KUALA LUMPUR: The ‘New Malaysia’ narrative should not be centred on race and religion, instead it should be in tackling urban poverty and combating corruption, said PKR President Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (pix).
“This isn’t about Malays versus Chinese, this is a new narrative, the majority of the urban poor are Malays, Indians in estate and the Chinese, although a small number of them, but still a part of our big Malaysian family, and those in Sabah and Sarawak.
“ ... and if you (youths) don’t show enough concern, care or compassion on the poor, then don’t talk about race, don’t talk about religion, and don’t talk about shared prosperity,” he said at the plenary session of the Youth Economic Forum 2019 yesterday.
The Port Dickson Member of Parliament also expressed hope that today’s younger generation would be able to live up to this new narrative and address the pressing issue of poverty, saying that his generation had failed to do so.
“I have great expectations that with this sort of exchange and discourse, you will affect the change that we, the older generation, have yet to get it done.
“The general comradeship among students in the 1960s was far better than now. Having said that, it reflects the failure of governance,” he said.
Anwar also said poverty is currently the biggest challenge for the government and also the result of corrupt practices and the penchant for living lavishly by the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) government.
“There are still many factors that make it hard for the country and by extension Malaysians to prosper although Pakatan Harapan has been successful in many areas.
“Lavish living style, endemic corruption and greedy tycoons are trying to continue with their ways today but it is a major challenge and not easy for us and our Prime Minister (Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad) to dismantle things which have been practised for six decades,” he said. — Bernama
