SHAH ALAM, Oct 11 — Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari says the escalating racism issue in the country is believed to have been caused by a bigger issue, which is the public distrust towards the ruling government, MalaysiaKini reported today.
He said the racism issue is only “a platform” due to the loss of trust by the public over various issues, which as a result had created a “tense and upsetting” environment.
“I believe the underlying issue is public distrust. Where did the motivation come from? Of course, it came in several forms and matters that we did not anticipate.
“(Various matters) have raised the sentiments towards equality, but that equality is nonexistent, and then the blame goes towards the system and implicating the important institutions such as the judiciary, the police and security.
“When the trust is gone, then confidence is lost, which would create the current situation where there is chaos as no peace,” the news portal quoted Amirudin to have said at the National Seminar on Living Together in Diversity: Fostering a Peaceful Race and Culture at Concorde Hotel, here yesterday.
Also present at the seminar were Port Dickson MP Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Institut Darul Ehsan’s (IDE) chief executive Prof Dato’ Dr Mohammad Redzuan Othman.
Meanwhile, Selangor Kini reported that Amirudin said the ruling government is facing a great challenge in gaining public trust to build the nation if it is not executed well.
He said as there is already a resistance against the mainstream and distrust by the public against any official narrative, this would impact the government’s attempt to achieve unity and form a harmonious and peaceful living.
“The current movement seems to be moving towards extreme nationalism, or the so-called populism.
“However, we should take into account that this phenomenon could determine the vicissitudes of the political movement, miscalculations, that the historic 2018 election victory may be denied and that Barisan Nasional or any other new political cooperation could have a place,” Selangor Kini quoted him.
