Barisan colleagues flay Zahid for fuelling racial discord
The Malaysian Insider – 19 hours agoRELATED CONTENT
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A senior Umno minister who reportedly said that non-Muslims have become “increasingly arrogant” has come under fire from his allies in the ruling Barisan Nasional for worsening race relations in Malaysia.
A Gerakan Youth leader has even called for Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to be charged with sedition.
Leaders of MIC, MCA and Gerakan said if The Sun’s report on September 1 quoting Zahid’s disparaging remarks against other races was indeed true, they were uncalled for.
The home minister was quoted as saying that Malays were now “paying the price for being kind to them” and that as a result, the non-Malays were insulting the Bumiputera, royalty and Islam.
Gerakan Youth deputy chief Andy Yong said the Sedition Act should be applied to Zahid if University Malaya law professor Dr Azmi Sharon could be charged for his opinion on the Selangor menteri besar crisis.
“Though I am not in favour of the law, if Azmi can be easily charged under the said act, I do not see why the same cannot apply to Zahid. This is especially so when Section 3(1)(e) defines ‘having a seditious tendency’ as ‘acts with a tendency to promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races',” Yong said in a statement.
Yong also called Zahid a “selfish” politician and questioned his motive for making such remarks.
“It is wholly unnecessary for Zahid to make such remarks whether he is targeting a particular group of non-Malays as a whole. In fact, such comments are tantamount to inciting racial hatred or to politicising racial dominance, which is very unhealthy.
“If it is merely for a political agenda, I consider [him] a selfish politician,” Yong said.
Gerakan secretary-general Liang Teck Meng blasted the Umno vice-president for having a "narrow mindset", saying that Zahid could not make such sweeping statements based on the actions of a few people.
"Non-Malays also include the Bumiputera communities in Sabah and Sarawak. I do not know what motives he has in making such a statement," he said.
Liang said political leaders should practise moderation, be mindful of their words and put harmony and unity before anything else.
"Some leaders are playing to the gallery and to certain communities. It is politicians, and not policies, that are splitting the country with such behaviour," Liang told The Malaysian Insider.
MIC youth chief C. Sivarrajh said as a minister, Zahid should be mindful of his words even though he spoke at a closed-door party gathering. – September 2, 2014
