Communal politics blamed for religious intolerance among kids

An independent scholar and a former deputy minister have blamed the rise in religious intolerance among schoolchildren on the growing trend of communal politics. Sharifah Munirah Alatas and Ti Lian Ker agreed that it was "hardly surprising" that MPs were now raising concerns about the trend. Munirah noted that the reluctance of Muslim students to sit next to their non-Muslim classmates might seem like a new level of intolerance, but past trends suggest otherwise.

She lamented that ethnocentrism, nativism, traditionalism and culturalism had been developing within the country's Malay-Muslim political leadership for over 50 years. Munirah blamed the ethnic and religiously charged political discourse for the intolerance, stating that such intolerance could be eradicated immediately if there was political will.

Ti Lian Ker, who served as deputy unity minister from 2020 to 2021, also attributed the intolerance to communal politics, citing the role of identity politics, indoctrination and radicalisation by cybertroopers hired by political parties. He observed that in the 1970s, children were allotted seats without issue, and there was no problem with who ended up sitting with whom.

Ti Lian Ker blamed the irresponsible cybertroopers for pushing incendiary narratives that divide people and pit races against each other.