Selangor Pakatan Harapan youth wings and their counterparts in Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) will be holding a campaign against racism in the run up to the 14th general election.

State Amanah youth chief Abbas Salimmi Azmi said labels such as "anti-Malay", "anti-Islam", "pro-Jewish", and others are being falsely bandied about by Umno to divide people and divert attention from economic issues.

“As a result, today we see many situations or incidents in society where skin colour has become the basis for judging other people. It is not even strange anymore to see to school-aged children honing such narrow racist views.

“We in Pakatan Harapan are concerned that if such practices are not curtailed, it would breed extremism in our country,” he told a press conference in Shah Alam today.

Also present were Selangor PKR youth chief Afzainizam Rahman, Selangor DAP youth chief Tee Hoong Keat, and Selangor Bersatu youth chief Adhif Syan Abdullah.

Among others, Abbas cited Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s attacks against DAP, that DAP would take over the government if Umno is toppled, and bumiputeras would stand to lose out.

He also pointed to the antics of the then agriculture and agro-based industry minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who urged Malay consumers in 2015 to boycott Malaysian Chinese businesses to compel them to lower their prices.

As for the Gabungan NGO Melayu chairperson Jamal Md Yunos, he said Jamal is the product of Umno’s racial politics, and claimed that Sarawak’s decision to bar him from entering the state as vindication for this.

Ismail Sabri had previously clarified that he was not referring to all Chinese traders, but only the "stubborn" ones who refuse to reduce their prices despite falling fuel prices at the time.

To combat racism, Abbas (photo) said Harapan and Bersatu have held a dialog session with youths in Pandan last night, and will continue to host more.

In addition, they will be holding social media and leafleting campaigns, as well as events such as art shows, runs, bicycle convoys, and others to spread the message. The events are still in the works, and details of it would be announced soon, he said.

'Bersatu stands with Harapan at state level'

On another matter, Afzainizam said Harapan and Bersatu will hold a campaign to urge Selangor youths to register as voters.

This is to encourage those who have yet to register to register by March 31, so that they can be on the electoral roll in case the general election is held in September.

“In addition, Selangor Harapan and Bersatu youth wings will explain issues related to elections in Selangor, including the redelineation, and efforts by some quarters or agencies to object and thwart the registration of new voters as reported by Bersih,” he said.

To a question, Adhif said Bersatu still stands with Harapan at the state level.

This is despite Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin expressing commitment on the proposed amendments to the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 (Act 355) during a meeting with PAS.

Adhif said he is not in a position to comment on a statement that came from the party’s top leadership, but added that "at the state level, we are with Pakatan Harapan".

He said this when the four Selangor Harapan and Bersatu youth chiefs were asked if Muhyiddin’s statement had affected relations between the parties.

DAP, which is a part of the Pakatan, had vehemently opposed the proposed amendments but had been tight-lipped on Muhyiddin’s purported support for it.