Article first appeared in Malaysian Insider on Sept 1
By Nurul Izzah Anwar and Nik Nazmi Ahmad
The recent demonstration by a group claiming to be residents of SS 23 in Shah Alam at the Selangor State Secretariat, where a cow’s head was paraded and then dumped on its ground is the surest sign that our country’s ethnic relations are at a critical point.
The action and rhetoric of these people go against every tenet of Islam and Malay culture. Nothing can justify their mean-spirit behaviour.
There were legitimate avenues by which they could have pursued their grievances, but instead they chose to threaten bloodshed unless their demands were met.
How can anyone possibly now have any sympathy to their cause in the face of such antics? They are making a mockery of the efforts of their Malay neighbours who were willing to discuss this matter in a sane and civilized manner. This is the bitter harvest of months, even years of sectarian posturing and the inflammation of ethnic fears by irresponsible elements in our society as well as politics.
Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak must walk the talk of his 1Malaysia ideology and ensure that the perpetrators of this deed do not go unpunished. We also applaud the courage of our fellow politicians, on both side of the aisle, who have had the courage to stand up and be counted against this act of hate.
While our immediate thoughts naturally turn towards anger and revenge, we must not give into such desires because that would mean the end of the Malaysia that we all know and love, the Malaysia that is just, tolerant and progressive, which we hope will someday prevail against the forces of extremism that threaten it.
Rather, all Malaysians of goodwill, regardless of their political affiliation should come together to condemn this senseless act and find an equitable solution to the issue that give rise to it.
We must not close our hearts and minds to each other despite this and many other future provocations that will surely come as the last-ditch efforts of the reactionary forces that have blighted our country are slowly but surely turned away.
We are a better country than this; we are a greater people than this. Let me end with the words of the great statesman Abraham Lincoln, delivered to a country that was facing similar divisions like ours:
“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.”
We hope and pray that we can leave this sorry incident firmly in the past and move forward to a better Malaysia for our children and their children.
