Datuk Seri Najib Razak has urged Malaysians to move beyond racial lines and practise acceptance instead of just tolerance to strengthen national unity even as the mercury continues to rise over race and religion.
“I invite all Malaysians to move from the concept of tolerance to acceptance. Tolerance is not so meaningful... there are still dividing walls and feelings of our difference from one another,” the prime minister said during his working visit to Kedah today.
His remark comes just a day after it was reported that English football club Chelsea lodged a complaint with the Football Association of Malaysia over anti-Semitic abuse suffered by Yossi Benayoun during their friendly match in Kuala Lumpur last week.
The episode could potentially embarrass Najib (picture), who has just returned from diplomatic visits to London and the Vatican, in his continuing efforts to portray himself as a moderate Muslim leader.
The prime minister ironically used a football match as a metaphor today, saying that the “people from various communities help one another for the success of our team. If one of us scores an own goal, we will lose.”
Ethnic tension in Malaysia has soared since a landmark election in 2008 saw the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) lose its customary two-thirds majority in Parliament and five state governments.
Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia and Malay rights lobby group Perkasa have continuously warned of eroding Malay-Muslim power and accused opposition figures of being foreign agents.
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has also promised to push forward a needs-based economic agenda that dismantles pro-Bumiputera affirmative action under the New Economic Policy (NEP) introduced in 1970.
Most recently, Utusan Malaysia has said that Bersih was making use of the Malays to further the agenda of its Hindu leader Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan and made the unsubstantiated claim that the electoral reform movement was backed by Jews.
The Chinese-dominated DAP has also been accused by the Malay daily of conspiring with church leaders to install a Christian prime minister and turn Malaysia into a Christian state.
This came on the back of Christian demands that it be allowed to use Allah to refer to God and Malay-language bibles be freely distributed.
But Najib insisted today that his 1 Malaysia slogan has been an effort that increases national unity and integration in Malaysia’s multiracial and multireligious community.
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didn't you realised that the Bersih walk on 709 was the perfect manifestation of mutual acceptance of 'rakyat' of Malaysia, regardless of race and religion ?
Set an example and accept Bersih and all other dissenting views, then you can talk of acceptance!
All Najib has shown so far as PM is a lack of both tolerance and acceptance!
Another Najib talk. Say one thing do another.
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