Politics distracts Malaysians from understanding each other - Anwar

Politics distracts Malaysians from understanding and caring for one another, said PKR president Anwar Ibrahim.

Such understanding, he said, was key to overcoming challenges such as racism, neo-conservatism, and religious extremism.

"In Malaysia, we've got to move on. This is not just politics. Sometimes politics becomes mediocre. You talk about who is going to challenge what, what rumour you will hear next.

"It is tiresome, mediocre and you don't focus on understanding and the welfare of the people," Anwar said in a speech in Universiti Malaya today.

He was speaking at a conference on the Tirukkural, a classical Tamil text on ethics and morality which Anwar said he had read many times.

Elaborating on the need for understanding one another, Anwar said it was not enough to just tolerate others.

"How do you live as an Indian in Malaysia if you don't understand Islam?

Or a Muslim though knowing there is a strong Hindu community in the country but doesn't understand Hinduism," he said.

He urged Malaysians to not be easily incensed by racial polemics and allow isolated incidents to turn into national issues that pit the different races against each other.

He said such issues must be looked at with "rationale, cool heads".

Racial polemics have seen a resurgence in Malaysia following the May 9 general election last year.

The anti-Icerd gathering at Dataran Merdeka on Dec 8 last year.

Opposition Umno and their ally PAS claimed that their victory in the recent Cameron Highlands by-election was due to Malay Muslims uniting against the ruling Pakatan Harapan.

This sentiment has become a focal point in the ongoing Semenyih by-election campaign, a Malay majority constituency which Anwar will be visiting tomorrow.

Stark realities

Asked how he would craft an inclusive message for Semenyih voters, the PKR president said the issues faced by the Malays was not a racial one.

"I think most Malays would appreciate the fact that Islam promotes and supports a notion of understanding and appreciation for one another that must permeate society.

"But we must face some stark realities of some challenges (such as) instilling hatred, feelings of insecurity, hatred of the rest which to me are not defensible.

"There are issues of poverty, neglect and economic problems, of course [...] we have to address these but these are not racial issues," he told reporters after his speech.

Earlier in his speech, Anwar said true justice for the poor meant help not just for Indians in the estates or Malay fishermen but for all poor people.  - Mkini