In a thread on his Twitter account, Setiawangsa MP Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said there is an attempt to use race, religion and the royalty issues to divide the country. ― Picture by Ham Abu Bakar

KUALA LUMPUR, June 9 — Setiawangsa MP Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad has warned Pakatan Harapan (PH) today to deal smartly to deal with the wellbeing of the Malays and Bumiputera, amid possible backlash against its reform efforts.

In a thread on his Twitter account, the PKR MP said there is an attempt to use race, religion and the royalty issues to divide the country, which may then set the stage for a reversal of the movement for change that culminated a little more than a month ago.

“Pakatan Harapan need to realise that we must also ‘work smart’ when it comes to reform. In the months and years ahead, attempts will be made to bring identity politics to the fore again,” he said.

“These wedge issues will be used to set the stage for a reversal of the movement for change that culminated a little more than a month ago, a reversal of the newfound openness and freedom that we have enjoyed since then, to reduce it to less than what we had before.”

He advised the PH government to pick their battles and be guided and always abide by the nation’s foundational principles.

“These include the precept that Malaysia is both a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, with the separation of powers and a system of checks and balances,” he said.

He added that in the long run, the only way that the majority Malays and Bumiputera can move forward is in a Malaysia that is a diverse democracy.

“The kind of Malaysia that some in Umno and PAS wanted, ethnocentric, exclusive, and where anything goes for the powerful would have been a disaster for our people,” he said.

Nik Nazmi also urged for openness and transparency in the government explaining it is possible for the two traits to exist in a civil society.

He then referred to a backlash similar to the surprise election of Donald Trump in 2016 that was preceded by Barack Obama’s two term victories, and the resulting Brexit memorandum after British stalwarts Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, and David Cameron left office.

Nik Nazmi then tried to pacify the public, saying the people have to realise there is a great deal of work in store for the government to carry out the intended reforms.

He added the government needs to assuage the concerns of the people and uplift them, while working together as a unit.