RELA subgroup open only to Perkasa members is alarming, dangerous and completely unacceptable

Press statement by Teresa Kok, Selangor State Senior EXCO and Member of Parliament of Seputeh in Shah Alam on 28 April 2011

The RELA subgroup which is exclusive to Perkasa members is most alarming, dangerous and completely unacceptable because it shows the Barisan Nasional’s tacit support for Perkasa’s brazen racism.

Home Minister Hishamuddin Hussein’s approval of the establishment of a subgroup within RELA (Ikatan Relawan Rakyat Malaysia) called “Briged Setia Negara” which is exclusive to Perkasa members is most alarming, dangerous and completely unacceptable because it reveals the Barisan Nasional’s (BN) tacit support for Perkasa’s brazen racism. (Source: Perkasa recruits Rela members, forms special unit http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/162536 )

To add salt to the wound, Hishamuddin is even helping Perkasa build its capacity by providing its members with RELA para-military training, uniforms, and presumably other entitlements such as allowance and personal accident insurance. All of which are funded by Malaysian taxpayers of all races.

Hishamuddin is turning a blind eye to the fact that Perkasa is a self-proclaimed “Ketuanan Melayu” or Malay supremacist group and that Perkasa’s position is completely antithetical to the Government’s 1Malaysia concept which supposedly promises that all Malaysian are equal and none should be discriminated against.

Since its inception, Perkasa has issued numerous hot-headed, fear-mongering and seditious statements with impunity. Just last week, Perkasa announced that it will spearhead the 1Melayu 1Bumi movement to take on the so-called Chinese challenge.

Given Perkasa’s extremist, far-right leanings, Hishamuddin should have recognised the imprudence in allowing the formation of its RELA-Perkasa subgroup. There is the danger that Perkasa may be emboldened to abuse its government-sanctioned RELA power in which to further its racial supremacist goals.

As it is, RELA’s reputation is already in shambles for the numerous cases of abuse of power, corruption and brutality in its operations, particularly in the raids it conducts upon undocumented immigrants.

Perhaps Hishamuddin’s support for Perkasa is not surprising when one reviews his track record of Perkasa-like tendencies. In 2006 and 2007, he brandished the keris at the UMNO General Assembly, and in 2009, he had the gall to defend the despicable Shah Alam cow-head protestors.

I urge Hishamuddin to withdraw the Home Ministry’s approval of the Perkasa members-only “Briged Setia Negara” RELA subgroup and disband it immediately to demonstrate that racial supremacist groups like Perkasa have no place in the 1Malaysia espoused by BN.

Teresa Kok