Gordon (seventh from right) with Gerakan Sabah leaders and members in a group photograph before the walkabout.
KOTA KINABALU: Racial issues should never be used for political gains. Neither should it be used for personal gains, Gerakan Sabah liaison chief Datuk Gordon Leong said.
“I think everybody should put in the effort to prevent racial issues from rearing its ugly head and not use the issues for political or personal gains,” he stressed.
Gordon said this when met at the weekly Gaya Street tamu yesterday where he led Gerakan Sabah leaders and members on their annual Chinese New Year walkabout to distribute greeting cards and extend wishes to all present.
According to Gordon, it is fortunate that there are no racial issues in Sabah and the people here live in peace and harmony.
“Racial issues are played up by certain extremist groups in the country and we hope that this will not disrupt the peace and harmony that Malaysia has been enjoying all this time. I hope that these groups will think twice before they create more trouble because what they are doing causes disharmony and in turn may be bad for Malaysia.
“Of course freedom of religion is enshrined in our Constitution so as a citizen of Malaysia, we are subject to the Constitution and we should honour and respect it in whatever we do,” he stressed.
Gordon, however, pointed out that racial and religious disharmony is not only happening in Malaysia as it seems to be a global sickness.
“The whole world is facing religious issues but if you look at these incidents normally, these are caused by only certain groups which are minorities. Why should we sacrifice our peace and harmony just because of a few extremists? They take advantage of people’s feelings and play up people’s emotions and this should not happen.
“With this new lunar year I pray for peace and harmony not only for Malaysia but the whole world,” he said.
Touching on the walkabout, Gordon said that it is the time of the year where Gerakan members get together for their annual Chinese New Year walkabout in Gaya Street to wish, distribute greeting cards and extend their well wishes for the coming Year of the Goat.
“The Year of the Horse has been a very trying year for everybody, so we hope the Year of the Goat will be better for all. We hope that the economy will be better and that people will try harder. It is very difficult for us to forget about the tragedies that had happened last year. But this is part of life. We hope that this year will be better for everybody,” he said.