COMMENT | Stop harassing those who speak on issues many fear to discuss

COMMENT | A hybrid is defined as a product of two different entities and the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government is a hybrid of the religious party, PAS, and the more established, integrity challenged Umno-Baru.

True to form, the monstrous hybrid PN has shown extreme intolerance, excessive insensitivity and rigidity.

In the past, both of these parties would claim that they were necessary to protect Islam and defend the Malays. Today, the irony is that the rakyat needs saving and protecting from PN.

Within a few weeks, several individuals have been questioned for making various remarks: veteran radio announcer and actor Patrick Teoh, former women, family and community development deputy minister Hannah Yeoh, lawyer Siti Kassim, former youth and sports minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) founder Cynthia Gabriel and former water, land and natural resources minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar.

So, why have these individuals been harassed? The answer is simple. What they said goes to the heart of the PN administration. The raison d'être of the Malay PN government is the four Rs: race, religion, royalty and the rural divide...