Malays should forge unity with others too, Ku Li says

The anti-Icerd rally would have been more successful if it involved an equal number of non-Malays, Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said today.

Tengku Razaleigh, who chairs Umno's advisory council, pointed out that Malaysia is a multiracial country and that unity should be forged with people from all ethnic backgrounds. 

“In one aspect, it (the rally) was good. It was good in terms of Malay unity. 

"But I would have liked it better if there was an equally large number of non-Malays (participating).

“We are a multiracial country. It cannot be just about the Malays… It would have been better if we forged unity within our multiracial society,” he was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times.

Tengku Razaleigh was speaking to reporters after attending the wedding reception of DAP's Zairil Khir Johari and Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud in Ipoh last night.

According to the NST, Ku Li also said that the Malays must accept that they share their lives together with others in this country and that they cannot have everything for themselves.

“We (the Malays) must invite them to join us (at the rally). If you keep talking (about) it being about the Malays and Islam, the (other races) would not want to join (the rally).

“Whether we like it or not, we live and work together (with other races). There must be give and take. We cannot have everything only for ourselves, We have to share. We share a common sky and land, and we share our lives despite our different religions,” he said.

On Icerd, the Gua Musang MP said he believed that it is something the country can ratify in the future, provided that the matter is explained clearly to avoid misunderstandings.

Ku Li said he believed that Icerd was not about amending the Federal Constitution or removing any part of it.

"And we probably cannot accept it now because our people have not reached a level where we can compete. We still have people with different standards of living. So we cannot accept it for now as we fear there will be misunderstandings.

“It is better for us to explain it to the people so that the (other races) could accept it with an open heart," he added. -Mkini