IT is utterly disappointing and distasteful to see Najwan Halimi, a former Selangor assemblyman and a member of the multiracial party PKR, making a racial slur against a political party and its candidate recently.

While Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Communication and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil are clamping down on people playing up race, religion, and royalty (3Rs) issues, their party man, former Kota Anggerik assemblyman, seems to have ignored these warnings.

Najwan had made a racist remark in a WhatsApp group against Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) and Sivaranjani Manickam, the party candidate for the Meru state seat.

Referring to a news report on Sivaranjani being fielded for the Meru assembly seat, Najwan had messaged a PKR group, calling PSM an “Indian estate party.”

The screenshot of Najwan’s message in the group was shared on Twitter by PSM secretary-general Sivarajan Arumugam.

Najwan, who is the deputy chief of Shah Alam PKR, was quick to apologise after the message went viral, saying he did not harbor any racial biases against any ethnic group.

But the damage was done. Even if Najwan’s remarks weren’t malicious, he had been flippant and callous.

He obviously missed the memo from his party bosses, including Anwar, who had been lashing out at the opposition for playing up issues of race, religion, and royalty to cause disharmony among Malaysians.

And no amount of apology could hide the fact that Najwan had caused some damage with his remarks.

His words showed his disregard for the people living in the estates and the many successful Indians in Malaysia today, who are fervent supporters of his party and who are indeed from the estates.

He had also put a slur on PSM, a party that had always worked hard to assist the poor and marginalised.

PKR and its leaders should not practise double standards. They should not only take aim at the opposition but also prevent their own members from going down the same route.

PKR must take action against Najwan, perhaps even drop him as a candidate in the state elections.

This would send a strong message to the people in the party as well as the Pakatan Harapan coalition that the leadership is taking racism seriously and not merely paying lip service. – July 17, 2023.