Gertak chief sheds light on ‘Melayu Bangkit’ rally

Gertak chief Razali Idris has insisted there is nothing provocative about his group’s name or the “Melayu Bangkit” rally tomorrow; it is for peace, he explained.

The Gerakan Kebangkitan Rakyat (People’s Awareness Movement) is widely known by the double-entendre acronym; in the national language, Gertak means “to intimidate” or “to bully”; but Razali said the word carried another meaning in his native dialect.

“It means ‘connection bridge’ in the Terengganu dialect,” the Umno Marang deputy chief told The Malaysian Insider.

He chose the word because it embodied all that his group stood for.

There should be no “double meaning” attached to Gertak the organisation, Razali said, but he could not help what others thought.

“It is their perception,” he said, shrugging off comments from critics.

The Muslim businessman founded the movement earlier this year, shortly after the controversial “Allah” judgment.

In a landmark ruling on December 31 last year, the Catholic Church won the right to use the word “Allah” to also refer to God outside of Islam, shattering a long-held view among many Malaysian Muslims who held that the word was reserved for their community.

The movement’s purpose is to unite the Malay community, which today is split over issues of religion and race, Razali said.

”Unity in each race is the root of peace and harmony,” he added and stressed that because the Malays make up the largest group in multiracial Malaysia, their unity is crucial to the nation’s stability.

“This is the true meaning of Gertak, the bridge to unite the unity,” he quipped.

It was with that in mind that Razali planned a gathering aimed at motivating the Malay community to stand together instead of being at odds with each other.

An initial rally scheduled for May 13 had been cancelled after authorities stepped in out of concern the event may trigger memories of the racial bloodbath from 41 years ago and reignite tensions between Malaysia’s diverse ethnic groups.

Razali maintained the date chosen was coincidental and not deliberate.

”We don’t have any intentions to provoke [tensions] among races since we also love Malaysians,” he said.

Razali is now finalising details for the replacement rally to take place in his home state tomorrow at the state stadium in coastal Kuala Terengganu.

He had earlier planned discussions on several issues, including the much-debated New Economic Policy (NEP) introduced by second prime minister Tun Razak Hussein after the bloody May 13 riots in 1969 and officially ended 20 years ago.

Razali claimed the policy is still relevant but has called off discussions.

“We cancelled the discussion, but the question [will] still be answered by Tun in his speech,” he replied when asked referring to his idol Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Razali confirmed that the former prime minster will deliver the keynote address at the stadium rally.

Razali is anticipating a huge turnout for the rally, which will feature only two speakers, namely himself and the man who governed Malaysia for 22 years.



comments


if you think we, the populace, are morons to accept your explanation, then you are way off. but people like you should be brave enough to be upfront rather than hide behind some semantics. else, where's your credibility?