We do not want the tyranny of the majority - Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR -- PKR president-elect Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim warned of the existence of a so-called super liberal group in the country which he said strongly expressed its demands and pushed for their implementation.

Without making any specific reference, he said the people of this super liberal group also denounced the views of those opposed to it.

“When we criticise them, we are attacked as if this country belongs to them. I tell them that we represent the majority in the country and we argue that in this country we are also entitled to voice our views.

“They think that we must accept their views. If I touch a little on Islam and the Malays, they will raise an argument. I want to tell them that we do not want the tyranny of the majority and that we also reject the tyranny of the minority,” he said when delivering a talk on the ‘Syarahan Negarawan 2018’ lecture programme here.

He said the group recently criticised his move to contest the Port Dickson parliamentary by-election.

In his lecture, on ‘Malaysia Baharu ke arah Memperkukuh Negara Bangsa’ (The New Malaysia towards Consolidating the Nation State), Anwar emphasised that the Pakatan Harapan government would continue to defend Bahasa Malaysia and was committed to upholding the position of the national language.

However, he said, this did not mean that other languages such as English and Mandarin were marginalised, but must be mastered as a second language.

“We cannot regard the national language as insignificant, that’s the primary principle which I believe, God willing, the Pakatan Harapan new government will defend,” he said, Bernama report.

During the question-and-answer session after the talk, Anwar said the matters set out in the Federal Constitution could not be questioned by any quarters.

Replying to a question from the floor on the concern over matters in the constitution associated with the Malays in the New Malaysia era, Anwar explained that the four top leaders of the Pakatan Harapan component parties came to an agreement when the coalition wanted to form the government.

He said there was concern over the Malay Rulers because some people had raised criticism but there was no move by Pakatan Harapan to question the institution of the monarchy because Pakatan Harapan had pledged and signed an agreement to maintain the institution of the monarchy and the constitution.