COMMENT As Putrajaya continues to dither over the 'Allah' row, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has moved in and put on his statesman's hat in a special address to Malaysians today.
 
In his carefully crafted speech, Anwar spoke at length about the growing racial and religious divisions created by bickering politicians and how this needs to be resolved.
 
Anwar claimed that the country had not seen the building up of tension at this level since the events leading up to the May 13 riots and called for national consensus.
 
The 28-paragraph statement read out by Anwar before an audience of some 200 youths in Subang Jaya was the strongest message by any national leader to date.
 
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak only broached on the current tensions on Friday, where he let out eight words in passing when telling Christians they cannot use the word 'Allah' in states where such prohibitions exist in law.
 
The words were: " Tidak perlu ada mana-mana pihak menakutkan pihak lain (There is no need for any parties to intimidate others)."
 
Treading carefully
 
In the eyes of the public, those words coming from the prime minister were that of a politician, not a statesman.
 
But statesmanship is unpopular for a party like Umno where standing up for what would be regarded as common sense and good for nation building isn't common sense.
 
Race baiting has always been a winning formula for the race-based party which had not required leadership of a statesman since after independence and 1969 riots.
 
This formula has created a toxic political scene where any leader, including statesmen, can land in hot water for saying the right things.
 
Anwar appeared mindful of this in his address today.
 
"We must at the same time give due recognition to the same constitutional safeguards on all the other religions in the land.
 
"Buddhists, Taoists, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and practitioners of ethnics religions must be accorded their constitutional freedom to practise their religion in the manner of their choosing," said Anwar.
 
Cautious statesmanship?
 
The remarks was similar to statements from Christian leaders that they should be allowed to preach according to their own choice including using the word 'Allah', but did not specifically say so.
 
When asked after the address to clearly state Pakatan Rakyat's stance on the 'Allah' matter, Anwar reiterated the coalition's statements in 2010 on the matter but refused to repeat its content.
 
"Our position is clear... I don't think we need to repeat that.
 
"We are not addressing one specific concern, there are also concerns of Muslims, inflation, and of course the 'Allah' and Bible issue but more compelling is the attempt to certain quarters to create racial hatred and antagonism," he said.
 
The statement by PKR , dated Jan 5, 2010 had said: "It is clear that the use of the word 'Allah' to acknowledge and worship Allah as God is the right of every human being."
 
A similar statement by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang on the same day said non-Muslims could use the word 'Allah' but should not abuse it.
 
However, repeating them as clearly as that would likely become a political lightning rod to play the racial and religious card by the same people who are dividing the nation.
 
Unfortunately for Malaysia, being a statesman can well turn you into a villain.

NIGEL AW is a member of the Malaysiakini team.