Academics and community leaders said at a forum today that Malaysian politics needs to pivot away from divisive discourses about race and religion and shift towards the will of the people.

Speakers at the “Diversity in the framework of unity” forum at Institut Darul Ehsan (IDE) agreed that politicians were to blame for using the issues of race and religion for political expediency, resulting in the fracturing of Malaysian society based on perceived differences.

“Empty political slogans” put forth by the government, like 1Malaysia, did little to inspire unity, argued International Islamic University Malaysia political scientist Maszlee Malik.

“Instead, we need a new narrative that focuses on walking the talk, and it should come from civil society – universities, NGOs, religious bodies and societal groups...