do not restrict frontline staff from wearing the tudung.
“His decision to emphasise this is politically strategic in that it functions as a timely counterpoint to the Umno-led ruling Barisan Nasional’s (BN) often repeated claim that Muslims would systematically become disenfranchised should the opposition win more state assemblies or gain federal power.
“This issue has allowed opposition MPs the opportunity to either present an alternate reality to the electorate, or to make disparaging remarks about the federal government.”
Not to be left out, Gerakan leader Chai Ko Thing argued that upholding religious freedom was crucial in a plural society and that the government should craft legislation to outlaw all forms of religious discrimination.
“He attempted to connect the injustice of a tudung ban with the various forms of ethnic and religious discrimination non-Muslims regularly face – not unlike their rivals PKR and DAP.
“At the same time, he characterised calls for boycotts of such hotels as unrestrained. Gerakan’s position effectively deviates from Umno’s significantly more assertive call to revoke hotel licences. The party’s involvement in an incident they might ordinarily ignore signals their intent for the upcoming general election.”
This was because, Prashant Waikar and Rashaad Ali said, the Gerakan was struggling to be politically relevant, especially to the ethnic Chinese, and had to find its place within the ruling coalition dominated by the Malay-Muslim rhetoric of Umno while simultaneously appealing to its non-Muslim voter base by trying to project itself as a party with a mind of its own”.