COMMENT | This is the follow-up from our last article, published recently by some online media, entitled ‘How to Achieve National Unity’.

It was written in down-to-earth language to target the lay people of all races to do their part in various places (such as “on the road”, shopping malls, and employment premises) and events (such as open houses and sports) where we tend to interact or gather in order to achieve goodwill and the desired harmony.

Many people take the importance of national unity for granted. So far, there have been hardly any comprehensive articles written on this subject matter for Malaysia.

We need national unity for many life-and-death reasons.

This article intends to state these reasons loud and clear, especially to extremists and bigots and those who are creating divisions, hate, or discord based on race, religion, or gender, usually by dishonestly scapegoating others for a social problem or playing up non-existent threats to pander to the illogical fears and insecurity of their ethnic community.

By doing so (creating disharmony), such bigoted leaders are actually...