Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim today appeared to acknowledge that some of his previous remarks concerning Hindu temples may have been perceived as indirectly encouraging hostility towards the Indian community.
Speaking to Indian students at Universiti Malaya, Anwar said his earlier call for firm action against houses of worship built without permits may have been misunderstood and manipulated to create division.
The prime minister had previously drawn criticism from several Malaysian Indian leaders, who argued that his use of the term “illegal temples” could be interpreted as supporting unilateral actions against Hindu places of worship.
During the programme, Anwar warned against the rise of racial and religious sentiments, saying such issues were increasingly being exploited globally for political gain.
“In many Western countries, the far right is winning because they exploit racial sentiments,” he said.
“Hate towards the prime minister because he is portrayed as friendly towards the Chinese, or not stern enough about Hindu temples. Even if we need to be stern, we must be respectful of other faiths, not to the point that we hurt each other’s feelings,” he added.
Anwar also admitted the matter was sensitive and difficult to handle, while stressing that causing offence was never his intention.
“Yes, this is a difficult issue. As always, I stand to be corrected, and some of my remarks had been misconstrued, but it was never the intention,” he said.
