Go ahead and slap the Chinese if you have the guts, Dr M tells Umno deputy minister
By BY JOSEPH SIPALAN | The Malay Mail OnlineRELATED CONTENT
- Umno’s Pasir Salak MP Datuk Tajuddin’s off-the-cuff remark appears to have riled …
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 3 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today scoffed at an Umno leader who is getting flak after saying the ethnic Chinese should be “slapped”, and challenged Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman to carry out the act.
The former prime minister was visibly amused when asked for his view on the “lempang” remark by the Pasir Salak MP
Lempang is a Malay term to describe the act of slapping.
“Lempang? Ask him to lempanglah. It’s easy to say. When we have the government backing us we are brave, but outside we are not brave,” he said dismissively at a news conference.
Tajuddin had initially accused news portal Malaysiakini — which first ran a story on his remark — of misquoting him in its story but later claimed he merely said it in jest, after an audio recording was posted online.
The agriculture and agro-based industries deputy minister said he did not fear any disciplinary action from his party over the incident as he had not issued any inappropriate statement in an official capacity.
However, Tajuddin’s off-the-cuff remark appears to have riled up even his political allies in Barisan Nasional, with both MCA and Gerakan saying they will issue a formal protest note and ask the coalition leadership to punish the Perak lawmaker.
Tajuddin’s remark was ostensibly in response to a comment by Chinese ambassador to Malaysia Huang Huikang in Petaling Street last week, that Beijing would not hesitate to speak out against any threat that may affect the country’s ties with Malaysia, in commenting on the communal tension here.
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