In a positive response to repeated calls from the opposition for a bipartisan dialogue with Barisan Nasional on raging racial-religious issues, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said he will discuss the proposal with the Cabinet.
"We will discuss this in the Cabinet," he said, when asked by reporters after attending the launching of a book on the maps of Malaya and Borneo in Kuala Lumpur today.
He said what is important is that the nation continue to be peaceful and put the interests of the people first.
Earlier today, Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Barisan Nasional (BN) should take up Pakatan Rakyat's (PR) call for a bipartisan dialogue on national issues.
The Umno vice-president said the call by opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yesterday was a proactive move and one made against a backdrop of rising racial and religious tension.
“This has never happened before. This shows their (opposition’s) openness to programmes that we have laid out. This proposal should be taken up by leaders in Umno and BN,” Ahmad Zahid told reporters, after attending his ministry’s monthly gathering here today.
In making his call yesterday, Anwar had appealed for national consensus with the ruling coalition amid tension which he described as having reached pre-May 13 riots level.
"We have not seen this building up of tension since the events leading up to our national tragedy of May 13, 1969.
"The voices of hate and animosity, the voices of prejudice and suspicion, and the voices of wreck and ruin are attempting to drown out the harmony, cooperation and understanding that we have managed to build on the ruins of this tragedy," Anwar had said in a special address in Subang yesterday.
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