A huge chasm between Malay and Chinese thinking on major issues such as government, religion and education exists which, if ignored, can threaten the country's stability, Gerakan warned today.
Central committee member Dominic Lau (left in photo) cited that a survey has revealed adversarial views amongst the two largest communities in Malaysia and therefore urged BN to put a priority on mending ties rather than on just winning votes.
Lau said that the survey of 200 government officials and academicians, at a dialogue organised by the National Civics Bureau, revealed that both races felt victimised by the other on all eight points in it.
The Chinese feel shut out from government jobs and aid, face religious persecution, feel oppressed, and therefore are forced to unite to help one another.
Similarly, the Malays cry out for more government help as they feel their status as landowners and special rights are being constantly undermined.
They also reveal suspicions that the Chinese have no patriotic spirit nor do they truly support racial unity.
"The BN government, especially Umno, must prioritise national unity and not just mouth slogans while there is no concrete action. If this trend continues, our country will become unstable," Lau said.
"I feel that the effort to win over the Chinese vote should take a back seat. The most important thing is that the country must be stable. The main and the biggest challenge for the BN government is to develop the country."
Alarming survey
Lau said the survey is alarming as the spirit of multi-racialism is yet to be embraced even after 56 years of independence.
Nevertheless, he said these findings do not represent the mindset of the entire community though it is real amongst a fraction of them and he was not taking sides.
Lau laid blame for the divergent views on irresponsible leadership and politicians from all sides - BN, Pakatan Rakyat and certain NGOs - which carried lopsided agendas.
He strongly suggested a middle ground, that proper channels of communication be established, adding that Gerakan would push for this in a meeting with the Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.
As a multi-racial party, Gerakan said its main goal is to achieve racial unity and reduce the racial gap, thus it will not hesitate to be a critic of government policies if they are not beneficial to the people.
Lau hinted that Gerakan may even leave BN, the coalition which has ruled Malaysia since independence, should it find that Malay-based Umno monopolised the ruling coalition.
Nevertheless, when asked whether the party's leadership had seriously discussed leaving BN, Lau backed down and said that it was just a hypothetical statement and Umno's performance was "so far so good."
Central committee member Dominic Lau (left in photo) cited that a survey has revealed adversarial views amongst the two largest communities in Malaysia and therefore urged BN to put a priority on mending ties rather than on just winning votes.Lau said that the survey of 200 government officials and academicians, at a dialogue organised by the National Civics Bureau, revealed that both races felt victimised by the other on all eight points in it.
The Chinese feel shut out from government jobs and aid, face religious persecution, feel oppressed, and therefore are forced to unite to help one another.
Similarly, the Malays cry out for more government help as they feel their status as landowners and special rights are being constantly undermined.They also reveal suspicions that the Chinese have no patriotic spirit nor do they truly support racial unity.
"The BN government, especially Umno, must prioritise national unity and not just mouth slogans while there is no concrete action. If this trend continues, our country will become unstable," Lau said.
"I feel that the effort to win over the Chinese vote should take a back seat. The most important thing is that the country must be stable. The main and the biggest challenge for the BN government is to develop the country."
Alarming survey
Lau said the survey is alarming as the spirit of multi-racialism is yet to be embraced even after 56 years of independence.
Nevertheless, he said these findings do not represent the mindset of the entire community though it is real amongst a fraction of them and he was not taking sides.
Lau laid blame for the divergent views on irresponsible leadership and politicians from all sides - BN, Pakatan Rakyat and certain NGOs - which carried lopsided agendas.He strongly suggested a middle ground, that proper channels of communication be established, adding that Gerakan would push for this in a meeting with the Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.
As a multi-racial party, Gerakan said its main goal is to achieve racial unity and reduce the racial gap, thus it will not hesitate to be a critic of government policies if they are not beneficial to the people.
Lau hinted that Gerakan may even leave BN, the coalition which has ruled Malaysia since independence, should it find that Malay-based Umno monopolised the ruling coalition.
Nevertheless, when asked whether the party's leadership had seriously discussed leaving BN, Lau backed down and said that it was just a hypothetical statement and Umno's performance was "so far so good."
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