Cops looking into Zahid Hamidi’s remarks after DAP complains of racial provocation
The Malay Mail Online – 8 hours agoRELATED CONTENT
- File picture shows Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi (right) walking with Barisan Nasional’s …
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 2 — The police have begun investigating a report lodged by a DAP lawmaker against Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who was alleged to have uttered seditious remarks at a ceramah during the Pengkalan Kubor by-election in Kelantan last week.
The report was lodged by Rasah MP Teo Kok Seng who accused the Umno vice-president of inciting racial sentiments by claiming at the ceramah that the DAP had tried to pit the Chinese against the Malays during the 2009 Perak constitutional crisis.
Prior to that, Perak DAP state-secretary Wong Kah Wah had also lodged a report based on the same complaint.
Malay Mail Online understands the authorities are currently investigating the case for criminal defamation under Section 500 of the Penal Code.
“We are conducting investigation on the report lodged made by the Yang Berhormat Rasah MP.
“They have lodged a report so we must follow up,” Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department officer Asst Supt Alagesan Arumugam told Malay Mail Online.
It is unclear, however, unclear if the home minister will be questioned.
Last night, the police recorded statements from a reporter and an assistant news editor from Malay Mail Online, which had published Zahid’s allegedly offensive remarks on September 23.
Zahid had reportedly spoken of so-called divisions among the Malays during a ceramah in Pengkalan Kubor that day, characterising them as an Umno-PAS rivalry, and claiming that it has made Umno’s foes “big-headed” enough to question provisions in the Federal Constitution that safeguard Malay interests.
The Umno strongman later cited incidents surrounding the Perak constitutional crisis to back his claim that because the Malays were divided, the predominantly Chinese DAP opposition party were able to take advantage and pit the Malays against each other.
Zahid said the Perak crisis was a good example of how Malays have become so politically divided that it was willing to insult the monarchy, a symbol of Malay sovereignty.
He suggested some Malays were willingly doing the dirty job for the Chinese by putting their lives on the line.
“I remember during the Perak crisis, they were protesting (against the Barisan Nasional takeover) at the time, they tried to block the entrance to the state building. You know who were the ones lying down on the streets? All Malays.
“Where were the DAP people? They were throwing stones at the Raja Muda… they also threw stones at my car. I was there. When they were doing this, those lying down on the road were all Malays,” he said in his speech on the Pengkalan Kubor by-election campaign trail.
DAP denied the occurrence of these incidents, calling them lies intended to pit Malays against Chinese community.
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