VOTING BLINDLY BASED ON EMOTION, ANGER AND PROTEST CAN BE DISASTROUS - POLITCAL

PENANG (Malaysia), July 10 (Bernama) -- Malaysians must careful to consider
the future of the country and their own fate when deciding to elect the right
government of the day said president of the International Movement for a Just
World, Prof. Dr Chandra Muzaffar.

Voting blindly, based on emotions, anger and protest, can be disastrous to
the country's politics and change the landscape of a nation.

He added that although an opposition was needed in a country's ruling
system, People's Alliance (Pakatan Rakyat), the opposition made up of Islamic
Party of Malaysia (PAS), Democratic Action Party (DAP) and People's Justice
Party (Parti Keadilan Rakyat), was not a stable alternative.

"I am worried that the action of voters to happily vote for the opposition
as a mark of protest, without realising what will happen to the country or their
future," he said when speaking at a 1Malaysia personality forum here today.

He said the 1Malaysia concept introduced by Prime Minister Najib
Tun Razak was aimed at unifying the people under the Federal Constitution, no
matter what race or religion they were was not the same as 'Malaysian Malaysia'
promoted by the opposition.



Chandra who is also Noordin Sopiee Professor of Global Studies at Universiti
Sains Malaysia, said 'Malaysian Malaysia' introduced by former Singapore prime
minister Lee Kuan Yew and promoted by the opposition and aimed at seeking equal
rights for all Malaysians, was totally different and against the constitution.

"Anybody who claim that the 1Malaysia concept and 'Malaysian Malaysia' were
the same, are those who do not know history or the Federal Constitution that
states Malay Language as the national language and Islam as the official
religion with special privileges to Malays and Bumiputera (son of soils) and the
Malay rulers," he said.

He said that though 1Malaysia was based on the constitution, it did not
sideline or deprive other races, of their language, religion or rights.

"If we look at the 'Malaysian Malaysia' concept introduced by Lee in the
1960s, he had championed equal emphasize for all four languages - Malay (Bahasa
Melayu),
English, Tamil and Chinese - but it was not aligned to the constitution," he
said.

-- BERNAMA