Rai perbezaan bukan sekadar bertoleransi, kata Saifuddin

Saifuddin Abdullah believes that tolerance should not be viewed merely as a soft or abstract concept, but as a practical foundation for how people report, debate and coexist. In an interview with FMT, the Indera Mahkota MP emphasized the importance of appreciating differences, particularly when public discussions on ethnicity and religion are easily distorted by misinformation and hate speech.

Quoting Surah al-Hujurat, verse 13, Saifuddin highlighted that Allah created humans in different nations and tribes to enable them to get to know each other. "The key point is to get to know each other," he stated, emphasizing that this goes beyond mere acknowledgment. The former FMT Executive Director Nelson Fernandez, speaking at the New Muslim Community Conference, stressed the need for journalistic media to facilitate public discourse, even if it often lacks love, compassion, and kindness.

Saifuddin noted that this message is crucial due to the sensitivity of issues, including those related to ethnicity and religion, which can easily be distorted by misinformation, misinformation, and hate speech. He clarified that simply tolerating differences can sometimes mean merely allowing them to exist. According to Saifuddin, merely tolerating differences may only involve tolerating the existence of others.

"So I agree, the problem is when we only tolerate. When we appreciate, we work together. When we work together, we do so in a peaceful and harmonious environment. This is where compassion comes in," he added. Saifuddin argued that Islam's tradition also includes numerous examples of Prophet Muhammad showing respect and recognition to others, which can be considered as a psychological concept referring to individuals seeing themselves as different.

He stressed the need to appreciate the presence of 'others'. Saifuddin believes that the distinction between tolerating and appreciating diversity should guide the foundation of national unity. When he was in the Cabinet, Saifuddin once disagreed with the use of the word toleration in fundamental unity discussions. In his view, a better framework is to appreciate diversity, as it encourages people to see differences as a strength of the nation, rather than something merely to be tolerated.