(May 12): Race-based politics is unavoidable because politicians rely on it to ensure their survival, a minister said, despite research showing that such voters are increasingly against such politics.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Paul Low said that politicians had to satisfy the wants of the people in rural areas who still voted based on race.

"The last election had shown that race and religion in the rural areas were key factors behind the support for the government in power today," he said at a forum, The Great Debate: Everything in Moderation, held in Kuala Lumpur last night.

"Suppose politicians say they want to change now, then the question they will ask is, 'will I receive votes from the people in the rural areas if I change?' So to politicians, it is a risk. Why should they take a risk?"

His comments caused the moderator, Sharaad Kuttan from BFM, to interject and ask Low if there was no political will to do away with race-based politics.

Low replied: "No, it is political survival."

Another speaker at the forum, writer Niki Cheong quipped that he was "depressed" with Low's contention.

"So the reason why we're not moderate is because politicians want to win the elections and therefore they tell these people that they have to think along racial lines as this is the only way they can survive.

"If these people are the ones leading our country, then sorry, I'm depressed," Cheong said, to laughter from the crowd.

Also disagreeing with Low was PKR Youth chief Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad who pointed out that 52% of voters who voted for Pakatan Rakyat in the 13th general election had in fact rejected race-based politics.

"So there is a possibility to eliminate race-based politics if there is political will," he added.

Speaking to reporters after the forum, Low said that there were still many who subscribed to race-based politics and who vote based on that.

"The parties are still based on race because there are people who support such parties," he said.

"People are still ingrained with that mentality. This is why politicians are still catering to it. In the end, it is for their political survival."

In March, a survey carried out by independent pollster Merdeka Center found that Malaysian voters overwhelmingly want political parties which take care of all Malaysians, rather than ones that fight for just their own race and religion.

The survey, commissioned by The Malaysian Insider, found that the racial rhetoric these parties thrive on was not consistent with what Malaysians want.

The major component parties of the ruling Barisan Nasional government – Umno, MIC and MCA – rely heavily on race-based politics to drum up support.

Low, the minister in charge of governance, integrity and human rights, also claimed that Malaysia needed more time to tackle race and religion issues despite almost 58 years of independence.

"We are still a young nation. 53 years (sic) is not enough for a transition period. We are a very young country.

"The United States took some 300 years to tackle racial issues. So 53 years is not enough," he added. – The Malaysian Insider