Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Sigh Of Relief

The Prime Minister has finally decided to step in and settle the issue of the Guidebook on Ethnic Relations used by University Putra Malaysia. The book will be withdrawn and replaced by one drawn up by a panel of historians.

After meeting his Cabinet behind closed doors, a unanimous decision was reached and the view taken was "the guidebook — which assigns blame on incidents to race groups and political parties — had no place in a course aimed at breaking down the walls of prejudice and suspicion among races." This is good for Malaysian politics and a sign of maturity among some of the leaders. I can't say the same for the Minister of Higher Education though.

The Prime Minister announced the decision himself and also said "There is no need for us to hurl accusations at other races. We should not blame a race simply because a group or individuals of that race have done something wrong. For instance, if there is a group of Muslim terrorists, we cannot accuse all Muslims of being terrorists." Hear hear.

I hope he sends this message to all his ministers and at the same time instruct his ministry to send circulars to all the universities, schools and government departments regarding this matter. This has to be done to help the small minds to see the bigger issues.

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