KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 21 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak must hold himself and his administration accountable for the recent attacks against houses of worship and work to resolve the problem instead of laying the blame on extremists, two Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers said today.
Najib, who was officiating the national Chinese New Year “open house” celebration in Pandamaran last night said the attacks on houses of worship at the beginning of the year, linked to the “Allah” issue, were the works of extremists and should not be read as a sign that his 1 Malaysia policy has failed.
Instead, it demonstrates how much the policy is needed, he added.
The DAP’s Tony Pua told The Malaysian Insider that the prime minister had missed the real issue at stake.
“This issue is not so much the fact that it was brought about by extremists as the fact that the attacks were encouraged by Umno leaders and Umno media... to create Muslim anger against non-Muslims,” the Petaling Jaya Utara MP said.
Pua noted that Umno leaders had openly made “highly inflammatory” statements spurring certain Malay-Muslim groups to demonstrate their dissatisfaction over the court ruling on the Christian use of the word “Allah”.
In addition newspaper articles in Umno-owned media such as Utusan Malaysia incited individuals to carry out the attacks.
He pointed to the public outrage that followed close on the heels of statements made by Nasir Safar, Najib’s former special officer who was forced to resign after he allegedly made derogatory remarks against Malayisan Chinese and Indians at a 1 Malaysia event last month.
“There is no support within his own circle. This is the failure of 1 Malaysia at the very source, Barisan Nasional, itself. They can’t get their act together,” Pua said.
The former CEO added that the solidarity shown by the general public who came together to condemn the desecration of churches, mosques and a gurdwara happened “in spite of the 1 Malaysia programme, not because of it.”
Pua’s fellow PR parliamentarian from PAS, Dzulkefly Ahmad, shared his views.
“Najib is now put to the test on his 1 Malaysia slogan. It’s as simple as that. He’s got to be consistent and coherent and to be seen so,” said the Kuala Selangor MP.
“I’m now saying the extremism in society is in his own party. There are many in his party, including his own deputy, who are lending support to Perkasa...which is undermining the Malaysian social fabric,” Dzulkefly slammed.
“Don’t beat around the bush, Najib. You’ve got the right rhetoric but we want to see the substance of it,” said Dzulkefly, who previously headed the Islamist party’s research centre and is a member of the PAS Central Working Committee (CWC).
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