UCSI University’s Tajuddin Rasdi told FMT this would involve retraining state religious officials, civil servants and school teachers.

“These are the actors who are the root cause of the narratives that have put us in this situation,” he said.

He was responding to Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) proposals to foster national unity, mooted in the mid-term review of the 11th Malaysia Plan tabled in Parliament by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

They included setting up a consultative council for harmony, as well as enhancing policies and initiatives to improve integration and unity for greater interaction, engagement and collaboration among the people.

Other plans included enacting legislation on national harmony to ensure equality and eliminate discrimination, and developing a national unity index to monitor and measure the state of unity in the country.

PH also proposed to encourage programmes using sports, volunteerism, arts and culture, and community platforms to promote unity and strengthen patriotism.

However, Tajuddin was sceptical that these plans would work to boost harmony and unity in a multiracial and multi-religious society.

“None of this will work,” he said. “We’ve done most of it, but they are all superficial.

“The real core of the problem is how one race sees another. This is governed mostly by official historical and religious narratives.”

He suggested that Putrajaya’s first move should be to form a special task force to rewrite Malaysia’s historical and religious books, as well as school curriculum.