The Internet can be used as a tool to promote unity and a weapon to fight extremist groups, said an official in the Ministry of Energy, Communications and Multimedia.

The ministry's parliamentary secretary Chia Kwang Chye said that with the Internet, communities can relate with one another through various websites to promote goodwill, harmony and unity among the various races.

"People of all races can exchange views, make suggestions and propose ways to solve problems through such websites," he said at a Rukun Tetangga (RT) dinner in Penang on Saturday.

"With the Internet, we will also be able to have neighbourhood watches. We can install cameras for security measures, and RTs can communicate with one another," he added.

Chia was speaking to about 500 people who attended a "Christmas, Kongsi-Raya Get Together" dinner organised by the Mount Erskine RT.

There are currently 124 RTs in the island, most of them actively organised by volunteers.

Chia, who is also member of parliament for Bukit Bendera, said that such gatherings reflect the true spirit of Malaysia.

He added that while extremist groups in the past few months have tried to exploit racial sentiments among the country's various communities, they have failed because the grassroots are strongly united.

"We have lived together for many decades despite our cultural background," Chia said.

"Whenever racial problems arise threatening to tear us apart, our RTs and other organisations continue to explain to the people from a rational point of view," he added.

Good neighbourliness

Meanwhile, Mount Eskine RT chairman Chin Sek Ham (pictured here in the middle) said that the main objective of setting up of RT's throughout the country is to promote good neighbourliness, peace, unity and harmony.

"Without national unity and solidarity, our nation will not be able to survive the onslaught of the prevailing new world order, the impending introduction of the Asean Free Trade Agreement and globalisation," he said.

"Even a big nation like USSR succumbed and disintegrated under such pressure," he added.

Chin also took the opportunity to plead for long-awaited title deeds for the Mount Erskine plot of land, formerly known as Lot 998.

This land had been subdivided and alienated to the house owners upon payment of a premium to the state government.

"All houses have complied with government regulations and we are now anxiously waiting for the land office to give us our respective title deeds," he said.

Chin said there was also another plot of land called Lot 999, whose tenants had to leave due to development of a residential area known as Taman Kristal.

Although half of the former ground tenants had moved into their compensated units, another half have not been delivered their units yet, he said.

"To make matters worst, the developer had stopped paying the agreed monthly rental for the previous two months," Chin said.

"We urge the developer to keep his part of the bargain and make out payments without further delay as the former tenants are mostly wage earners or retirees who are badly in need of money," he added.

In the past decade, various housing problems such as delayed title deeds, eviction, compensation and the much talked about effects of doing away with the Rent Control Act have been raised by Penang residents due to the state's priority in land development programmes.