PETALING JAYA: Umno and PAS have been reminded that the race-based politics advocated by them had lost to a more diverse, open, moderate and professional approach by Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the 14th general election.
The two parties should therefore abandon their divisive racial politics and lead efforts to promote social integration, according to Gerakan president Datuk Dr Dominic Lau Hoe Chai.
In response to the Umno-PAS collaboration, Lau pointed out that while the two parties said they would not abandon the non-Malays, their focus on the Malay agenda was clearly race-based.
“Regressing into communal politics based on race and religion is not healthy for the nation. Polarisation is the last thing we want for a ‘New Malaysia’,” he added in a statement today.
Lau pointed out that two successful by-election wins cannot be regarded as an “all-conquering model in politics and elections”.
“Compared with the momentous GE14, Cameron Highlands and Semenyih were just two individual events,” he said.
“The results do not define voter sentiment across the country where there is a diverse pool of voters of different racial and religious origins,” he added.
Lau said the Malays do not root for the same party forever, and political parties must evolve over time.
He said there are other more pressing issues that Malaysians face such as economic performance and social well-being.
“We need more voices to advocate multi-culturalism, moderation and inclusiveness and to champion the concept of unity in diversity,” he added.
He said Malaysians need an opposition that is open-minded and professional, not one that exploits race and religion for their own ends.
PKR chief organising secretary Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said the collaboration between Umno and PAS leaders means that they have turned their backs on the spirit and legacy of their former leaders such as Dato’ Onn Jaafar, Tunku Abdul Rahman and Datuk Seri Nik Aziz Nik Mat, who upheld multi-racial cooperation and high standards of integrity in public life.
