PM cautions Malaysians against politicians who use race for personal gain

 

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has cautioned Malaysians against politicians who play on racial sentiment to gain political mileage, describing them as challenges faced in multiracial countries.

"We should be careful of the racial sentiment manipulation by politicians. This is a major challenge faced by almost all multi-ethnic countries.

"The political actors who are trying to raise their political share via exploitation of racial feelings should be avoided by us," he said when launching the National Unity Policy and National Unity Blueprint 2021-2030 today.

Muhyiddin also assured that the government would not compromise on issues that threaten the unity of the country.

The National Unity Policy is an umbrella policy drafted to foster, strengthen and preserve unity among the people, while the National Unity Blueprint outlines 12 strategies for building and maintaining unity in Malaysia for the next 10 years. 

They are both formulated based on the Federal Constitution and Rukun Negara.

Muhyiddin urged everyone, including NGOs, private sectors and stakeholders to turn themselves into an agent of national unity.

In his speech, he emphasised the importance of empathy among Malaysians.

"During this Covid-19 crisis, Malaysians and particularly the frontliners, have shown empathy for each other regardless of race and religion. This must be strengthened in our society. This will help us to overcome racial challenges more effectively."

Muhyiddin, who is also Bersatu president, admitted that the country sometimes looks at racial issues from the angle of one race or group.

"Just like some other multiracial countries, sometimes we only look at racial issues from the perspective of a particular race or group. Such a perspective must be improved in order to be more balanced and holistic, and it should be instilled through the education system and media," he said. 

In 2013, BN under the premiership of Najib Abdul Razak formed the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) to advise the government on ways to strengthen national unity.

NUCC had reportedly drafted the National Harmony and Reconciliation Bill, the National Harmony and Reconciliation Commission Bill, and the Racial and Religious Hate Crimes Bill. The task was completed in 2015.

Najib had, in 2012, announced plans for the National Harmony Act to replace the Sedition Act 1948.

Pakatan Harapan, which took power after the 14th general election, moved to re-evaluate the National Harmony Bill. It proposed three new bills to curb racial and religious hatred in the country – the Anti-Discrimination Act, National Harmony and Reconciliation Commission Act and the Religious and Racial Hatred Act.

This was amid rising tensions after Harapan took over, with critics blaming Umno and PAS for fanning racial sentiments.

However, in April 2019, Putrajaya decided it would only consider setting up the national harmony and reconciliation commission, as the three laws overlapped with existing legislation.

The Perikatan Nasional, which took over the government via a political coup in February 2020, decided to drop Harapan's plan in establishing a national harmony and reconciliation commission.

Instead, Unity Minister Halimah Mohamed Sadique said the spirit of the bill to form the commission will be inserted into a national unity action plan. - Mkini