Resurgence of ultra-nationalism global phenomenon, danger to peace: Malaysia's Anwar Ibrahim

The resurgence of ultra-nationalism as a global phenomenon is a danger to peace and security and must be rejected, Malaysia's ruling party leader Anwar Ibrahim said Thursday.

Delivering the Valedictory Address at the Raisina Dialogue her, Anwar said identity politics and polemics contribute to the conditions in which the call to violence festers, and it must be rejected.

"We cannot afford to face the future as a competitive zero-sum game. The new world order must be multi-faceted and collaborative. It must not simply be competitive," said Anwar, who is a member of the Malaysian Parliament and the leader of the Parti Keadilan Rakyar Party.

 

He also called for balanced ties between India and China which he said would be in the larger interest of the region.

"We must be thankful for the Indian sages, historians and scholars whose work reclaims the open, tolerant mosaic of the subcontinent's past. Hindu and Muslim need to recognise the mutual influences of their shared history," Anwar said.

"There is a moral lesson as we contemplate tackling insurgent ideologies. No one is won over by exclusionary ethics of self-aggrandising fervour. It is common humanity that draws people together," he asserted.

However, he also said that questions raised by identity politics and contested histories cannot be brushed aside.

These are crucial arenas where the fate of new departures for politics, economics and international relations will be decided, he said.

Asserting that the resurgence of ultra-nationalism was a global phenomenon, Anwar said it is a precursor to fear and a danger to peace and security.

"Identity politics and polemics contribute to the conditions in which the seductive call to violence festers. We must reject it," he said.

If the world were to take one lesson from the Malaysian story it is -- managing a coalition of bitter rivals and different ethnicities and religions is at times, olympic, in the effort required, he said.

"The noble path which calls to us, where we are unwavering in the commitment to principles which are universal and timeless, is a journey, albeit difficult, that can bring us to a better place," he said.