“It does not matter whether you are with Pakatan Rakyat or with Barisan Nasional, or that you are with neither party, nor that you are independent or even totally apolitical, I want to reach out to all with this message,” he said in his special message in Petaling Jaya, Sunday.
“I call on you, my fellow Malaysians to rise up and let your voices be heard. Let your voice of mutual respect and goodwill, your voice of understanding and trust, and your voice of unity and integration prevail over these voices of hatred, rancour, hostility and destruction,” he said.
Describing his message as one conceived in love for the nation and a message raised in the altar of hope, Anwar who is also the Parti Keadilan Rakyat de facto leader said unity and a sense of togetherness are the identity of Malaysians.
However, he said, instead of growing stronger by the day, recent developments in the country are fast eroding the cohesiveness, crucial to the Malaysian identity.
“In fact, these developments appear to be reaching a crescendo that threatens to tear the very fabric of our unity apart. Of course, we have not reached the tipping point yet but as they say, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure,” he said.
“In fact, we have not seen this building up of tension since the events leading up to our national tragedy of May 13th 1969. The voices of hate and animosity, the voices of prejudice and suspicion, and the voices of wreck and ruin are attempting to drown out the harmony, cooperation and understanding that we have managed to build on the ruins of this tragedy,” he added.
Anwar said leaders from both sides of the political divide must put aside partisan concerns and join hands in unity to steer the nation towards greater integration.
The Permatang Pauh member of Parliament said the time has come for all to reach a national consensus on crucial issues that impact the sub-stratum of Malaysian identity as a nation.
He also called on all to stop questioning the position of Islam as the religion of the Federation.
“In reaffirming the position of Islam and recognizing that Muslims make up the majority of the population, we must reject the notion that Islam is under threat,” he said.
He said Muslims in the country should also reject the notion that there is a sinister conspiracy to replace Islam as the religion of the Federation with some other religion.
On the same note, Anwar also called to give due recognition to the same constitutional safeguards on all the other religions in the land.
In working towards the consensus, Anwar said it was paramount to stay focussed on important matters like issues of governance, transparency, accountability and rising prices.
He said all parties to work together to stamp out corruption in the country.
Anwar called on all Malaysians to help police fight crime and make homes, schools and shopping complexes safer.
He also called on politicians from both sides of the divide, to go beyond partisan lines and come to a national consensus on how to move the nation forward.
