Urban elite misunderstood my criticism of gov't's focus - Anwar
PKR president Anwar Ibrahim has defended saying that the government gives undue focus to the "urban elite," and denied that this implies only taking better care of the Malay community.
“In the last few weeks, because of my criticism of the urban elite, some of them have said, 'Well, Anwar is actually a closet racist, because he seems to be so concerned about the welfare of the Malays'," he said today...
PKR president Anwar Ibrahim has defended saying that the government gives undue focus to the "urban elite," and denied that this implies only taking better care of the Malay community.
“In the last few weeks, because of my criticism of the urban elite, some of them have said, 'Well, Anwar is actually a closet racist, because he seems to be so concerned about the welfare of the Malays'," he said today.
"Do you see how the urban elite, who profess freedom, will resort to race-baiting on a different guard?
"You reject racism, but the moment you are criticised because you do not articulate the problems of the poor and the marginalised enough, you immediately say the criticism is because we represent the Malays."
Anwar was speaking on the second day of the Al Sharq Forum Youth Conference in Kuala Lumpur this morning.
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The PKR leader was previously reported to have called on Pakatan Harapan to shift its focus from addressing the "priorities" of urbanites to the bread and butter issues of rural Malays, or risk a backlash.
In response, critics like Lawyers for Liberty's N Surendran said the struggle for institutional reform and human rights could not be dismissed as elitist concerns, as they affected the marginalised the most.
'A poor man is a poor man'
In his speech today, Anwar sought to clarify that his concern for the poor takes into account neither race nor religion.
"I make no apologies for the fact that I am a Malay.
"I am equally as concerned about the welfare of the Muslims who form the majority in this country, but I am (also) a human being who believes in justice for all who understand and appreciate the problems of the rural poor and the urban poor," he explained.
"A poor man is a poor man. Whether he is a Malay or Chinese or Indian or Dayak.
"A man who has been condemned and oppressed is a victim, whether he is a Muslim, Christian, Buddhist or Hindu. That is what I believe Islam stands for."
Anwar further called for democratic ideals to be extended to all of society, or risk being rendered "meaningless."
"If you talk about democracy, it has to be participatory democracy.
"Because without critical consciousness, democracy will be the concert of the rich and the powerful.
"They will have the resources, they will have the means and they will dictate the course," he said.
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