KUALA LUMPUR: MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai today said MCA will continue to pursue its objectives by practicing politics of moderation.
Delivering his key note address at the MCA's 61st annual general meeting at Wisma MCA, here, today, Liow reminded said the delegates that the party has been adopting the moderate approach since it was led by party's founder Tun Tan Cheng Lok.
Taking a moderate path, he added, was a value that was admired by all civilisations.
"The Chinese civilisation and Confucius stressed the concept of 'zhong yong', which means 'moderate'. In Islam there is also the concept of wasatiyyah, which has the same meaning," he said.
Liow praised Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak for the latter's consistency and commitment in emphasising the concept through the Global Movement of Moderates (GMM) agenda.
This commitment, he pointed out, was proof of Barisan Nasional's success in uniting the people despite facing many challenges.
Acknowledging that the country’s political atmosphere has become increasingly tense after last year's general election, Liow expressed concern that the situation may threaten the nation's hopes in achieving its vision of becoming a fully developed country by 2020.
He urged Malaysians not to allow extreme political practices to sway them.
"In our multi-racial country, we cannot escape from having differing opinions but we must remember that mutual respect has to be practised in order to prevent confrontation.
"There are certain quarters who like to practice politics based on sowing hatred for the government and this will most certainly affect the harmony and unity of the people.
"Such hate speeches and campaigns, which gives false hopes to the people, will only create confusion and cause chaos to the society's stability and national administration," he said.
Public interest, he emphasised, should not be traded to fulfill certain quarters' greed for power.
In reference to the recent political crisis caused by a tussle over the Selangor Menteri Besar post, Liow said the fiasco was evidence that the opposition Pakatan coalition parties being “in the same bed, but having different dreams”.
He stressed that the people cannot continue to be hoodwinked by irresponsible parties who were gambling away their future.
He urged the people to evaluate wisely and make the right decision as it was clear there was no space for political extremism in a multi-racial country such as Malaysia.
During his speech, Liow also declared MCA's opposition against any quarter who challenged or questioned the existence of Chinese vernacular schools.