Politicians denounce playing the race card

PONTIAN: Politicians from both sides of the political divide are telling voters to reject those who play the race and religious cards to win in the Tanjung Piai by-election.

The two-week campaign period should not be used to spew hatred and mistrust among the people, as this would not be good for the country, said Johor unity, domestic trade and consumer affairs committee chairman Dr S. Ramakrishnan.

He said such tactics would destroy the social fabric and unity of the nation, which has been established since the country’s independence.

“Political parties need to campaign base on facts including talking about the country’s future development, economy and social harmony.

“No point using race and religion which has been proven to be destructive in countries in the Middle East and Sri Lanka which has been plagued with unrest and wars,” he said.

Asked about talks that this by-election is expected to be a racial and racist one, he said he hoped that it would not happen in Johor.

He also urged voters to be wary of the sudden increase of fake news on social media.

Meanwhile, Johor Party Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia chief Mazlan Bujang said Pakatan Harapan was not interested in using race and religious issues instead it wanted to tell the people what they had achieved so far.

“We reject such tactics of campaigning. I believe that the voters here will reject anyone who resorts to such tactics,” he said.

Mazlan added that Pakatan would need to explain about their successes to the people, including reducing more than RM1bil cost in the recent announcement with regards to the revival of the Rapid Transit System (RTS) project.

He also acknowledged that Pakatan needs to put in more effort to counter any fake news being spread in the by-election.

Johor MIC chief R. Vidyanathan said using race and religion should be rejected.

“As leaders we should do the right thing and not provoke and cause ill-feeling among the people by raising matters about race and religion,” he said, adding that there were other ways of winning the by-election.

He said Barisan Nasional was focusing on being an effective Opposition especially in providing checks and balances in the country.

“Pakatan being the government should do their best to counter all their weaknesses including not fulfilling their election manifesto promises, weak economy and rising cost of living,” he added.

He added that voters should look beyond race and religion and look at the service track record of a candidate.