MCA says Ibrahim Ali is publicity hungry

By Clara Chooi

KUALA LUMPUR, April 29 — The MCA hit out again at Malay rights group Perkasa, and accused its president of being a publicity seeker.

Emphasising once again that Perkasa was just an NGO, MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said that its chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali was just reaping all the publicity he could gain from the constant rebuttal of his statements, seen by some to be extreme in nature.

“Maybe it is through this constant rebuttal that he (Ibrahim) finds a lot of publicity and gets enjoyment out of it,” Dr Chua (picture) pointed out at a press conference after a lengthy meeting with members of the party’s presidential council here this afternoon.

He said Ibrahim’s support was contrary to the prime minister’s 1 Malaysia platform which, he said, was all-inclusive and more moderate.

“People like Ibrahim Ali will always find his niche market which I am sure is growing smaller and smaller over time.

“Perkasa, as an NGO, has the right to say what it wants but most important is whether the people believe them or not,” he said.

He took cognisance of the fact that Perkasa’s widening influence had affected the Chinese voters’ perception of the Barisan Nasional but expressed confidence that in time, the MCA would not need to have to rebut everything that the Malay rights group said.

“I am sure that most Malaysians, irrespective of race, will subscribe to a leadership that is moderate, more liberal, accommodative and which pursues the middle path.

MCA slams ‘racist’ remarks from Umno leaders

By Adib Zalkapli

KUALA LUMPUR, April 29 — MCA vice-president Gan Ping Sieu said today that racist remarks by Umno leaders have become a stumbling block to Barisan Nasional’s (BN) efforts to win back Selangor from Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

He was commenting on a blog post by state Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo. The Selangor Umno man had said that Chinese voters in Hulu Selangor failed to show appreciation for the BN federal government’s initiatives, choosing instead to back PR.

“The racist-bent blog posting dated April 26 by the former mentri besar of Selangor, Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo, levelled against the Chinese community in Selangor is one of the main stumbling blocks which makes it difficult for Barisan Nasional to recover the Selangor state government from Pakatan Rakyat,” said Gan in a statement today.

“As the Selangor BN leader, Khir Toyo must not make such racist remarks as they would ultimately lead to the failure of the 1 Malaysia concept promoted by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak,” he added.

“Let it be known that if racist diatribes are allowed to continue, it would be close to impossible for BN to overturn its loss of the Selangor state government in the next general election,” said Gan.

He also called on Khir to respect the rights of the voters in as it is guaranteed by the federal Constitution.

“The right to vote is a fundamental civil political right of the rakyat as provided under the federal Constitution. Political leaders have no right to blame any voter for exercising his/her civil political right for whichever political divide he/she decides upon,” said Gan.

The myths of Chinese ballots

Indeed, this kind of voice emerges as soon as the by-election is over

Perkasa has stepped in. Its chief Ibrahim Ali said Chinese were ungrateful and ought to be punished.

He felt that since Chinese voters had not supported the BN candidate, the government should stop all the allocation pledges made to the Chinese community in Hulu Selangor.

Ibrahim Ali should take pride in draining away the Chinese votes for BN.

As BN has not drawn a clear line between itself and the Perkasa chief, Chinese ballots are expected to drift away further.

Some more, the once hushed Khir Toyo has found good reasons to lambaste again.

He said since Chinese Malaysians had not reciprocated the prime minister's goodwill, Najib and his government should review their policies and turn their attention to the Malays and Indians who supported the BN, otherwise it would be like "feeding the monkeys in the woods but starving the kids at home."

Huh! Monkeys will grab the bananas and run away. How do we expect them to be thankful? What a magnificent metaphor!

Perhaps we should look at it the other way: The politicos, having finished up the bananas in the woods, get thrown out of the woods by the people bosses, and can only put up a howl outside.

The Pakatan state government will feel very much at ease so long as Khir remains in Selangor!

Yes, the rightists and opportunists in UMNO will try to interpret the by-election outcome in their own unique ways.

And the message from their interpretations goes this way: Since the benefits provided by Najib's new policies and administration have not been reciprocated by the Chinese, perhaps they should forget about Chinese ballots and go for a more racist approach in getting more Malay votes to return to BN.

Over-simplistic brains. Fallacious logic. Extremely dangerous motives.

1. A shift towards racism will not translate into more Malay support. Fundamentally all the conservative Malays have already moved over to BN's side, and such preposterous shift will not win it any more votes. On the contrary, it will invite repulsion from more open-minded Malays and non-Malays.

2. The return of Malay votes shows that Najib's liberal policies have not caused a backlash among Malay voters. Upon this foundation, Najib should adopt even more open and liberal policies to earn the support of all Malaysians.

3. Government policies should by right benefit the people, and all government allocations have been sourced from taxpayers' pockets. Just as the prime minister himself has said, BN is not buying over the people, but helping them.

4. Racism is a dead-end road which will not only spawn political instability, but also batter the national economy. No one will stand to gain in the end.

5. It takes sound political philosophy to run a government, not threats, intimidation or bribery. "1Malaysia" is a kind of philosophy that puts together the common understanding of all Malaysians, and from there we create a progressive and prosperous nation.

6. The government should honour all its pledges, including RM3 million promised to the Rasa Chinese primary school. Besides, the government must also show its sincerity in recognising the certificates of independent Chinese secondary schools as it strives to mould a more democratic, equitable and open society. (By TAY TIAN YAN/Translated by DOMINIC LOH/Sin Chew Daily)