'If Harapan is serious about diversity, it should do away with one-race parties'
Some quarters are still unconvinced that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's call for Malays to join Bersatu is not racist in nature.
Gerakan vice-president Baljit Singh said, “if Pakatan Harapan was really serious about diversity, it should propose a law to do away with one-race parties.”
That would mean Bersatu needs to reinvent itself and start admitting non-Malays into the party, Baljit added.
"Is Bersatu, under the leadership of Mahathir courageous enough to do it? " Baljit asked...
Some quarters are still unconvinced that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's call for Malays to join Bersatu is not racist in nature.
Gerakan vice-president Baljit Singh (photo) said, “If Pakatan Harapan was really serious about diversity, it should propose a law to do away with one-race parties.”
That would mean Bersatu needs to reinvent itself and start admitting non-Malays into the party, Baljit added.
"Is Bersatu, under the leadership of Mahathir, courageous enough to do it? " Baljit asked.
"For as long as it rules, and even if it returns to the opposition coalition, Harapan can never truly claim to promote diversity or multiculturalism if Bersatu continues its efforts to become the biggest Malay party ala Umno," Baljit told Malaysiakini.
Mahathir clarified that his invitation to Malay parties to join Bersatu is only targeted at their members.
The Bersatu president assured that it was not an invitation for the parties to join the ruling coalition.
He said Harapan cannot accept any more parties, as choosing candidates for elections will be a problem.
Mahathir was chided for his latest remark, while Umno and PAS, two big Malay Muslim parties, have rejected the invitation.
PAS even said that it was committed to stand by Umno, but added that it was open to co-operation with all political parties.
Baljit said although the invite was targeted at members and not Malay parties, the notion of inviting all Malays to join Bersatu still defeats the purpose of reformasi and New Malaysia.
"It will be better if he calls for Malays to join Harapan, and not just Bersatu. We thought Harapan is all about being multiracial and multicultural.
"What happened to that spirit? Now Mahathir wants to make Bersatu the largest Malay party. What does that signify? Isn't it Umno 2.0 or PAS 2.0 all over again?" Baljit asked.
"Not a racist sentiment? You are not very convincing, Mr Prime Minister!"
Baljit said the idea of saving one's own race is not a bad idea as minorities like the Orang Asli need to defend themselves from destroyers of their livelihood and environment.
But when such racist ideology dominates or influences public policy, it does not augur well for the future of the country, said the lawyer.
"Why is there the idea of uniting the Malays only? What about other races? It is time for a just and fair effort to unite all Malaysians and not just selected races only. This is what new Malaysia could be proud of," Baljit said.
"Unfortunately, this is not what we are seeing. A return to old politics seems to be the order of the day."
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