KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 3 — The Najib administration must enforce the law on Malaysians who seek to sow discord and hatred by fanning racial and religious tensions, a civil society styling itself as moderate said today, after the prime minister’s fiery speech against extremism at the United Nations’ General Assembly yesterday.
While noting that the prime minister was speaking of the global terrorism threat posed by the Islamic State (IS) militants, Centre for Better Tomorrow (CENBET) co-president Gan Ping Sieu pointed out that those who spew hate speech cause as much damage as those who go on suicide missions or bomb malls, perhaps more.
“Of late, we have seen various right-wing groups and individuals trying to assert their hardline stance, to the detriment of national cohesion,” he said in a statement.
As examples, he cited the questioning of vernacular schools in the country, the racial riot outside Low Yat Plaza in June, the pro-Malay anger against ethnic Chinese exhibited by the “red shirt” protesters last month following the Bersih 4 anti-government demonstration in August with the promise of further rallies and action by Umno’s Datuk Jamal Yunos and Tan Sri Annuar Musa.
“The government should immediately act against these elements of extremism, some of which clearly promotes ill-will.
“Failure to act will further embolden more extremists to push the envelope of freedom of speech, to the point that it undermines our already fragile sense of unity,” Gan said.
The former MCA vice-president expressed CENBET’s hope that the government will not only speak out against extremism at international fora abroad and voice a different stand on domestic cases.
“It would make a mockery of the Prime Minister’s address to the United Nations if this happens,” he said.
Government leaders from Umno have been engaging in verbal spats with political allies and rivals from the minority racial groups, with the most recent being Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman who was recorded saying the ethnic Chinese should be “slapped” for allegedly complaining about local issues to other governments.
MCA, Gerakan and DAP all raised objections and demanded Tajuddin apologise, but the Umno man has since claimed he was only making a joke when he made that remark after a news conference Thursday.
