Root causes of racial politics in Malaysia
The best way to ensure that the media focuses on uniting Malaysians instead of dividing them on ethnic differences is to stop all politicians from speaking about one race or another.
The Malaysian Insider's op-ed piece on Najib's inaugural Cabinet meeting ended with this paragraph:
After chairing the Cabinet meeting, Najib met senior editors of the mainstream media. He was expected to tell them to focus on bringing Malaysians of different races together, instead of highlighting differences.
The best way to ensure that the media focuses on uniting Malaysians instead of dividing them on ethnic differences is to stop all politicians from speaking about one race or another.
If a journalist asks a politician about the impact that one ethnic group has over the outcome of a by-election, that politician should be circumspect and judicious about giving a holistic appraisal of the issues that influenced the electorate.
On the other hand, if that politician dives into ethnic issues and wallow in frustration over perceived levels of gratitude or, the lack of it, then it is obvious that it is the politicians who are harping on the ethnic divide when the rest of Malaysia is quite ready to move on.
