One important lesson I have learnt from my two-day “Jelajah Desa Bersama Kit Siang” in Bukit Mertajam to Kampong Permatang Tok Subuh yesterday and to Sungai Gelugur in Bukit Gelugor today is that ordinary Malays like ordinary non-Malays want unity, peace, harmony, progress and prosperity for plural Malaysia and not racial or religious polarization to divide the country and cause tensions.

In the past eight years, irresponsible politicking and communalization have succeed in projecting a very misleading and even mischievous perception that the Malays are being oppressed and suppressed in Penang, that the DAP-led Penang State Government is anti-Malay and anti-Islam.
These are not borne out by the facts and the actual situation in the state.

In fact, the DAP-led Penang State Government has done more for the Malays and Islam as compared to what Barisan Nasional government of the past.

I myself have been demonized of being anti-Malay and anti-Islam.

I really pity the UMNO operatives who have been tasked with the thankless job of going through the 10 million words that I must have spoken and written in my 51 years of political life to find proof that I am anti-Malay and anti-Islam and yet unable to do so – which is in fact the most powerful testimony that it is the UMNO leaders, propagandists and cybertroopers who are guilty of the most irresponsible and immoral gutter politics of lies, hate and bigotry in trying to demonise DAP and myself as anti-Malay and anti-Islam.

I call on Najib and the UMNO leaders, propagandists and cybertroopers to stop their puerile and hateful politics of defaming and demonising DAP leaders, but to be model leaders and citizens to promote a national shared vision, especially as the Prime Minister is promoting a National Transformation 2050 (TN50) policy.

As I told the women folk in Kampong Permatang Tok Subuh in Bukit Mertajam yesterday, any DAP government will be a thousand times better than the present UMNO government of Najib, for the simple reason that a DAP government will want to prove that under its stewardship, all Malaysians, whether Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Dayaks or Orang Asal will enjoy a better life so that we can continue to get the support of the electorate to win future general elections.

It is a “no brainer” for anyone to make the baseless allegation that a DAP or DAP-controlled government will be anti-Malay or anti-Islam, unless DAP wants to commit political suicide and DAP is not suicide-prone.

The racial and religious polarisation in the past eight years, particularly after the 2008 General Elections, creating racial divisions and tensions, are all the handiwork of desperate and ruthless political operatives and leaders and not the work of ordinary Malays and ordinary non-Malays who only want unity, peace, harmony, progress and prosperity for every one in the state and country.

The ordinary citizenry, regardless of race, religion or even politics, must not allow the political hustlers to create racial and religious tensions in the country just to serve their own political ends but must ensure that Penang and Malaysia can continue to progress and prosper for the best interests of our children and children’s children.

(Media Conference Statement at the end of “Jelajah Desa Bersma Kit Siang 2.0” at Sungai Gelugor on Sunday, 22nd January 2017 at 12.30 pm)