COMMENT | I cannot agree more with Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak that the politics of hatred is a bane to the country’s development.

In fact, it has taken the country off-track from Vision 2020. We are supposed to be a caring nation, but as a nation, we gained notoriety after putting opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim behind bars.

Just because Anwar was not in the same boat with the people in power, there is no reason to put him through the entire court process over a sodomy charge. This is nothing but hatred, no?

It is for this same reason that I have no confidence that things will change for the better by 2050 if Umno continues to remain in power.

Based on my close observations of Malaysian politics for the past one decade, such politics of hatred has only intensified during Najib’s time.

I recall the words of a Malay friend of mine who pointed to the news on TV3 and asked me: “See, is this the kind of example we want to pass on to our next generation?”

As a Malay, he was referring to the way that some BN supporters tore the banners belonging to PKR just before the last general election. Everything was broadcast on TV3's primetime news, prompting my friend to ask, “What values are we imparting to our younger generation?”

Getting out of hand

While the politics of hatred existed before 2008 and even during former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s time, since then, it has gone from bad to worse.

Instead of pointing fingers at the opposition, Najib should resolve the problem from within Umno. A good example is when Anwar was on a nationwide campaign in 2012. His car windscreen was cracked. The bus that he was on was also splashed with red paint.

This is the politics of hatred that we, as ordinary Malaysians, have witnessed especially over the past decade.

In my opinion, it is because Najib has totally lost control of the political situation by allowing certain extreme elements to take to the stage; hence, the strong stigma Umno now suffers from is because it has consistently projected an extreme right position.

This is why I have always asked why Umno still uses the keris as its symbol. Who is its enemy? As a political party, if its focus is always on its enemy and war, the party is no longer relevant to the general population, who are more peace-loving.

Look at notorious Umno Sungai Besar division leader Jamal Md Yunos.

If Umno has many faces, Jamal represents the most despicable side of the political organisation.

Former New Straits Times columnist Thor Kah Hoong is therefore right with an excellent piece which Najib should read time and again on why Malaysians are fed up with him, Umno and BN. 

Another observer, Ramon Navaratnam of the Asli Centre of Public Policy wrote: “Indeed, hate politics, racial and religious bigotry from any and all political quarters should, to be fair, be equally condemned with the same vehemence.

There cannot and must not be double standards conceived or implemented in administrative justice and righteousness for all Malaysians, regardless of race or religion or economic, social or geographic disposition.”

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.