Anwar told to allay Malay fears

Many think they cannot survive without Barisan Nasional, according to the Penang Malay Congress.

GEORGE TOWN: A Penang-based NGO has urged Anwar Ibrahim, now free of a major distraction, to direct his energies towards allaying Malay fears of a bleak future under a Pakatan Rakyat government.

Many Malays are not convinced that they—and even the country—can survive without Barisan Nasional, according to Rahmad Isahak, president of the Penang Malay Congress.

In an interview with FMT, he said the Malays’ main fear was that Pakatan Rakyat’s liberal ideology would result in a dilution of their political voice, especially in plural societies like Penang. He claimed that this fear was evident across all age groups.

Among the middle age and youth groups, he added, a familiar complaint was that they were not treated fairly in the private sector.

He put the onus on Anwar, as the leader of Pakatan Rakyat, to ensure that there are no discriminatory practices in either the public or private sector.

“We must ensure that justice prevails in every sense of the word, and not just enjoyed by Anwar alone,” he said.

According to Rahmad, among Anwar’s most urgent tasks is to address the problem of rising costs of healthcare and housing in his home state of Penang, besides ensuring the availability of quality jobs for all ethnic communities.

With the distraction of the sodomy case now behind him, Anwar could now focus on leading the charge towards reforms, he said.

He called on Pakatan to move away from the politics of personalities towards helping the nation move forward in economic and social development.

He suggested that Pakatan and Barisan work together to help Malaysia prosper.

Commenting on Monday’s not-guilty verdict in Anwar’s trial, Rahmad, who is a former High Court official, said it proved that there was no political interference in the judicial system.