Nurul Izzah: At this present time the politics of fear, which includes threats of a civil war and chaos by Perkasa and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed, is being used to defend Umno’s political interests and not the political rights of the Malays. - Picture by Choo Choy May
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 8 — Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar claimed today that a new political culture was needed to replace the “politics of fear” being used by Umno to maintain power in the country.
Nurul Izzah said that a “political contract” which was based on the Federal Constitution and took into consideration the rights of all races in Malaysia was urgently needed in order to achieve true stability and progress.
“At this present time the politics of fear, which includes threats of a civil war and chaos by Perkasa and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed, is being used to defend Umno’s political interests and not the political rights of the Malays.
“The biggest lie in the fight for Malay rights is the assertion Umno is inseparable from the Malays and Malays are inseparable from Umno. What this country needs instead is the politics of hope and liberation to ensure fairness for all,” said Nurul Izzah in a statement today.
The first-term PKR lawmaker’s remarks today come as a response to an editorial by Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia on October 4 titled “Political power is the future of Malays.”
The article warned that Malays would suffer the same fate of Palestinians if they did not unite to strengthen their political power in the country.
According to the article, Malays would lose out their rights in the country to other races if they did not step up to defend what was “rightfully” theirs.
Today Nurul Izzah claimed that the contents of the article was a farce, and that the real concern of Umno was not about Malay rights, but more of political relevance.
“The true future for not only Malays but also the whole of Malaysia lies in a cohesive political contract. This contract is an agreement which involves acll citizens to achieve a common goal based on rules of the Federal Constitution.
“Poltical power without a political contract is akin to a game of football without rules or police enforcement without referring to proper laws,” she said.
Nurul Izzah said that efforts towards establishing a political contract should begin with a restoration of the constitution to its “original” form- with the abolishment of anti-democratic laws like the Internal Security Act (ISA) , the Printing Press and Publications Act (PPPA) as well as the University and University Colleges Act (UUCA).
The PKR MP has consistently spoken out against former prime minister and Perkasa patron Dr Mahathir for perpetuating the politics of racial fear to keep the ruling Malay elite in power, which she said was detrimental to the nation’s stability and progress.
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