It’s natural to love one’s race, says scholar

UM's Awang Azman says Khalid Samad's statement on the matter was a long time coming.

PETALING JAYA: A political analyst has welcomed an opposition MP’s statement that the love of one’s race is not equal to racism.

“Finally the opposition agrees that it’s not racist to love one’s own race,” said Awang Azman Awang Pawi, an associate professor at Universiti Malaya.

He was referring to Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad’s defence of Parti Pribumi Bersatu’s restriction of its membership to Malays and other Bumiputeras.

Speaking to FMT, he said Khalid’s statement showed that some members of the opposition had realised it was hypocritical to say that one should not love the race one was born into.

He said to love one’s family and, by extension, one’s race was the most natural thing in the world. “What’s important is that we accept others openly,” he added.

Khalid made his statement on Monday in response to a reporter’s request for his comment on Bersatu. He said he would not consider the new party racist just because of its restriction on membership. “Loving one’s race does not equate with racism,” he said. He defined a racist as a person who dislikes a certain race.

However, Khalid urged Bersatu to work towards changing the mindset of Bumiputeras so that they would reject communal politics.

Perkasa President Ibrahim Ali and Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed have also commented on Khalid’s statement.

Ibrahim said he was gratified to hear Khalid make such a remark because he was showing disagreement with those who had called Perkasa and himself racist.

Nur Jazlan said Khalid had proven that the opposition was hypocritical when its members criticised Umno members in the past for making statements that indicated their love for the Malay race.

Ivanpal Grewal Singh, the political secretary to Gerakan President Mah Siew Keong, agreed that the opposition had been hypocritical.

“While I do not disagree with Khalid’s statement,” he said, “I would like to know what is DAP’s stance on the matter since its members are the ones who have always jumped on Umno for making similar statements,” he said.