BN behind racial and religious tensions, says Nurul Izzah

PETALING JAYA: Racial and religious tensions caused by the Barisan Nasional government's pandering to the more extreme elements of its support base contributed to an increasingly polarised society, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice president Nurul Izzah Anwar said yesterday.
In an opinion piece published by The Guardian yesterday, the PKR vice-president wrote that these tensions were among the problems caused by the coalition for political expediency.
"Malaysia ranked among the most corrupt nations in the world, with the former prime minister (Datuk Seri) Najib Razak at the forefront of the 1MDB corruption scandal, which the US Department of Justice described as the 'largest kleptocracy case in history'," she said.
The Permatang Pauh MP lamented that the courts in the country had become kangaroo courts as the judiciary was stripped of its independence and the attorney-general and chief of police became government mercenaries.
"The true victims of this turbulence have been the people of Malaysia," Nurul said.
"While our leaders made international headlines for abuse of power, ordinary Malaysians suffered from the rising cost of living compounded by a lack of employment opportunities."
Never again must the people be afraid of the government, she said in the opinion piece.
"We want a strong, vibrant democracy where human rights are upheld with zero tolerance towards corruption. We want a government founded on principles and policies, not personalities," Nurul said.
"We need to reclaim the illicit billions of dollars that have been stolen by our former corrupt leaders and deposited in international bank accounts and used to buy fancy real estate, Picasso paintings, luxury yachts, designer handbags and pink diamonds.
"We need to focus on reforming education and healthcare and ensuring that we build an open, vibrant, multicultural, tolerant society where truth, justice, human rights and the rule of law are upheld for all."