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Patriot: Malaysia is for all Malaysians, there is no room for exclusivity

National Patriots Association (Patriot) president Brig-Jen (Rtd) Datuk Mohamed Arshad speaks during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur April 22, 2019. — Picture by Choo Choy May
National Patriots Association (Patriot) president Brig-Jen (Rtd) Datuk Mohamed Arshad speaks during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur April 22, 2019. — Picture by Choo Choy May

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 22 — Patriot president Brig Jen (Rtd) Datuk Mohamed Arshad Raji today warned that there is no room for racism and exclusivity in the country as he took Perlis Mufti Datuk Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin to task for saying ‘Malaysia is for the Malays.’

Mohamed Arshad said if such a mindset and attitude remains, the nation and its people will suffer a long period of poverty which can lead to a national breakup and economic chaos.

“There is absolutely no room for racism and exclusivity. Malaysia is for all Malaysians, and we be wise to know — united we stand, divided we fall.

“The last thing we need is for someone to publicly declare that Tanah Melayu is for the Malays. Wisdom has escaped Mohd Asri when he did just that in a recent video sermon.

“No one is disputing there is a dominant race in national identity, as what Mohd Asri postulated,” Mohd Arshad said in a statement today.

Mohd Asri on Friday said such concept applied elsewhere, including India, China and Europe for all the West’s talk of human rights and equality for all.

“Rather than fanning the fire to the already high tempo of socio-religious discourse, he should urge all Malaysians to stay united to face the economic challenges ahead,” Mohd Arshad added.

He also pointed out that the previous administration, which governed for more than 60 years with a near-monopoly of a dominant race in public administration, had fumbled big time.

“Scandals were aplenty, from Bank Bumiputra Finance in the 1980s to the mother of all scandals, the 1MBD financial scandal.

“Yet, Mohd Asri said little or not at all against the perpetrators of those scandals,” he said.

He also made a reference to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s “Shared Prosperity” concept with regards to nation development, announced earlier in May and urged the Perlis Mufti to acknowledge this vision.

The Shared Prosperity concept aims to achieve fair and inclusive economic growth distribution among all levels of value chain, class, race and geography.

“By stating that China is for Chinese, India is for Indians, Western countries are for white people, and Tanah Melayu is for Malays, Mohd Asri has instigated an unwelcome mockery that may further rip our fragile inter-ethnic relations, and the Semenanjung-Sabah and Sarawak distrust.

“The only way forward is for all Malaysians to be united and capitalised on lending each other's strengths. The spirit of ‘Shared Prosperity’ has no room for parochial mentality,” he added.

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