"I think he (Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim) has deviated away from democracy and the freedom for one to make own choice." -Tuan Haji Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah
KUCHING: It appears that the suggestion by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim for Malaysians to vote along racial lines is not well received by Sarawakian politicians.
Land Development Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing, when asked to respond to Shahidan’s proposal, said if the government were to adopt the process, it would create more harm than good.
“I don’t agree with the suggestion to vote along racial lines because it will create racial segregation in a society. It creates more problems than solving them,” Masing who is a leader known to be the defender of Sarawakians’ rights told The Borneo Post yesterday.
Shahidan, who is also Arau MP and minister in charge of the Election Commission, was recently quoted as
saying that voting along racial lines will resolve every racial conflict in the country. This proposal was supported by Kinabatangan MP Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin.
In dismissing the suggestion, Masing, who is also Baleh assemblyman, said the ability of a person must be the only criterion for electing a leader, adding that voters must be racially and religiously blind when electing their leaders.
Assistant Minister of Youth Development Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the idea of voting along racial line definitely would not be good for Malaysia and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s 1Malaysia.
