Monday 27 January 2014


Anwar: Leaders from both BN and Pakatan Rakyat must put aside partisan concerns and show real leadership in easing the tension
---
Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the nation is reaching " a crescendo -threatening to tear the fabric of Malaysia's unity apart" akin to the days prior to the bloody May 13 1969 riots, due to recent statements by certain parties.

Speaking at a dialogue with youths at Sunway Resort today, Anwar pointed out that all Malaysians must be "vigilant" as there are attempts to take Malaysia to the brink of destruction.

"After 56 years of independence one would expect that this cohesiveness is not only in existence but should be growing stronger by the day.

"Unfortunately in the last few months a series of circumstances and developments are collectively eroding the cohesiveness that is crucial to our identity.

"Of course, we have not reached the tipping point yet but as they say, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.

"We can't be vigilant enough here because there are all kinds of attempts by certain quarters to take this nation to the brink.

"In fact, we have not seen this building up of tension since the events leading up to our national tragedy of May 13th 1969.

"The voices of hate and animosity, the voices of prejudice and suspicion, and the voices of wreck and ruin are attempting to drown out the harmony, cooperation and understanding that we have built on the ruins of this tragedy," said Anwar.

He then called leaders from both sides of the political divide to put aside partisan concerns and show real leadership in easing the tension and work towards ameliorating the situation.

"Indeed, the time has come for all to reach a national consensus on these crucial issues that impact the sub-stratum of out identity as a nation.

"In line with the spirit of the Constitution, all parties must cease questioning the paramount position of Islam as the religion of the Federation

"In reaffirming the position of Islam and recognising that Muslims make up the majority of the population, we must reject the notion that Islam is under threat.

"We must reject the notion that there is some sinister conspiracy to replace Islam as the religion of the Federation with some other religion," he said.

Anwar also called that due recognition to the same constitutional safeguards be given to all religions in the land.

Asked whether Anwar meant certain NGOs or political parties who were inciting racial tension, he merely pointed out that it's been reported many times in Umno owned media.

Regarding his stance on the Allah issue, Anwar referred to his statement back in 2010 and refused to comment further.

"100, 000 Syrians were killed before they started talking. Do we need a major strife before we talk?" he questioned.
Categories:

2 comments:

Subscribe to RSS Feed Follow me on Twitter!