Bagan Pinang by-election - No talk on cow's head, but racist books ok ?

Anyone bringing up the Shah Alam cow's head incident during the Bagan Pinang election campaign will be detained immediately and could face charges of inciting racial tensions.

The warning was made by Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk T. Murugiah, who said that it applied to Barisan Nasional and the opposition.

"We will assign officers to keep tabs on all ceramah and other activities during the campaign and they will alert the police immediately if the issue is raised."

Murugiah is the deputy minister in charge of the National Unity and Integration Department.

"We want a clean and fair campaign and to ensure no racial or religious issues are raised to incite the people."

Meanwhile, even before the beginning of the official campaign period for the Bagan Pinang by-election, the Pakatan Rakyat received the first blow when books containing various allegations against the coalition's leaders were distributed in the constituency.

The two books were found placed on the windscreen of every car parked along the road in Batu 7 near here, and it is still unclear who was responsible for the distribution.

One book, entitled “Wajah Sebenar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim: Nasib Orang Melayu Selangor” (The Real Face of Tan Sri Ibrahim: The Plight of the Selangor Malays), accused the Selangor mentri besar of sidelining the Malay community in the state.

“They wanted People Supremacy so much after they were fooled by Pakatan Rakyat, and were willing to risk the future of their children,” reads the opening chapter of the 49-page book.

“After ruling the state for 16 months, Pakatan Rakyat led by Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim has done a lot of things that have disadvantaged the Malays and Islam,” it adds citing, among other things, Selangor's proposal to hold elections for local councils.

“If this happens almost all local councils will be controlled by the Chinese because they live in towns while the Malays live in villages,” said the book.

Another book, also published and written by unknown parties, questioned opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's commitment to the Malay community.

Titled “50 Kemusykilan Tentang Manusia Bernama Anwar Ibrahim” (50 Questions on The Man Called Anwar Ibrahim), it is believed to be inspired by another book, “50 Reasons Why Anwar Cannot Become the Prime Minister”, published 12 years ago and which subsequently caused his downfall from the government.

This latest book accused Anwar of being unhappy with the success of the Malays.

“Anwar accused the NEP as unfair for sidelining the Chinese and the Indians, which means he is not happy to see the Malays becoming as successful as the Chinese,” said the book.