PETALING JAYA, July 11 — The DAP’s Zairil Khir Johari denounced today the hate-filled graffiti painted on a billboard bearing the faces of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his father in Penang, and urged all groups to unite against the “treasonous and banal act”.
“I strongly condemn this vandalism and hope all groups can work together to prevent this treasonous and banal act,” said the Bukit Bendera MP, of the heinous incident that was committed in his constituency.
Invectives reading “Pirah mampus” — “Go die” in the northern Malay slang — had been scrawled on the hoardings belonging to the Urban Development Authority (UDA) in Tanjung Tokong, where a renewal project on a Malay settlement in the area is under way.
Images of Najib and his late father, Tun Razak Hussein, had been vandalised, as was the Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government’s slogan, “Janji Ditepati (Promises Fulfilled)” which had been altered to read “Janji Dicapati”.
A sticker reading “Penipu”, meaning cheat in Malay, was pasted onto the image of Razak, who was the second prime minister and the man behind UDA, which he tasked to help provide Malays a bigger stake in the urban economy.
Razak was also responsible for initiating the redevelopment of Kampung Tanjung Tokong in 1972, which was finally settled last year, some four decades after his death.
The issue about conserving the settlement has long been a passionate one, as the village is regarded as among the oldest living legacies of the Malays.
Tanjong Tokong residents had demanded the federal government give RM300 million to redevelop the traditional village in an impasse reminiscent of efforts to redevelop Kampung Baru, the 111-year-old Malay enclave just a stone’s throw from the Petronas Twin Towers here.
“I respect the service of Tun Razak as a leader who has contributed much to the nation’s development, especially in reforming the urban demography and raising the standards of living of migrants in towns through the formation of UDA,” said Zairil.
His late father, Tan Sri Khir Johari, had been Razak’s contemporary and had the distinction of having served in the Cabinet of the first three prime ministers.
Zairil chided the perpetrators for damaging the images of two prime ministers through vandalism, which the novice lawmaker described as “childish” and which he said was contrary to the new political culture he hoped to bring about through debate of ideas, policy and ideology — not personal or physical attacks.
The 30-year-old was elected to office in the May 5 polls, which Najib’s BN coalition won but which has resulted in a nation split along urban and rural lines.
