Gerakan Deputy President, Dato’ Chang Ko Youn today welcomed the statement by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz that the government will introduce a race relations act to combat racial extremism and further promote interaction among the races and foster mutual respect among Malaysians.

“Gerakan believes this a revolutionary step taken by government and we wholeheartedly welcome it. It is important for us to have a legal instrument specifically target to combat racial extremism and ethnocentricity. We cannot allow the loud voices of fringe elements to drown out the vast majority of Malaysians who are moderate and peace-loving,” said Chang who is also Chairman of the Gerakan Central Bureau on the Law and Human Rights.

Chang added that Gerakan will seek a meeting with Nazri to elicit further information on the new act and also provide the input from its Central Bureau on the Law and Human Rights. He said the act must also contain specific provisions to punish those who utter racist statements and seek to disturb the harmony that we enjoy and must have a comprehensive blueprint on strengthening racial harmony in Malaysia.

“For too long we have said that we should not engage the extremists. I agree, however we also need effective tools to neutralise them as we cannot stand idly by as they seek to disrupt the peace and harmony we enjoy. We need to make sure that we entrench moderation as the bedrock of our society as that is the only we can strive given our diverse make-up. I believe this new act will serve as an effective deterrent against the rise of racial extremism,” Chang stressed.