Racial polarisation

It is always intriguing whenever the great doctor says his piece. An example appeared in the sun 28 September 2006. Part of his speech appeared in the article on the Second Congress of Leaders of Traditional Religions held in Astana, Kazakhstan on 12-13 September 2006.

The excerpt.

'It would be more effective for heads of religious institutions to convince world leaders to help remove the causes of terrorism, than trying to convince terror groups to stop their aggression. Former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, an invited speaker, said this when addressing delegates during the second day of the congress. Mahathir said:"Perhaps religious heads could persuade would-be terrorists not to blow up aircraft and their passengers but frankly, I do not think this will work." He said no matter who talks to them (terror groups), the pain will always be there and these people who threaten international security have no other means to fight their powerful enemies except via terror attacks. He said the anger and frustration of the Palestinian people have reached a stage where "rationality" is no longer possible. "Bereft of other weapons, they resort to blowing themselves up and killing innocent people," he said. Mahathir said the world must realise that the strategy of "out-terrorising" the terrorists by Israel and the United States is not working. "All that we see is an escalation in their counter-attacks and the whole world feels insecure and we are even being haunted by the fear of being blown out of the sky whenever we fly," he said. He called on religious heads to convince leaders of the countries against whom the attacks are directed to try and understand the problem and deal with the root causes. Later, in response to a question by theSun, Mahathir said the fervour of multi-cultural relations in Malaysia is the same as in Kazakhstan. "But, of course, there will be groups (in Malaysia) which will try to promote differences among the races but it is up to the majority to ensure that differences are settled in a proper way," he said. Asked what may have caused racial polarisation in the country and if it will grow to become a "painful thorn on the side" in later years, he said: "It is partly due to political reasons." "Because certain parties play up Islamic issues there will be a tendency for other parties to attempt to also make use of religion to seek'religious justification' by themselves." "In the process they might become more extreme and this will lead to the kind of problems we see among the people today," he said.'

I wonder which political party made the move to be more Islamic than its opposition. Did the leader forgot the decision he made to take into the party's fold an ex-student leader who was known to have strong support among the young and those aligned to the Islamic movement. The worsening polarisation we see in the country is in a way the result of policies implemented by the great doctor in his quest to achieve his vision of a developed Malaysia. He will never acknowledge that he had a part in the current predicament that we face. Not in his character to admit that he had made a mistake. Admitting one's mistake needs a bigger man. That man is not the doctor.