KLANG: Malaysia must avoid being potentially destroyed by extreme mindsets, said DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke.
He said it was one of the many challenges faced by the country, which included ensuring good racial ties and societal developments for the nation's survival.
"Everyone must recognise there is a need for compromise, tolerance and moderation in multi-racial Malaysia. This is the basis to ensure our country becomes examplary to the world.
"The time has come for us to ensure that there is a middle ground or moderation which is the spirit we should uphold.
"We should not be carried away by extreme voices that will be disastrous to the country," he said in his opening speech at the 2023 DAP Wanita Congress here today.
Loke said despite racial backgrounds Malaysians shared the same aspirations to have a stable and peaceful country, booming economy, equal access to education, health and government services.
For the first time the congress was also attended by Umno Wanita secretary Datuk Rosni Sohar and exco member Datuk Nurulhidayah Ahmad Zahid.
Loke said it was a good start and hoped the unity government's smooth cooperation could be emulated at all levels between political parties, from the wings to grassroots level.
"Be it Pakatan Harapan or Barisan Nasional (BN), this cooperation is new. Now that we have come to know each other, I hope we will also love one another.
"Diversity is our key to success and I thank all for opening their hearts to set aside differences. I know it is not easy for Umno, BN, PKR or even DAP to do this.
"But I am confident we can achieve togetherness on the spirit of humanity which will unite us all."
Meanwhile, Loke said the women empowerment policy in DAP saw the growth in having just three members of parliament in 1999 to nine today, as well as 24 state assemblymen.
The party, he said, took pride in Hannah Yeoh, who was made Sports and Youth minister, as well as Teo Nie Ching and Lim Hui Ying who are deputies minister.
"For the first time since 2008 in Selangor, we now have a woman executive councillor in Jamaliah Jamaluddin.
"We also have deputy Speaker Alice Lau. I personally handpicked her and it was not suggested by Wanita.
"This is a manifestation that DAP and its top leadership have never denied opportunities to women," he said.
DAP, he said, was the first party to set the condition in its constitution to have 30 per cent women representatives in the central executive committee.
The goal, he said, was met in last year's national congress.
"Although 30 per cent is the target, we should not be obsessed with it. It should not be a ceiling.
"So I want to tell Wanita not to make it the ceiling. It should be more than that if you want to be a progressive party."