Former deputy unity minister Ti Lian Ker has urged the government to empower the National Unity Advisory Council to publicly reprimand politicians and public figures who spread extremist or race-based rhetoric.
He stressed that enforcement agencies must be compelled to act on the council recommendations, or the body will remain powerless and its work seen as mere window dressing.
Recent inflammatory statements from both sides of the political divide have badly strained racial harmony, Ti warned.
Time to Act Before Damage is Done
Ti said race-baiting by certain leaders, though aimed at rallying their own supporters, risks tearing apart Malaysia’s multiracial fabric.
He insisted the council must be allowed to step in swiftly to stop such behaviour before irreparable harm is caused.
Waiting for tensions to explode is no longer an option, he told FMT.
More Meetings, Real Authority Needed
With 12 new members recently appointed, including academics Sharifah Munirah Alatas and Tajuddin Rasdi, and activist Johan Ariffin Samad, Ti welcomed the fresh faces but called for urgent structural changes.
The council should meet more often than the current six times a year and be able to convene immediately when harmony is threatened.
Only with genuine independence, authority, and a sense of urgency can it avoid becoming another symbolic institution with little real impact, he added.
