SHAH ALAM, Aug 7 — Identity politics should not revolve around narratives of fear, but instead be harnessed to build the strength of the people and the nation for the future, said Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari.
Politics in Malaysia has long been constrained by narrow thinking, partly due to identity politics that frequently stokes fears of losing power and rights, as well as fear of others.
"The biggest problem with identity politics is not that it talks too much about race or religion. The problem is that it talks too little about the future," he said in his closing remarks after tabling the Second Selangor Plan (RS-2) during the Selangor State Legislative Assembly sitting today.
Amirudin cited how rarely identity politics serves as the basis for substantive discourse on how to make Malaysia a leader in artificial intelligence.
He added that he was not dismissing the importance of race and religion, but emphasised that the government's role was not merely to defend identity.
"The government's role is to translate identity into progress, into knowledge, into innovation, into productivity, into clean governance, and into broader opportunities for the people," Amirudin said.
The Menteri Besar also believes that Selangor residents are ready to move away from politics that seeks out enemies and stirs anger, and instead embrace development-oriented politics that builds institutions and is willing to pursue change.
Reiterating that governments are not elected to manage the people's anger but rather to manage their hopes, he noted that his administration represents a generation that has chosen to build the future.
Amirudin described RS-2, presented as a continuation of the initial plan introduced in 2021, as the state government's pledge to every resident of Selangor.
Among its aspirations, the plan aims to make Selangor the first state in Malaysia with an economy worth RM500 billion, provide the people with high-paying employment opportunities, and narrow the economic gap across all nine districts.
