THERE are few certainties that could be drawn from Saturday’s massive rally in Kuala Lumpur.

One, the crowd was huge and exclusively Malay. Second, it was peaceful – a rarity with massive demonstrations. The participants even took time to clean up the mess afterwards. Compare that to the current anarchy in Paris.

This rally could benchmark future ones, both on how the protestors should behave and the authorities react. If they could be persuaded to be tolerant of future rallies, then a significant goal has been achieved.

Third, the protest was only in KL. The rest of the country was quiet. In Miri, Sarawak, they had an equally massive and peaceful parade, but to celebrate Christmas!

However, there were costs to the rally beyond the extra police work, as with the loss of business along the marchers’ route, as well as from tourists who skipped Malaysia. Those impromptu street vendors selling cheap made-in-Bangladesh T-shirts would not compensate for that economic loss.

The rally achieved nothing, not even as a catharsis for the massive build-up of collective Malay frustration. Had those demonstrators cleaned up the parks and beaches, or spent quality time with their loved ones, they would have achieved more.

The protest created only false hope and misplaced confidence in their leaders. These leaders have not shown any indication now or in the past of their ability to tackle our monumental challenges.

Come Monday, those protesters would return to the drudgery of their civil service jobs or village chores. Those from Kelantan might derive some comfort in that their government had declared Sunday, a normal working day there, a public holiday. Never mind that the Kelantan government could not even meet its payroll!

Come next January, the protesters’ children would return to the same failed national schools. Nothing there too would have changed. As for religious schools, with more Malays now opting for that, if their teachers have not crippled those pupils mentally, they risked being burned in their dilapidated hostels.

As for those young Malay graduates who protested, they would still have difficulty with their job interviews, or even securing one. They would have increased their odds greatly had they spent their time and resources improving their English. Rest assured those rally leaders would never advise them of that.

If, as stated so often and so stridently by its leaders and echoed by the participants, the rally was to oppose the International Convention for Eliminatung all forms of Racial Discrimination, then that, too, was unneeded. The government had already decided not to ratify it.

If it was for Malay “unity” and rights, as well as to defend Islam, what have they achieved?

Islam does not need any defending, least of all from these characters. It thrived despite the Moghuls, crusaders, colonials, and Stalin. It will also survive today’s Chinese communist leaders.

PAS leader Abdul Hadi Awang, self-proclaimed ulama turned opportunistic politician, asserted that it was fardu ain (a religious obligation) for Muslims to oppose ICERD and, thus, support the rally. He is too ignorant to note that Turkey, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia, among others, have ratified the treaty.

As for championing Malay rights and unity, consider the record of Umno, the rally’s co-organiser with PAS. Umno was the government since 1955 until booted out in the May 2018 elections. Those institutions meant to advance Malay causes, such as Felda, 1MDB, and Tabung Haji, have all been subverted to enrich corrupt Umno leaders.

Their cry for Malay unity is but a desperate ploy to overthrow the Pakatan Harapan coalition. Umno leaders are not even subtle in their political ambitions. They could not achieve it through elections, so they opted for mob rule. That won’t succeed either, as Malays would not remain dumb for long. The upcoming criminal trials of top Umno leaders would open many more Malay eyes.

The appeal to Islam is more dangerous. Hadi is shrewd and careless in playing this dangerous tool of religion. The good news is that he has zero, if not negative, influence among non-Malays, and now, increasingly, among Malays.

The bad news is that he still has considerable sway among rural Malays, a major voting bloc. However, with increasing urbanisation and Malays becoming better informed, that would soon change.

Islam, or, more correctly, the variety propagated by PAS and Umno, is turning off many Malays. Their version does not solve problems; on the contrary, it aggravates them.

More Muslims have left the faith because of the excesses of Ayatollah Khomeini than of Stalin’s. Malays should worry of the threats posed by their Hadis than from their non-Muslim fellow Malaysians.

When Malays discovered that they had been conned by the Hadis, just like they had been hoodwinked by “Umno is Malay; Malay Umno” gimmick, the retribution then would be severe. Umno leaders like Ahmad Zahid Hamidi may yet experience the true meaning of amok.

Images of Saturday’s rally haunted me, especially the faces and expressions of the young. They lacked passion in their eyes and voices. Nor could they articulate their reasons for taking part. It was as if they were partaking in one of the many religious rituals without comprehending anything, just going through the motions.

That is sad. Perhaps they already realised that they were chasing a mirage.

I am for Malay unity – to improve our schools, increase opportunities for the young, and ensure that we have leaders with competence and integrity. The “unity” envisaged by Umno and PAS leaders would have us return to them the keys to the nation’s treasury so they could once again plunder it. – December 10, 2018.

* M. Bakri Musa reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.