Stop raising racial issues: Malaysia Abdullah
BN chiefs try to cool tempers as Chinese parties hint at leaving
By Carolyn Hong, Malaysia Bureau Chief
Faced with a barrage of anger from Umno’s Chinese partners, PM Abdullah urged Malaysians to stop raising sensitive issues that cause anxiety and unhappiness. — PHOTO: REUTERS
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s top leaders swiftly moved to cool the temperature after days of angry rhetoric over an Umno grassroots leader’s comment that the Chinese are ‘immigrants’ to Malaysia.
Faced with a barrage of anger from Umno’s Chinese partners, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi urged Malaysians to stop raising sensitive issues that cause anxiety and unhappiness.
‘This includes the Malays and non-Malays. Things that should not have been raised and sensitive things have surfaced.
‘This has caused anger among the various races who feel their rights and sensitivities have been overlooked or ignored,’ he said in Penang after attending an Umno state meeting on Saturday.
His deputy Najib Razak, who had apologised on behalf of Umno for the remark, on Saturday also assured non-Malays that their interests will be safeguarded.
He said Umno had never regarded the Chinese as pendatang (Malay for immigrant) and considered non-Malays as partners in nation-building.
Their remarks came as the rhetoric had heightened considerably in the last one week after Mr Ahmad Ismail, an Umno divisional leader in Penang, refused to apologise for his comment that the Chinese were immigrants ‘who do not deserve equal rights’.
He made these remarks during the Permatang Pauh by-election but has since insisted that his remarks were taken out of context.
The strong reaction to Mr Ahmad’s remarks is a first for the usually reticent Gerakan and Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), but it did not come as a surprise after the March 8 polls.
Both parties were severely punished by their voter base for being seen as subservient to Umno, and lost badly in Chinese-dominant seats. They have since been trying to take a more vocal stance on such issues.
Further, the remark comes smack in the midst of both parties’ election season.
Gerakan and MCA are holding their state-level elections this month, culminating in the national level polls next month.
The MCA is expected to see a tough fight for the top posts, while there is speculation that Gerakan president Koh Tsu Koon may be challenged.
Both parties have also hinted that they might be forced to leave the BN if the situation remains unchanged. Several former Gerakan MPs have already left for the opposition.
Yesterday, Mr Koh reiterated that Gerakan will leave Barisan Nasional if it cannot play a ‘meaningful role’ within the coalition.
PM Abdullah, on Saturday, urged Malaysians to remember that they lived in a multiracial country, and that the media including blogs and newspapers did no good when they carried reports that cause racial anger.
‘No one will win, all will lose. It will cause the country to be in trouble,’ he warned.
The controversy, although unlikely to spill into tension outside the political realm, may, however, not die down that easily.
The Penang MCA has called for a meeting today to discuss Mr Ahmad’s remarks while the opposition Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s treasurer William Leong, who is also an MP from Kuala Lumpur, yesterday called for Mr Ahmad to be charged with sedition.
Mr Ahmad is currently being investigated by police.
Source : Straits Times - 08 Sept 2008
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