‘Loving one’s race is not developing Malays at the expense of others’

(FMT) – Khalid Samad says Ibrahim Ali’s understanding of “loving one’s race” is different from his.

Love, or at least the talk of it, has been in the air since Tuesday, when Amanah Communications Director Khalid Samad spoke of the difference between racism and genuine affection for the race and culture one is born into.

But now Khalid seems anxious to correct any impression anyone may have that he and Perkasa President Ibrahim Ali share the same understanding of the meaning of love.

Ibrahim had said that he felt vindicated by Khalid’s statement, which was made in defence of Parti Pribumi Bersatu’s decision to restrict its membership to Bumiputeras.

In an interview with FMT, Khalid said he and Ibrahim were talking about different things. He said Ibrahim had shown by his rhetoric that he took “loving one’s race” to mean “developing the Malays at the expense of other races”.

“Loving your race,” Khalid said, “is a natural and positive thing. If you want your race to be the best, that’s fine, but it cannot be at the expense of others. When you spread hatred against other races and create ill will among races, now that is racist.”

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