Najib says Bung Mokhtar’s Hitler remark was wrong and unacceptable
The Malaysian Insider – 5 hours agoRELATED CONTENT
- Najib says Bung Mokhtar’s Hitler remark was wrong and unacceptable
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak (pic) has distanced himself and his administration from Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin's controversial tweet praising Adolf Hitler.
“The comments made by Datuk Bung Mokhtar are unacceptable and wrong, and he will withdraw them.
“He does not speak for Malaysia, or for ordinary Malaysians, who understand Europe’s tragic past, and respect its modern unity.
“This should be a time of celebration for Germany, and we wish them all the best in the final,” he said in a statement.
The 55-year-old Bung Mokhtar, who is the Kinabatangan MP, had congratulated Germany with a tweet saying "Well done ... Bravo ... Long Live Hitler" following the football team's victory over Brazil in the World Cup semi-final match yesterday.
His tweet was slammed by netizens, politicians and the German ambassador to Malaysia Holger Michael who had described it as "unacceptable".
Michael had said in a statement: "While we appreciate the admiration for the German football team, we strongly reject the unacceptable allusion to the fascist regime of Adolf Hitler".
This morning, Serdang MP Dr Ong Kian Ming had said that Najib should demand Bung Mokhtar's resignation following his remark on Hitler.
"Despite the uproar caused by his tweet, Bung Mokhtar has refused to apologise for his actions," Ong had said in a statement.
"Instead, he tries to defend his actions by saying 'Hitler is part of history and the German team fought like how he did'," Ong had added.
Bung Mokhtar has never been far from controversy, attracting criticism from women's groups and rights activists over previous remarks, which among others, were slammed for being chauvinistic.
During a debate in Parliament over a leak in its roof 2007, Bung Mokhtar caused an uproar when he said: "Where is the leak? The Batu Gajah MP also leaks every month," referring to an opposition lawmaker's menstrual cycle. – July 10, 2014.
Bung’s Hitler remark ‘unacceptable’, German ambassador says
The Malay Mail Online – Wed, Jul 9, 2014RELATED CONTENT
- A screen capture of Datuk Bung Moktar Radin's twitter page showing his tweet …
KUALA LUMPUR, July 9 — Germany’s Ambassador to Malaysia objected today to a Malaysian leader’s salute of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler in his praise for the country’s performance in the World Cup, saying the comparison was “unacceptable”.
In a statement emailed to The Malay Mail Online, His Excellency Holger Michael said the embassy “strongly rejects” the reference made by Datuk Bung Moktar Radin, who said earlier today that the German team had “fought like Hitler” in the semi-final match this morning.
“While we appreciate the admiration for the German football team, we strongly reject the unacceptable allusion to the fascist regime of Adolf Hitler,” Michael said.
Bung had tweeted a salute to Hitler this morning, which led many Twitter users to chastise him. An unrepentant Bung then heaped abuse on them.
“Well done… Bravo… Long live Hitler…” the federal lawmaker posted on the microblogging site via the Twitter handle @MyKinabatangan.
Bung has since defended his tweet, saying he had only done so out of his admiration for the German football team.
The Kinabatangan MP from Sabah, a self-professed fan of the team nicknamed “Die Mannschaft”, said they fought like Hitler when they thrashed Brazil 7-1 in the World Cup semi-final match early this morning.
The embassy however declined to comment on the severity of the salute for Hitler, which can constitute a crime in Germany.
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had pointed out today that Bung Moktar’s adulatory comment of Hitler was a slur to Germany rather than a compliment, and falls foul of the country’s denazification laws.
Modern-day Germany has laws that prohibit the distribution or public use of symbols of unconstitutional groups, in particular, flags, insignia, uniforms, slogans and forms of greeting related to the Third Reich and other forms of fascism.
Austrian-born Hitler was the leader of Nazi Germany between 1934 and 1945, and was at the centre of World War II.
Hitler was also behind the Holocaust, the mass extermination and execution of millions of European Jews in concentration camp
The Malay Mail Online – 17 hours ago
Just ignore ‘attention-seeking’ Bung, BN MPs say over Hitler flap
The Malay Mail Online – 17 hours agoRELATED CONTENT
- A screen capture of Datuk Bung Moktar Radin's twitter page showing his tweet …
KUALA LUMPUR, July 9 — Datuk Bung Moktar Radin was scorned by his Barisan Nasional (BN) colleagues, with one labelling the Kinabatangan MP “an attention seeker” with his Hitler remarks on Twitter today.
Umno’s Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said Bung Moktar has been “consistent” in “being politically incorrect” and the “distasteful remark” should just be ignored.
“It was a joke in bad taste... but doesn’t mean people should overreact.
“People like Bung are only out there to get attention and now he is probably saying ‘I’m popular’,” the Pulai MP told The Malay Mail Online when contacted.
The Sabah lawmaker has gained infamy over the years with his remarks in the Dewan Rakyat, notably the time he mocked women drivers and likened a female MP’s menstruation cycle to a leaky ceiling in Parliament.
In the latest incident, Bung Moktar raised ire when he tweeted a salute to Hitler this morning after Germany trumped Brazil 7-1 in the World Cup 2014 semi-finals.
“Well done… Bravo… Long live Hitler…” the federal lawmaker posted on his Twitter handle @MyKinabatangan.
Outraged Twitter users told Bung Moktar his reference to Hitler was in “bad taste” while others labelled the Sabahan “ignorant” only draw the legislator’s wrath.
An unrepentant Bung then heaped abuse on them.
Nur Jazlan also said Bung Moktar’s remarks may have not been to incite racial violence but rather a “publicity stunt”.
“There is too much focus on petty politics in the country. Malaysian need to take a chill pill and look at the bigger picture here.
“If I say anything more to whack him now, he will just get another day of free coverage,” Nur Jazlan told The Malay Mail Online.
His fellow Umno party-mate, Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, shared a similar view.
“I don’t think he is supportive of genocide but I can understand the reason it would strike a nerve for some,” he said, playing down Bung Moktar’s words.
Bung, a self-professed fan of the team nicknamed “Die Mannschaft”, has since defended his tweet, saying he had only done so out of his admiration for the German football team, adding that the team fought like Hitler when they thrashed Brazil.
But Gerakan president Datuk Mah Siew Keong said the tweet was improper as Austrian-born Hitler, who led Nazi Germany between 1934 and 1945 had designed the Holocaust, the mass extermination and execution of millions of European Jews in concentration camps.
“I do not think it was appropriate. Hitler killed millions. I do not think the German team wants to be associated with Hitler,” said Mah, who is also a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.
But Saifuddin, who is also the chief executive officer of Global Movement of Moderates, noted that his fellow BN leaders have made a number of “discomforting remarks” following Bung Moktar’s tweet today.
Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also Umno deputy president, triggered a firestorm after he was reported by Malay-language daily Utusan Malaysia saying May 13 could repeat if ties among the country’s races did not improve.
Muhyiddin was criticised for intending to stimulate fear by raising the spectre of the May 13, 1969 racial clashes that saw hundreds killed.
