KUALA LUMPUR, July 9 — Prominent lawyer Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan chided today leaders from both Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) for shying away from dealing decisively on the country’s hot button issues of colour and creed.
The decorated human rights activist said civil society groups are concerned at the verbal sparring by politicians from both sides over the May 13, 1969 racial clashes that have reignited simmering ethnic tensions in the country.
“There is a lack of leadership... the leadership issue is not just with the government, but Pakatan as well,” the former Malaysian Bar president said at a public policy talk organised by Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s office here.
She also took Anwar to task for PR’s silence on the issue of unilateral child conversions, saying that there was an urgent need for the federal opposition pact to articulate their thoughts on the matter.
“This is a real family issue. Why does Pakatan not have a position on that?” she asked, pointedly.
“Some issues, Pakatan is just not coming out strongly enough… unilateral child conversions affect so many families in Malaysia,” she said.
Ambiga — who had helped push electoral reform group Bersih 2.0 into the centre of the public eye — pressed the federal opposition pact for not pushing the child conversion question in Parliament.
She said Malaysians were disheartened with the lack of concrete action in both BN and PR.
“PR, the government squabble all the time but we want clarity, a sense of direction,” Ambiga said.
Her thoughts were echoed by Bersih 2.0 co-chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah, who said that Malaysians did not need leaders who only “see Putrajaya as an end goal”.
She questioned why PR had yet to come up with a proper shadow Cabinet, despite repeated demands for them to do so.
“We need to rebuild ourselves and we need empowering leadership that will stand up for the people from both BN and Pakatan,” she stressed.
In response, Anwar blamed the “rise of racial and religious” tension in the last 18 months as a concerted effort by his political detractors to sow discord among the country’s multiracial citizens.
The Permatang Pauh MP said that Islam urged Muslims to shun extremism of any form and to instead take a path of moderation.
“Race-baiting, increasing polarisation... these are not isolated cases, done by those who are trying to sow hatred (among races),” he said.
He pointed out that Islam in itself respected the rights of other faiths, and “guaranteed” an individual a freedom to profess his or her faith without any coercion of volition from authorities.
“The Federal Constitution needs to be given priority and place... it is not just a piece of paper containing legal jargon,” Anwar added.
