By Mohsin Abdullah

The musang king controversy playing out now stinks.

Of course, I am not talking about the durians. Nor am I talking about the issue involving the durian farmers and the company taking over the land on which the musang king durian trees are planted on.

A quick recap. Decades ago a group of durian farmers cleared the jungles in Raub and turned them into profitable durian orchards.

Over the years, the farmers claimed they applied for land titles and licenses for the orchards through proper channels in the Pahang state government but failed. Therefore, they are deemed as cultivating the land illegally.

Enter a company called Royal Pahang Durian Produce–PKP, the last three letters in the acronym has nothing to with the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead it created panic for the farmers as the state government announced that the land cultivated by the durian farmers would be leased to the company.

The state government said the move to lease the durian orchards to a third party would "legalize" the illegal orchards.

The company has since entered a joint venture with state entity Perbadanan Kemajuan Pertanian Negeri Pahang and is reportedly planning to build and operate a durian processing center in Raub next year.

What about the durian farmers? Through a group calling itself Save Musang King alliance, the farmers are claiming that they were being pressured to accept a lopsided contract with the company which would force them into paying exorbitant fees as "rental" or levy.

As I am not privy to vital information, I am not going to say who is right,who is wrong or whether the contract is fair or otherwise. And I am not saying who the victims or the aggressors are. All we can do is analyze the issue based on whatever information we have.

What then is the stinking problem? For me, it is the racial, or should I say, racist element which has surfaced and is leaving a pungent odor in the air and bitter taste in the mouth.

The dispute is seen by some segments of our society purely through racial lenses and not a commercial dispute or even the rule of law.

Why? Simply because the durian farmers are Chinese. The land office, or rather the Pahang state government are predominantly Malay. The company awarded the land lease is seen as bumiputra.

All these are "ingredients", i.e. fodder, for anyone seeking to light the match to spark racial tensions.

Many Chinese are of the view that their brethren farmers have been made victims. They see that the fruits of the farmers' labor have been "robbed" and given to a bumiputra company on a silver platter so that the company can reap profits at the expense of the Chinese.

On the flip side, the Malays are defending the state government and the company because both entities are run by "orang kita". They say the Chinese farmers have been raking in big money for years by cultivating state government land illegally.

That is what bothers me: the racist elements being played up in this issue. 

I don't know what the Chinese are saying on social media for the obvious reason that I do not read Chinese. 

But what the Malays (alright, some Malays) are saying online and via social media saddens and angers me.

Crude and harsh words are being used which can make anyone with a sense of objectivity, cringe. There's no reason for me to repeat the toxic language here.

Here's the thing: the people commenting angrily on the issue do not know the real situation. Many do not know the background and full details of the matter. But somehow they deem it right to wade into the issue armed with little else but racial rhetoric.

When the farmers held a demonstration in Raub recently expressing hope for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to intervene and help settle the dispute, many or some Malays retorted that the farmers should not drag His Majesty into the issue.

But then the Yang di Pertuan Agong is known for his compassion for the rakyat. And perhaps the farmers feel their plea to the King ,who is also the Sultan of Pahang, is justified as the company in question is linked to the Pahang Royal household. Hence the farmers' plea for His Majesty to help is justifiable.

Anyway, people "attacking" as well as those "defending" the company solely based on its "bumi status", ought to note that the company management is reportedly made up of Malaysians of different communities, meaning the management team is made up of Malays, Chinese and Indians. Therefore, the company is not a bumiputra company per se.

My point is this. This issue is about business, about money, big money as musang king is well, king of big money making venture. It has got nothing to do with race. What more religion. So, why must it be exploited along such narrow lines?

The people hurling racial abuses on the social media seem to be enjoying themselves, all in the name of race and religion (according to their interpretation).

What satisfaction or sense of accomplishment does one get by indulging in such despicable antics which will only increase racial animosity and hostility in our beloved country?

I simply cannot find a good answer to the question.

As I write this, a Chinese friend forwarded me a news report via WhatsApp. No, it's not about the musang king controversy. Rather it's a report with regards to deputy youth and sports minister Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad reiterating the stand of his party's youth wing that all vernacular schools be abolished, or as he puts it, "phased put".

Wan Fayhsal is Bersatu youth chief. Ironically, only a few days earlier his party president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced that Bersatu would open its doors to non Malays.

Perhaps he was not in the hall or had gone to the loo when his party president made the announcement.

Anyway, the Chinese friend was clearly upset and angry. But then I reminded him that every now and then Malay-based parties – Umno and PAS and now Bersatu – will use vernacular schools, in particular Chinese schools, to score some cheap points for political purposes.

Vernacular schools will continue to be painted as a place of learning where students cannot speak the national language, which is bad for national unity and integration.

Of course there are more. We have heard all that many times before!

By saying "every now and then" I mean "seasonal" as if signaling something big is about to happen.

Now the talk, as we know, is about snap election. Could this be the reason for the Bersatu youth chief to bring up vernacular schools now?

I can't say for sure. What I'm sure is that he has succeeded in hurting the feelings of the Chinese just to get Malay votes.

It pains my heart that we are seeing this now, just a couple of days before Hari Kebangsaan when as the norm we will remind ourselves that as Malaysians we must stand united as one regardless of race and religion.

In the words of a politician who I would describe as a somber personality: "Racial issues are on the rise with each passing day. It is already 2020 but we have not resolved them. Instead, things are intensifying."

Ironically, that came from a politician when politicians are the ones who usually play the race and religion card. There are good and bad politicians, I suppose.

Many a time all of us vow to kick racism out of our society, out of our lives even. But time and again there are many among us who would fall prey to it.

(Mohsin Abdullah is a veteran journalist and now a freelancer who writes about this, that and everything else.)