Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has appealed for national consensus with the ruling coalition amid tensions which he described has 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," he said in a special address in Subang today.
 
Anwar acknowledged that the ruling coalition had ignored the opposition's repeated calls for reconciliation and was therefore now going to the people including BN supporters.
 
"I call on you, my fellow Malaysians to rise up and let your voices be heard.
 
"Let your voice of mutual respect and goodwill, your voice of understanding and trust, and your voice of unity and integration prevails over these voices of hatred, rancour, hostility and destruction," he said.

Reaching tipping point
 
In the carefully crafted statement, Anwar expressed concern over the series of events in the last few months that has eroded the unity of the nation.
 
"In fact, these developments appear to be reaching a crescendo that threatens to tear the very fabric of our unity apart.
 
"Of course, we have not reached the tipping point yet, but as they say, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.
 
"And we cannot be vigilant enough here. That is because what we are seeing today are all kinds of attempts by certain quarters to take this nation to the brink," he said.
 
Anwar said that all parties must stop creating fear that Islam was under threat.
 
"In reaffirming the position of Islam and recognising that Muslims make up the majority of the population, we must reject the notion that Islam is under threat.
 
"We must reject the notion that there is some sinister conspiracy to replace Islam as the religion of the federation with some other religion," he said.
 
Imaginery foes
 
He added that the constitutional safeguards for all religions must also be given due recognition.
 
"We are a nation of communities comprising of a plurality of faiths.
 
"In this regard, Buddhists, Taiosts, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and practitioners of ethnic religions must be accorded their constitutional freedom to practise their religion in the manner of their choosing," he said.
 
Anwar called on all leaders on both side of the political divide to show real leadership in easing the tension.
 
"Indeed the time has come for all of us to reach a national consensus on these crucial issues that impact the sub-stratum of our identity as a nation.
 
"In working towards this consensus, let us remain focussed on the other things that really matter to us as a nation going forward.
 
"Let us work together to tackle the issues of governance, transparency and accountability," he said.
 
He added that instead of fighting "figments of our imagination", it was better to address pressing issues such as rising prices and crime.
 
"It is morally incumbent on us, particularly those of us who have been elected by the people to represent them, to go beyond partisan lines and come to a national consensus on how to move the nation forward," he said.