Annuar Musa: Love for my race doesn't make me a racist

KUALA LUMPUR: Umno supreme council member Tan Sri Annuar Musa (pic) says his remarks on racism based on Islamic principles, which were uttered during the Sept 16 'red-shirt' rally, have been taken out of context.

He said he fully agreed that Islam does not promote racism, and clarified that it was a natural instinct to have an affinity for one's own race, which did not necessarily make someone a racist.

"If people want to label me a racist merely because I have a strong sense of love for the Malays, then I admit I am one. If you choose to use that definition, then yes.

"Being someone who has read a lot of books and attended a lot of talks, I think I have a fairly good understanding of what racism is," he told reporters at the Mara headquarters on Wednesday.

Annuar said racism had a negative connotation and was usually associated with enmity and disunity among the different races.

However, he said the Prophet Muhammad saw nothing wrong with loving one's own race more than others.

"In Islam, the term for racism is asabiyyah. The Prophet had clearly stated that those who practice asabiyyah are not of his people.

"One of the companions of the Prophet then asked him if loving their own race is a form of asabiyyah and he gave a very firm reply.

"The Prophet says that it is not, unless you assist your race in performing evil deeds," said the Ketereh MP, adding that his attempt to explain this during the rally was misinterpreted by some reporters present.

He said it was "natural instinct" to favour one's own race and that this was apparent among all races, not just the Malays.

"This is why we see Chinatowns and Little Indias forming in different places. It is the same case with the Malays. For instance, in Mecca there is a Malay village."

Annuar also clarified that last week's rally was never meant to be racist in nature, and said the Government was strongly against any racially-provocative actions.

"Those who shouted racist slogans and targeted journalists with racial slurs have nothing to do with the rally and its organisers.

"Our goal from day one was to have a peaceful rally for all races, hence why we called it Himpunan Rakyat Bersatu.

"However, when it involves such a large crowd of people, the organisers cannot prevent one or two untoward incidents from happening," he said.

He urged journalists who had been targeted by these irresponsible groups to lodge a police report.

"I can assure you, they will face the full brunt of the law as this is not what the organiser, Pesaka, told its supporters to do," he added.