Harris: Malaysians splintering along racial lines

The former Sabah chief minister believes that the country is moving backward on multiracial unity.

TAWAU: Former Sabah chief minister Harris Mohd Salleh is alarmed that the country is splintering along communal lines and suggested the need to go back to its original idea and policies to unite its people once and for all.

Malaysia, he said, seemed to be moving backward on multiracial unity.

“When Malaysia was formed in 1963, the people of various races were united to build a country they inherited from the British.

“Everybody was friendly and there were also no talk on racial claims on this and that and this condition prevailed for many, many years.”

“Today every day we hear and read demands for racial equality. This shows that Malaysia is not united.

“This has also prompted Prime Minister (Najib Tun Razak) to coin new slogans like 1Malaysia, 1Malaysia Clinic, 1Malaysia Kedai Rakyat and so on,” he told a private gathering here yesterday.

“All these creations conclusively prove that Malaysians are growing apart every day,” he said, adding that in order to combat racial feelings and division, Malaysia must go back to its original platform.

He said the country must apply all its laws and policies sincerely and honestly.

Racial composition in the administration, in the police, in the military and, most importantly, in the economic field must be fair and just, Harris said.

He added that there is clear imbalance in the makeup of the government which is controlled by a single race while the economy is driven by another race.

“At present, everybody is still laughing, but in the next 30 to 50 years when the population reach 50 million, it is a different story,” he said.

“By then everything might not be right and be out of control. History will repeat itself as in many countries, especially Africa,” he said during the get-together for the Lions Group held at
Balung.

History, he said, in whatever form is the foundation for future generations to move forward but added that Malaysians seem to ignore history because of changing circumstances.

“How many leaders and ordinary people follow history beginning in 1963? If they acknowledged the past, they might not raise issues which had been settled from time to time,” he added.