Calls to set up National Unity Consultation Council
KUALA LUMPUR: A National Unity Consultative Council should be set up to deliberate on issues and problems pertaining to national unity and racial integration.
1Malaysia Foundation Trustee Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said the Council should be made up of representatives of interested groups or individuals who could offer suggestions or ideas to help address the current development.
“It is also to address key issues on how to bring the nation together after a strongly heated and bitterly- contested general election,” he said in a statement here.
In the wake of disturbing development arising from the just- concluded general election, Lee also called on all political leaders and all strata of society to immediately stop the drfit towards racial polarisation.
“The time has come for us to identify more ethnic bridge builders and emphasise on their crucial role, at this juncture, to break down the serious racial divide in the larger interest of improving ethnic relations in our country.
“Multiracial living and community are part of our history and heritage. They have become a key source of racial integration for years and have certainly played a part in making Malaysia a harmonious place to live, learn, work and play,” he said.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on Monday said the government would embark on national reconciliation efforts to unite the people who seemed divided in the 13th General Election.
International Movement for a Just World (JUST) president Dr Chandra Muzaffar, who supported the formation of the council, said it was important not only for national unity, but more so for the restoration of racial relations.
“The council must represent all the political parties, individuals within or outside the political arena who can contribute ideas on solidarity and participate in sincere dialogues,” he said.
However, Chandra said the prime minister must give detailed explanation on the actual meaning of national reconciliation so that it would be truly understood by every strata of society.
Chairman of the Global Movement of Moderates Foundation Tan Sri Razali Ismail said all parties should support the idea thrown by the prime
It is also to address key issues on how to bring the nation together after a strongly heated and bitterlycontested general election. Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, 1Malaysia Foundation Trustee
minister, as we could not allow the tension arising from the general election to worsen.
He stressed on the partiality of the government and its institutions, saying that the effort to reconcile the nation must be done with the acceptance of all races, and added that political parties should not take advantage from the effort.
Another vital ingredient for national reconciliation, according to Razali was that the press must be free.
“What is not right must be mentioned by the press. We cannot reconcile if the press is not free. The people must be made to have a say in the press. This is to regain the ability in making the people believe what has been distributed by the press,” he said.
He added that national reconciliation was also needed to build national consensus in addressing many internal or external issues. — Bernama