Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has urged Malaysians to unite against "extremist and racist forces" demonising non-Muslims and non-Malays with hate, fear and lies.
"Failure to do so will wreck nearly 60 years of nation-building, and leave a shattered nation that would be a fertile ground for more virulent and violent ideologies," Lim said in his Thaipusam message today.
He blamed BN’s "divisive policies", saying it had alienated Malaysians from each other.
Such policies, he noted, had also increased hostility due to the willingness to believe in lies, or the worst of each other.
"Sadly, such racist and extremist policies of BN have been adopted by one opposition party to spew lies, fear and hate against non-Muslims and the Chinese community," Lim said.
The DAP secretary-general did not mention names, but recently PAS research director Mohd Zuhdi Marzuki had claimed that DAP was offered RM1.2 billion to build an Israeli military camp in Port Dickson if it captured Putrajaya.
Lim said such baseless claims undermined the image of non-Muslim leaders in the opposition.
He then cited instances of what he perceived as hostility shown against non-Malays.
One example can be seen in a few national schools where non-Muslim children are not allowed to eat openly during the holy fasting month of Ramadan, he recalled.
He added that even a columnist in the New Straits Times today lamented that Muslim children were distrustful and reluctant to interact normally with non-Muslim children in schools.
"No wonder there are less and less non-Malay parents sending their children to national schools".
A serious situation
Lim pointed out the seriousness of the situation, where racial hostility can be seen by an incident involving an Indian female doctor in Taiping.
According to media reports , the doctor had wanted to help an old Malay man who injured himself after he had fallen off from his motorcycle.
Instead, she was insulted with a racist epitaph of, “Keling, don't help me or touch me.”
Only when the Malay uncle knew she was a doctor did he smile to her and said, “Doctor can touch.”
"This is not only shocking, but shows how racist and extremist ideologies have led to what could be the distressing beginning of the dehumanisation of non-Malays and non-Muslims, as if they are lesser beings or lesser Malaysians," Lim lamented.
On a separate matter, Lim reminded that this is the reason why the plight of M Indira Gandhi is not given the proper national attention she deserves.
"Indira’s plight should not be looked at solely from the religious perspective, but also for her rights as a mother, wanting to be reunited with her daughter taken from her seven years ago when she was only an 11-month old baby," Lim said.
"For this reason, whilst every family is reunited to celebrate Thaipusam we should not forget those who are kept apart from their families," he added.
