The Sungai Kandis by-election should be a serious warning as to what is in store for Malaysian politics and nation-building in post-14General Election, if extremist, desperate and dangerous political elements are given a free hand to destroy the very fabic of Malaysia’s plural society.
While the Sungai Kandis by-election result is very clear that these extremist, desperate and dangerous elements are fighting a losing battle in securing majority popular support in trying to resort to the most rabid and provocative politics of race, religion, hate, fear and lies, they are still capable of doing great damage to the fabric of Malaysia’s plural society if they are allowed a free hand to incite hate and baseless fears to create racial and religious animosity, hatred and strife in Malaysia.
A good example of such vicious and toxic politics of hate, fear and lies is the speech by the UMNO MP for Pasir Salak Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman on the eve of Sungai Kandis by-election on Saturday making the wild, preposterous, reckless, most incendiary and seditious allegations that the DAP has an agenda to Christianise Malaysia and that the DAP and “Christian-led Pakatan Harapan government” would want to abolish the Malay monarchy and establish a republic.
What is also most unpardonable is that after more than half a century of Malaysian nation-building, Tajuddin is trying to perpetuate the misconception that a Christian or non-Muslim is anti-Islam, a Chinese or Indian is anti-Malay – undermining the very basis of Malaysia as a multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi- religious and multi-cultural nation and that our very diversity in ethnicity, religion, language and culture is a great liability when it is an unique asset for the nation.
Another example is the most racist, baseless but most provocative and incendiary speech by the UMNO Secretary-General Tan Sri Annuar Musa during the Sungai Kandis by-election and which is circulated in a 1 min 58 sec WhatsApp video “Realiti Kerajaan Pro-DAP” on social media, calculated to incite racial and religious animosity, hatred and strife in Malaysia.
It is most shocking that former Ministers and Deputy Minsters and titled Malaysians who should be model Malaysians are now actively involved in the nefarious work of dividing and detroying the Malaysian nation.
Is Tajuddin and Annuar prepared to defend themselves?
In particular, Annuar Musa should explain his racist, reckless but most provocative and incendiary speech circulated in a 1 min 58 sec WhatsApp video “Realiti Kerajaan Pro-DAP” on social media.
(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Parliament on Monday, 6th August 2018)