KUALA LUMPUR, July 6 — The Malaysian Bar has today condemned former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his remarks that it was unconstitutional to promote a multiracial Malaysia.
Denouncing the remark as unacceptable, Malaysian Bar president Karen Cheah also likened Dr Mahathir’s controversial statement to a mockery of the cherished principle of the rule of law and deeply disheartening since it served no other purpose than to incite racial sentiments among the populace.
“The former PM unjustifiably referred to the rule of law in order to support his vitriolic statement.
“When the phrase ‘rule of law’ is deliberately misused and linked to the Federal Constitution without basis for political agenda, it is a travesty and a complete disservice to the Federal Constitution and to our country.
“Constitutional values and aspirations of the country need to be internalised for the greater good of all, not by selective and misleading interpretation of our Federal Constitution for political reasons and self-interest,” she said in a statement.
Noting this was not the first time Dr Mahathir has attempted to recklessly stir the hornet’s nest when touching on the issue of multi-ethnicity in our country, Cheah said there was no restriction under the supreme law of the Constitution for others to profess and practise their respective faiths.
“The Malaysian Bar continues to emphasise that there is no such thing as ‘others' or ‘outsiders’ in our Federal Constitution. The fanning of hateful sentiments by our former PM incites hostility towards groups unreasonably deemed as ‘outsiders’ or ‘others’, of which there is absolutely no basis.
“Mutual respect and holding each of us to that value has carried and held us together since the Federal Constitution was put in place by the framers of the Federal Constitution, having considered the diversity of our nation,” she said.
While some attempts have been made to derail the true narrative of the Federal Constitution, Cheah said it has rarely been used so blatantly in Dr Mahathir’s case.
To that end, Cheah said it was therefore timely for the Bar to reiterate its call for the enactment of national harmony laws to promote unity, integration and interfaith harmony in the country.
The proposed Bills — namely the Racial and Religious Hate Crimes Bill, the National Harmony and Reconciliation Bill, and the National Harmony and Reconciliation Commission Bill — which would see it replace the Sedition Act aims to achieve the balance of upholding freedom of speech while maintaining public security.
“Malaysia is made up of diverse races and faiths, and instead of politicians resorting to hateful speech and hurling accusatory remarks to score political points, more efforts should be channelled towards promoting constructive debate and dialogue between the various groups to foster greater open-mindedness and to embrace our diversity, and recognise that that is what strengthens the nation,” she said.
Dr Mahathir triggered a firestorm on July 3 when he falsely claimed that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was purportedly beholden to the DAP even though the party only had four ministers in the Cabinet.
He claimed that promoting a multi-ethnic Malaysia is unconstitutional, and alleged that the Federal Constitution is steeped in “Malayness”.
The nonagenarian further claimed in the series of tweets that the DAP had a “manifesto” to turn the country into a multi-ethnic secular one without a religion of the federation, and that the Anwar administration would collapse if the party’s 40 MPs chose to withdraw their support for the PKR president.
His remark was slammed by many in the government as baseless, including Anwar and DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke.
