During the debate of the 12th Malaysia Plan mid-term review in a special Dewan Rakyat sitting today, Sim said political demonstrations could negatively impact foreign investment.

“Investors are highly sensitive to domestic political situations, and around RM1.23 trillion in investments could be lost if we continue to quarrel.

“I call on Bachok MP Syahir Che Sulaiman and his colleagues in the opposition bloc to refrain from holding any demonstrations as this will frighten the investors.

“We know that we have freedom, we can voice our opinions, our objections here (in Parliament), no problem, but the investors are sensitive to mass gatherings.

“On Malaysia Day on Sept 16, we should stand united, together as one, rather than holding street demonstrations that will only cause disharmony,” he told FMT, in response to Syahir asking why Sim had a problem with Perikatan Nasional (PN) holding protests.

Some PN leaders have called for the people to attend a “Selamatkan Malaysia” rally on Sept 16 to address the issues the government has failed to handle and also deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s recent corruption trial.

Meanwhile, Sim said race, religion and royalty (3R) issues could divide the nation.

He proposed establishing a bipartisan parliamentary select committee to address these problems and create a forum for discussing and finding solutions to sensitive issues.

“Malaysia needs to find an appropriate forum to reach political consensus, especially on sensitive issues related to 3R. This forum is needed because politicians can discuss issues through closed-door meetings.

“This committee should aim to find common ground on all race and religious issues in a rational and compassionate manner… let all sensitive issues be discussed without restriction, but the goal is towards national unity and not division,” he added.