Anwar extends olive branch to PAS to join unity gov’t but with a line drawn

[superadmin]

PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has lined up a three-prong strategy to counter the rise of Malay-Islamist supremacist rhetoric in Malaysia.

In a rare interview with the TIME magazine, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman said the first measure is to focus on creating an equitable system so that no community or part of the country is seen to be ignored or marginalised.

“Second, of course, is education because extremism, racism and religious bigotry breed easily among the more ignorant segment of the population,” he told Hong Kong-based journalist Debasish Roy Chowdhury in a recent article entitled “Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is on a Mission to Save Malaysia’s Democracy”.

“When I say ignorant, I don’t mean you’re not qualified, you don’t go to university. I mean the lack of understanding of the total message of a religion dependent on some of the mullahs and sheiks with their very narrow, obscure interpretation.”

Thirdly, Anwar who is nearing his 11-month in office after having been a PM-in-waiting for almost 24 years, emphasised the need to make radical Malays/Muslims realise that although Malaysia is a predominately Muslim country, it boasts a multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious society.

“And we have survived hundreds of years with the presence of Buddhists, Hindus and Christians. There is no reason why you should upset this and cause enmity.”

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