PETALING JAYA: Moderates of all political stripes, religious affiliations and backgrounds are invited to join the newly-formed Ma­­lay­sian Movement for Moderates (MMforM) or Pergerakan Moderat Malaysia (PMM) in Bahasa Malaysia.

Started by moderation advocate Anas Zubedy, the movement is aimed at providing, promoting and practising the moderate point of view as an alternative to any extreme positions.

Anas said he hoped to get the support of like-minded Malaysians for the movement, which has currently started in the form of a Facebook page.

“Whenever a topic pops up on the Malay­sian scene and both sides are getting crazy, we – the third voice – will come in and say ‘hey this is another way of looking at things’.

“We want to help Malaysians take a moderate point of view.

“In Malaysia, politicians tend to push certain issues to the extreme.

“Unfortunately, there may be followers who do not see it as a political move.

“We need Malaysians who will pull it to the centre and say there is always an alternative point of view, a more moderate point of view, and a middle way,” he said when contacted.

Anas, who launched his book The 10 Principles for Moderate Malaysians in February, is targeting Malaysians of all backgrounds to join the new movement.

“I think there are many Malaysians who feel the same as I do but they are not represented. They are looking for leadership.

“So I thought there is a need to create some form of a movement. I’m hoping everybody will join,” he said.

In calling for moderates to come together, Anas also welcomed those from political parties who hold centrist beliefs, to join the movement.

He said that in political parties, moderates tend to get lost in the “crowd of madness” because they were unwilling to say something nasty to get ahead.

“For those people who want to remain moderate in the nasty world of politics, we the moderates will support them. They can now depend on us,” he said.

In the future, Anas hopes to take the movement to another level and set up a non-governmental organisation to have a legal basis to champion moderation causes.

Those interested to join the movement can join the MMforM Facebook page which can be found under the name Malaysian Movement for Moderates.