PKR cannot claim to be “more Malay” than UMNO or Bersatu, nor can it compete with PAS as an Islamic party, says PKR Secretary-General Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
Saifuddin said political competition based on race and religion was ultimately a “zero-sum game” that produced no real winners, arguing that Malaysians should instead judge political parties based on their ability to solve the country’s pressing issues.
“It is impossible for PKR to claim that we are more Malay than UMNO or Bersatu. Likewise, I cannot claim to be more Islamic than PAS because its niche is as an Islamic party. So who wins? It’s a zero-sum game. There are no winners,” he said during a press conference after the Home Ministry’s monthly assembly on Monday.
The Home Minister said that after 69 years of independence, Malaysia’s political discourse should move away from identity politics and focus on government performance in addressing the people’s concerns.
According to Saifuddin, performance-based politics allows the public to assess whether a government is effectively tackling key issues such as poverty, crime and drug abuse instead of being distracted by debates over race and religion.
He pointed out that states with the highest poverty rates also recorded some of the country’s worst drug abuse problems, saying these issues deserved greater attention than political rhetoric centred on ethnic identity.
“Why are we still talking only about Malay, Chinese and Indian identity politics when poverty remains a serious problem and drug abuse continues to rise? People should have the opportunity to evaluate a government’s performance,” he said.
Saifuddin added that poverty posed a greater threat to the Malay community than political narratives claiming that Malays or Islam were under threat, stressing that addressing economic hardship should be the country’s priority.
