YOURSAY | 'Even though self-proclaimed unity govt does slipshod job of promoting it.'

'Quit politicising religion' - politicians told

Small water bottle: Thank you Malaysiakini for reminding us there is still unity amongst us ordinary Malaysians, even if our self-proclaimed unity government and cabinet do a slipshod job of promoting unity.

Make no mistake, if we the rakyat were to ever give in to the chaos that certain political parties thirst and hanker for, we are the ones who have everything to lose whilst the said political parties have all to gain.

Power at the cost of chaos, especially racial chaos, is a cancerous sin and ought to be dispelled from our nation's language.

In the past few election cycles, it is becoming increasingly obvious that the last bastion-holders of moderation and democracy are the rakyat themselves. We've come this far; let us persevere.

A few MPs have shown in small glimmers that they have not lost sight of what it means and takes to build back a nation. Let us try to believe that not everything is lost, and that hope can indeed prevail despite it all.

Magnanimous46: People like the 'Malay Dilemma' Dr Mahathir Mohamad would not have lasted 22 years as prime minister if not for politicising race, religion and supremacy for position and power.

It takes two hands to clap, and politicians find race and religion sell faster than other forms of handouts. Even Kuala Langat MP Ahmad Yunus Hairi who advocates exclusivity for mosques in Malay-dominated areas will not resort to such extremism unless he finds it sells among his voters.

This has been the bread and butter for our politicians for over 50 years since the 'Malay Dilemma" and sadly we can see that ultra-Malay parties like Bersatu and PAS that champion race and religion are the choice in the Malay heartland.

The people have been indoctrinated for far too long to the point that many are victims of the herd and siege mentality. If this wholesale indoctrination continues to be the basic philosophy of the administration, there is no way to stop the downward trend.

The entire concept of nation building based on supremacy of race and religion as sowed and nurtured by Mahathir must change if we are to see each other as Malaysians instead of Malay, Chinese and Indians.

The usual 'syok sendiri' surveys that the people are united and are happy are just 'feel-good' surveys for the media. The reality and fear staring in our faces is the green wave whatever the surveys deem to show.

Unlike what Mahathir makes out of 'the Malay poor' and 'non-Malay domination' to keep the people separated, the B40 consists of all races.

Unless and until the people that count make their voices heard and stand up against unreasonable, discriminatory, and racist policies, politicians like Yunus will continue to exploit them with more of the same for their votes.

Steven Ong: No politicising of race and religion can gain support in a political race if no one believes in them. This politicising of religion has come to mean a race to mask the original intended religious dominance in Malaysia.

It’s the same in some Muslim-controlled countries where religion is used for political purposes. And if there are no or few non-Muslims, the political rivals will fight one another for control over the country, ruining the country. Verify to see if this is not a fact.

Why is this happening in Muslim-majority countries? It’s because the Muslims had been trained to defend and support the growth and dominance of Islam from very young. Hence, calls for rejection of political manipulation of Islam for political gain are just noises.

These have no impact on the reality in Malaysia when the PM and all the Muslim politicians still depend on race and religion for their political survival.

Proarte: Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh is just a pawn in a political game involving the ruling elites.

Surely Yeoh being a seasoned politician should have known the reaction from her political opponents over the 'Jom Ziarah' programme. Notice how all these controversial issues are brought up invariably show non-Muslims or non-Malay politicians having to 'back down'.

This reinforces the ‘ketuanan’ (supremacy) narrative that both Perikatan Nasional and the unity government under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim are advocating.

Anwar did not make a clear stand, nor did he defend the Jom Ziarah initiative. So much for Malaysia Madani and for promoting unity.

Why have unity programmes, which are not defended by the PM, so easily and predictably scuttled? Why talk about having "negotiations and discussions" as Anwar is advocating over resolving the Jom Ziarah controversy? These should have been done well before and during the process of formulating the programme.

I cannot help feel that our non-Malay politicians are either very naive or worse still, complicit in promoting and accepting the ketuanan political ideology.

Man on the Silver Mountain: Congratulations to the reporters for coming up with this article. How refreshing it is to hear normal sane friendly Malaysians talking about inter-religious and inter-racial issues and experiences.

The way PAS and the extremists say it, we thought Malaysia was made up of such religious and racially intolerant people, complaining here and there.

I like one of the comments, “PAS should stop making things up, just for political purposes,”. Yes, that’s it. They are making things up about people complaining.

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. In the past year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.

These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.