YOURSAY | 'Raja Bahrin, you're like water for a thirsty traveller in the desert.'

Christchurch killings: Deputy minister highlights hypocrisy of M'sian politicians

David Dass: Housing and Local Government Deputy Minister Raja Kamarul Bahrin Shah has belled the cat.

His words ring loud and true. Some politicians describe the non-Malays in exactly the same terms as white extremists do to Muslim and non-white migrants in their own countries.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed one million Syrian refugees into her country. She was Christian and compassion was her motivation.

Most of the Muslims who now live in Western countries came as refugees or poor migrants looking for jobs and for safe havens. These were predominantly Christian countries. The majority welcomed them.

Yes, there are extremists. But these are minorities. And the laws are strict about hate crimes and discrimination.

And that was exactly how it was in Malaysia too. The Malays were warm and welcoming to the non-Malays. There were incidents but they did not reflect the feelings of the majority.

Some Malay politicians, now largely in the opposition, try to stir the Malays up against the non-Malays. That is wrong. It is dangerous.

Fortunately, on the ground, the day-to-day interaction among the races is good. But more efforts are required.

All who can must make the effort to assure one another that we can transcend race and religion in our individual and collective effort to make life in Malaysia better for all.

Fairview: My salute to Raja Kamarul. It takes courage for him to say what he said in Malaysia.

This is the type of leader that will lead to a more harmonious and better Malaysia but he will be roundly criticised by the religious and racial extremists among us.

Will Amanah also tell Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mujahid Yusof Rawa that he made the wrong move in a public display of cosiness with controversial preacher Zakir Naik?

To many Malaysians, this preacher is a divisive person. Surely there must be Muslim preachers who can do a better and more professional job in expanding the influence of Islam.

Ravinder: "Housing and Local Government Deputy Minister Raja Kamarul Bahrin Shah highlighted the similarities between the New Zealand shooter Brenton Tarrant and the hate being spread in Malaysia along racial and religious lines."

Very, very true. Thank you, Raja Kamarul, for speaking up sincerely on this issue. It was such a shock to see Mujahid giving a red-carpet welcome with hugs to Zakir Naik, the preacher of hate whose only "jidah" is to pit Muslims against non-Muslims.

In this respect, even PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad is wrong to defend Zakir Naik, claiming that he has not created any trouble so he can go about his "jihad" business. But Zakir Naik's words are toxic, I would say even unIslamic.

Mahathir is driven by his ego and wants to prove that he is not fickle-minded. Remember how he handled the radioactive waste dumping case of Asian Rare Earth in Papan, Batu Gajah, in the 1980s?

He refused to go and look at the trenches built by the company to store the leaking metal drums of the waste.

He vehemently "defended" the reports from the officers responsible to oversee the construction of the trenches supposed to be lined with four-inch-thick reinforced concrete who said the standard had been complied with.

He then left for an overseas holiday and Musa Hitam became acting PM. The residents subsequently invited Musa to go and take a look.

He did, and upon one look, he condemned the trenches. Mahathir returned, and Musa got shelled as to why he went and criticised the trenches and thus bring disrepute to the government.

Mahathir argued that when the government has taken a stand, it must be maintained at all costs so as not to embarrass the government. Musa eventually threw in the towel and left.

Personally curious, I drove to Papan to find out why Musa had condemned the trenches. What a shock I had.

Each trench (there were about 10 on a little hillock) was about 10 feet wide, 10 feet deep and about 50 feet long, and it was lined not with concrete, but with cement plaster of between 1cm and 3cm thick and chunks of which were breaking off the sides and dropping into the trenches.

And radioactive waste would have been placed there and buried. My God, what was Mahathir doing? He didn't care for the well-being of the residents, but for the "good name" of his government.

He is repeating the same blunder in the case of Zakir Naik by shielding him. Raja Kamarul is correct in what he is saying, but will Mahathir, or the cabinet ministers, listen to him?

Constitutional Supremacy: The solution is for moderate Malays to speak up, like our deputy minister has done.

If extremist statements are left unrebutted, this will convey the impression to simple Malays that the statements made were true.

In the last 10 years, many extremist statements were never challenged. Even PKR president Anwar Ibrahim admitted about two weeks ago that the last few years, he never rebutted PAS leaders’ statements as he considered them friends.

Mohd Isnin: Thank you, Raja Kamarul. It is high time more Malay Muslim leaders spoke like you. We are sick and tired of listening to the non-Muslim bashing by Umno and PAS.

It's about time we Malays show the world that we have ‘maruah’ and we should not be seen to be bullying the minorities in this country.

Only those who are corrupted and have something to hide would constantly need a punching bag to divert the spotlight on them. This is very clear with the way Umno/PAS politicians are behaving today.

Cogito Ergo Sum: This MP is the embodiment of what every Harapan and opposition MP ought to be like. Concern for the nation takes precedence over all others. Especially party politics.

Hopeful123: Raja Kamarul, you are like water for a thirsty traveller in the desert. We need more such leaders like you in our country.

Any amount of convincing that the Malays and Muslims will not be sidelined in our country is hijacked by the Umno/PAS gang for their own political survival. They simply don't care about the country and its people.

If need be, they will not hesitate to instigate racial and religious riots just to remain relevant. I hope and pray that the Harapan government is alert and will act against any such subversive elements among our midst.

Anonymous_1550204262: This is such a serious issue and no one really cares to make sure it stops, be it the opposition or Harapan themselves. They do not seem to realise that all this yanking at hell's gate might unleash the devil.

The saddest part is when terror is unleashed, it is only going to hurt some innocent people. The instigators will never be touched, and long after they have spread their poison on Facebook and live chats, they will come together to grieve for the injured and the dead.

My advice to Harapan is just to pass a law that can instantly prosecute a person who spreads racial and religious hatred.

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