No need for Race Relations Act if people behave, says Ibrahim Ali
(The Malaysian Insider) – Putrajaya need not table a Race Relations Act to govern interaction between the communities and curb racial extremism if “everyone behaves”, Datuk Ibrahim Ali said today.
“If everyone behaves, if nobody touches on (Article) 153, nobody questions this and that, condemns this and that, and at the same time recognises the disparity of wealth between Malays and non-Malays, I don’t think we need any additional Act.
“We’ve lived harmoniously for the last 54 years. We faced a problem once during May 13 but after that, nothing has happened. So the system has worked well,” the Perkasa chief told reporters here.
The Malay rights leader blamed the rise in racial tension on the opposition’s big gains in Election 2008, saying politicians were now capitalising on racial issues for political mileage.
He also denied that the general election, which saw Pakatan Rakyat (PR) sweep into power in four states, amounted to a referendum on Barisan Nasional’s (BN) “well-received” policies.
“I still believe the people rejected Barisan Nasional in 2008 because of the weakness of (Tun) Abdullahj Badawi as a prime minister. Nothing to do with policies,” the Pasir Mas MP said.
