COMMENT | #MZB365 and ideas to deescalate ethnic tensions

COMMENT | Project Stability and Accountability for Malaysia (Projek Sama) calls for a three-pronged approach – counter framing, the rule of law, and an institutional mechanism – to manage, defuse, and prevent crises caused by ethnoreligious tensions such as the one surrounding KK Mart socks, which has seen three of its outlets suffering terrorist attacks.

Counter framing

First, there must be a counter-framing to effectively neutralise the escalating tension.

Ethno-religious agitators would seek every opportunity to maintain conspiracy theories that Malay Muslims are constantly offended by ethnic minorities, and that forgiveness is a sign of weakness.

They would not stop with KK Mart. After the convenience store, they would look for the next evidence that Muslims are offended.

The counter-framing, which is forgiveness, has to steal the...