Systematic Teresa Kok shows how Najib talked about extremism but did NOTHING about it!

Yesterday, during his keynote address at the Asian Peace and Reconciliation Council/ISIS Malaysia: Dialouge on Diversity, Diplomacy and Peace held in Kuala Lumpur, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib called on the country’s “silent majority” to drown out the voices of extremism. He said diversity should be celebrated and the right to co-exist should be defended.

“We cannot afford to allow voices of extremism to dominate the political discourse”, he added.

The Prime Minister has delivered a good speech about the need to reject extremism. But the question that Malaysians want to know is whether he will walk his talk and get tough with the extremists in the country after having allowed the voices of racism and extremism to dominate the political discourse for sometime.

I will give 3 examples here.

Najib kept silent when Utusan Malaysia carried irresponsible, provocative and racist articles for months after the May 5 general elections.

He again kept quiet when the former Court of Appeal judge Datuk Mohd Noor Abdullah had warned the Chinese to prepare for a possible backlash from the Malays for their alleged “betrayal” against the BN. Mohd Noor has even said: “The Chinese betrayal towards the Malay’s hand of friendship – that is true. Because they plotted to seize political power even though they already have economic power”.

On October 18, Perkasa Chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali has said the Christians’ fight for the right to call God “Allah” conveyed that they have no name for their deity. He has also, at the Perkasa Selangor Conference 2013held on October 17, urged the Prime Minister to ban the Malay bible the Al-Kitab from Malaysia in retaliation for the Christian community’s “ingratitude”.

I have in my statement dated October 19 said that the public are not surprised at all that Ibrahim Ali could say such provocative, offensive and nonsensical remarks, for everyone knows too well just how this leader of hate politics has said before and is capable of saying.

I further said:-

“It is no surprise that there exist extremists and hate politicians in any country. But the question is how does the government deal with such people.”

Again, the Prime Minister did not denounce such voice of extremism.

I wish to repeat my agreement with former Cabinet Minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim’s view that “a government that is afraid and unable to deal with hate politician is not worthy of support”.

Hence, while it is right for the Prime Minister to call on the silent majority to drown out the voices of extremism, he must also lead by example and show the government’s ability and preparedness to deal with the extremists.

Teresa Kok is the MP for Seputeh