Nazri Aziz, Malaysia’s former ambassador to the US, has commended the people of Sabah and Sarawak for exemplifying the true spirit of a multiracial Malaysia, urging Malays in the peninsula to follow their example.
“This country is not just for Malays and Muslims. It is multiracial and multireligious. We cannot speak as if we only represent the Malays and Muslims,” Nazri told FMT.
He was asked about the country’s political direction and what Malaysians could expect with the growing influence of political Islam.
Nazri said Sabahans and Sarawakians have a stronger sense of the Malaysian identity.
“In Sabah and Sarawak, they run their states as Malaysians. They remain Malaysian regardless of their background and can live together. We should follow them,” said the former Umno minister.
In contrast, Nazri said many Malays in the peninsula tend to prioritise race over nationality. They only call themselves Malaysians when it is politically convenient, especially during elections to gain non-Malay votes.
These are “fake Malaysians”, he said.
“I do not agree that this country is a Malay country. (National sports icons) Nicol David and Lee Chong Wei did not compete internationally as Chinese or Indian. They played for Malaysia,” he said
“I do not agree that this country is a Malay country. (National sports icons) Nicol David and Lee Chong Wei did not compete internationally as Chinese or Indian. They played for Malaysia,” he said.
‘Who is Zakir Naik to teach me about Islam?’
Nazri also criticised the continued presence of fugitive Indian preacher and televangelist Zakir Naik in Malaysia.
“He had problems in India and came here. And he wants to tell us how to be Muslims and how we should interact with non-Muslims.
“Don’t tell me (how to be a Malay-Muslim). I was born here. The reality has always been that we are multiracial and multireligious,” he said, adding that he gets along well with non-Muslim Malaysians.
On Feb 21, the home ministry confirmed that there was no ban to prevent Naik from delivering public sermons in Malaysia. Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said a ban was in place in 2019 but was subsequently lifted.
Naik has been evading Indian authorities since 2016, when files were opened against him for allegedly making hate speeches and laundering money after five militants launched an attack at a bakery in Dhaka, Bangladesh that ended with 29 dead.
In June 2019, India’s external affairs ministry said its government had made a formal request to Malaysia for Naik’s extradition and would continue to pursue the matter with Putrajaya, In the same month, a court in India also ordered that Naik appear in person for a case.
Naik is believed to be residing somewhere in Putrajaya after being granted asylum in 2018.
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