Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming is seeking to assuage Umno over plans to nominate Chinese new villages in Selangor as Unesco World Heritage sites.
This was amid continued objections to the plan along racial lines.
The minister said he had contacted Umno leaders to discuss the matter.
"We invite them to engage in discussions so that we can deliberate and understand the facts so that they are not misled by the opposition," Nga (above) was quoted as saying by New Straits Times.
He also assured that a thorough study would be conducted, which would then be brought to the cabinet for deliberation.
"I urge all parties to refrain from framing this issue as one rooted in racial tensions, as such narratives only serve to divide us. We must steer clear of divisive attitudes," he added.
Chinese new villages were first established as internment camps by the British in the late 1940s and early 1950s as a means of cutting off support for communist insurgents.
Cultural, historical significance
On Feb 1, Nga said that the Chinese new villages in Selangor date back 76 years to 1948 and that the proposal to nominate them as Unesco World Heritage sites was to recognise their cultural and historical significance.
This prompted criticism from Bersatu Youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal, who questioned the need to commemorate remnants of the country's war against communists, instead of other elements of Chinese cultural heritage.
Umno soon joined in the criticism as well, with party secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki having a wild interpretation that Unesco World Heritage site status would give those who lived in Chinese new villages recognition as "original inhabitants" of the land.
This, he said, therefore touches on the status of Malay bumiputera.
Poor communication
Gerakan president Dominic Lau today chided Nga for repeating the Pakatan Harapan-led government's usual mistake of poor communication.
He said the proposal to nominate Chinese new villages for Unesco status needed a thorough explanation and should have respected the views of stakeholders, particularly the Malays and Chinese.
"What is clear is that in this mixed government, DAP has its own agenda, without discussing with its allies in government," he added.
Unesco World Heritage sites are not a means to determine a country's aborigines but a way to recognise sites of cultural and historical value.
Among the Unesco sites in Malaysia are Georgetown in Penang and Malacca in recognition of their status as historic cities.
The recognition was granted in 2008, back when BN was the federal government. - Mkini
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