KUALA LUMPUR: A barrage of race-based incidents that made headlines over the past few days should serve as a reminder to all Malaysians that they must tread very carefully in handling racial or religious issues.
The most urgent task today for all Malaysians irrespective of race, religion and political affiliation is to ensure racial and religious harmony, to ensure Malaysians' survival and success as a multiracial and multireligious nation, said Malaysia Unity Foundation trustee Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye
He said more efforts should be made in the coming days to promote moderation and mutual respect among all the races and work towards unity in diversity.
"In the new Malaysia, playing the race card is no longer acceptable and all Malaysians must look beyond race and religion for the larger interests of the nation and its future development while respecting the constitutional rights of all.
"What Malaysia needs most at this point of time are ethnic bridge builders instead of ethnic heroes to neutralise the politics of hatred, racial polarization and racial exclusiveness which seems to be on the rise now," he said in a statement today
Lee said 2019 should be a year where Malaysians focus more on building harmony and unity among all races and more programmes should be held to attract them to participate and mix around.
"More efforts should be made to foster better understanding among the people so that we can strengthen inter-racial harmony.
"The country should not only be safe from terrorism, crime and violence but also from problems and conflicts caused by racial or religious hatred.
"It is vital for Malaysia to continue to exist as a united and peaceful nation with political stability despite the existence of divergent political ideologies and views," he said.
Lee said as responsible and patriotic Malaysians, it was the duty of Malaysians to work for peace, harmony and unity, and refrain from acts of provocation and violence which would result in conflict and chaos.
"Looking at various racial and religious issues being exploited by certain quarters, I hope that Malaysians will never allow the harmonious relations to be threatened by racial polarisation, which could lead to racial discord and lack of understanding and mutual respect," he said.
Lee said that all parties should also be exposed to the Rukun Negara as well as the country's history so that they understand and respect the rights, beliefs and practices of Malaysians from various religious and ethnic backgrounds.
"We need to remember that tolerance and respect among the ethnic groups as outlined in the Federal Constitution and Rukun Negara ia the key to peace and harmony in a multiracial and religious country like Malaysia," he said.