Nationwide raids by the domestic trade, cooperatives and consumerism ministry officers on hardware stores to confiscate paintbrushes made from pig bristles over the past few days have caused angry, emotional outbursts among Malaysians.

I want to ask a simple question: When such issues are blown up by the media, who benefits?

The propagandists are the ones instilling fear among Muslims and non-Muslims, with the intention of creating mistrust among us.

When confronted with this, many of us will crawl back to our respective “safe zones” — namely race and religion. This ensures we will always be divided and segregated.

Speaking as a Malaysian, I know that Muslims care about halal food. Most non-Muslims understand this, too.

However, when paintbrushes, shoes, jackets and such things are also included in the category of what is halal, non-Muslims begin to wonder whether it is a real issue or merely justification for discrimination.

Many non-Malay small business owners are fearful of the authorities. Many of them are law-abiding citizens and many are struggling to make ends meet. Of course, they will get upset if they see rules and laws relating to Islam forced upon them.

Now in the eyes of Berita Harian, the crackdown on paintbrushes has made the ministry a “champion and protector of Islam” against “unscrupulous non-Malay businesses”.

But the business owners and many non-Malays are fuming as the issue is played up on the front pages of major Chinese dailies.

Muslims and non-Muslims are seemingly being pitted against each other.

This is not the first time such a situation has arisen.

Most recently, it was the “halal cake” controversy involving McDonald’s and the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) that caused animosity between Muslims and non-Muslims.

To me, these are not religious issues. Therefore, Muslims and non-Muslims should refrain from attacking each other.

This is the year Malaysians live dangerously as the country prepares for election with Prime Minister Najib Razak beleaguered by multiple scandals.

The more divided the society, the easier it is for the status quo to remain.

There will be more such invented crises aimed at causing Muslims to perceive and fear threats to their daily lives and routines, such as observation of the halal status.

There will also be provocation of non-Muslims and accusations of Islamophobia.

These issues emotionally and psychologically affect all Malaysians, regardless of race and religion.

It is crucial for Muslims to see that most non-Muslims harbour no ill intention towards them, and for non-Muslims to realise that the harsh actions of the authorities do not reflect the general sentiment of Muslims towards non-Muslims. Generalisations will lead to prejudice and racism.

Together, we must fight against a siege mentality, especially at a time of broad political crisis that seemingly sees the government profiting from a divided society.

Liew Chin Tong is DAP national political education director and Kluang MP.

With a firm belief in freedom of expression and without prejudice, FMT tries its best to share reliable content from third parties. Such articles are strictly the writer’s personal opinion. FMT does not necessarily endorse the views or opinions of the third party content provider.