Anwar calls on Malaysians to take a stand against racism and religious fanaticism

KUANTAN: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (pic) has called on the people to take a stand against racism and religious fanaticism, which he said have the potential to reach very dangerous levels if left unchecked.

The Pakatan Harapan chairman accused his rivals of fearmongering and for pitting Malaysians against each other by using racially-charged messages.

"As a Muslim, I have never been taught to hate other races or religions.

"Racism and on a more serious note, religious fanaticism... If we do not fight this right now, the potential danger can become very serious.

"Do not take this lightly. Take a stand now and reject this," Anwar said in a ceramah session here while on his whirlwind campaign tour on Thursday night (Nov 17).

He said the situation could become dangerous since the fanatical supporters of those leaders had accepted their messages wholesale.

Anwar cited as an example a party supporter who threatened to kill non-Malays if he had his way, in an apparent reference to actor Zul Huzaimy Marzuki who recently made the controversial remark.

"They are out of their minds. Communists, Jews, Christians, Chinese. This has become their narrative," he said.

This was Anwar's second time stumping for Pakatan candidates here during the GE15 campaign period.

Anwar also called on voters to overthrow the "traitor" in Indera Mahkota, taking an obvious shot at the incumbent MP Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah.

Saifuddin formerly won the Indera Mahkota parliamentary seat on a PKR ticket but had since defected to Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, placing the seat in the Perikatan Nasional column.