Yoursay: Harapan must face race-religion challenge head-on

YOURSAY | ‘Make race a non-issue instead by placing importance on M’sians and bringing them to the fore.’

PM: Harapan needs to address race issues to beat Umno-PAS

Multi Racial: Pakatan Harapan won GE14 talking about fighting corruption and helping the poor regardless of race and religion.

Now, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad wants to fight on Umno and PAS’ terms. PKR, DAP and Warisan will suffer because of that.

The worst part is, fighting on Umno and PAS’ terms will only benefit Umno and PAS. Not even Bersatu will benefit.

Bersatu has to raise its game and be different from racist and religious extremist parties like Umno and PAS. It should take the stand of moderate and modern Malays.

It is not going to happen overnight. But at least those moderate Malays who support Harapan will continue to support it. And with better education and communication, more Malays will begin to understand these issues better and that will lead to more votes.

One thing is for sure, taking a moderate stand will ensure PKR, DAP and Warisan win. Better still, it may attract moderate parties from Sarawak to join Harapan as well.

Yes, the racial and religion play by Umno and PAS is working.

Perhaps before GE14, they controlled the administration, media and mosques, and the people, especially those in rural areas, didn't get to hear the truth.

Now that Harapan is the government, they should reform the education system and improve communication. They do not have to preach politics, but speak of moderation and fight against corruption and lies.

If Dr M and Bersatu don’t see this and want Bersatu to be Umno 2.0, they are going to bring down Harapan in GE15.

Drngsc: Mahathir, you are wrong. Or perhaps you are just speaking as Bersatu president.

The majority of Malays (who are silent) are with you. The minority of Malays (who are extremely vocal) are with Umno/PAS.

Keep doing the right thing for Malaysia, and more and more will leave Umno/PAS and support you. Play the racial card, and you will lose the majority of Malays as well as the strong non-Malay support.

Have confidence. The silent majority of Malays are with you. Ignore the noisy gongs.

FairMind: Common sense will tell you that if you make race a non-issue by placing importance on Malaysians and bringing them to the fore, then race-based politics will automatically cease to be significant.

You must control the narrative and never play to Umno/PAS’ strength, which is race and religion, because you can never beat them on this. So far Harapan hasn't got a clue in this game.

Wsoi: There is no need to be so afraid to talk about race and religion. Only through open dialogue can one understand the other better.

Nobody is forcing anybody to change your race or religion. So there is no threat posed to any persons or group.

Understanding each other basically will enable us to know our differences. Then we will voluntarily respect each other, rather than reluctantly.

Those who refuse to conduct dialogues on religion are either incompetent scholars or hypocrites.

Hopeful123: Indeed, there must be open discussions and more interactive events where all races and religions participate wholeheartedly.

Recently, I met some of my primary school teachers. They shared some beautiful moments when the non-Malay teachers cooked in their homes and brought the food to be shared by all the other teachers. The Malay teachers had no qualms sharing the food.

The non-Muslims have always been sensitive to the religious beliefs of the Muslims. They lamented that things have changed so much.

Storm over school block: PSM tells Nga to learn from Dr M

Anonymous_1538808416: I agree with Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) central committee member S Arutchelvan.

Deputy Dewan Rakyat speaker Nga Kor Ming explained he had contributed a lot to the school and thus what was wrong with naming the block after himself?

This is wrong thinking. Nga should know that as a lawmaker, he is obliged to serve with honour and expect nothing in return.

Brave Malaysian: Frankly, Nga should have just politely declined, just like all DAP politicians are told by the party to decline awards such as datukships until they retire.

If the school feels so strongly that he has contributed immensely to the school, name the block after him after he retires. Meanwhile, just call the block "Knowledge" or "Harmony" or whatever while waiting for him to retire.

I wonder if they will then still name the block after him when he is no longer in power. That would be a true reflection of his worth.

Karma is Just: I am quite sure most, if not all, of the commentators who are against the naming of the school building after Nga are not contributors to the school building fund.

So if you do not contribute, who appointed you to be judge and jury to condemn Nga for accepting the honour of having one of the school buildings named after him by the majority of the school board?

It is the prerogative of the school board to name the building after whomever they decided. After all, they must have contributed a lot of their time and money as well to raise funds for the school building.

Clongviews: Nga, in the interests of the party and as a role model, you should politely tell the board to suspend the naming of the block after you for now. The board would understand and know what to do.

You are setting a precedent for other leaders, especially those in your own party, to follow. Remember the hoo-ha over the state awards for datukships in Malacca?

Mahathir has set a fine example. Why not follow it?

Yes, freedom of speech is also for fascists

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