PETALING JAYA: Divisive politics is putting unity in the country at stake, say political pundits.
Dr Tunku Mohar Tunku Mohd Mokhtar of International Islamic University Malaysia said to achieve unity, politicians need to have the political will to avoid creating division for their own gains.
“There are elements of divisive politics in Malaysia.
“Recently, we saw a suggestion for states under a different administration than that of the Federal Government to use a different logo and theme for the National Day celebration,” he said.
“There are also calls for Sabah and Sarawak to secede from the federation. More worryingly, people of different ethnic groups have prejudice against each other; for example, the perception that non-Malays are scheming to rule the country,” he added.
Tunku Mohar said politicians were not doing enough to instil unity among the people and, in some cases, were the very reason for such divisive politics.
He also said that while education and campaigns on the importance of unity in nation-building should be intensified, action should also be taken against those who promote divisive politics.
Dr Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, said divisive politics are being practised in the country due to the race-based system.
“The constitutionally sanctioned categorisation of people into bumiputeras and non-bumiputeras is the prime example of such divisive politics.“Unity is something that should be instilled.
“Politicians should ensure equal treatment for all; then people would feel the importance of unity,” he said.
