KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 — DAP’s Kuantan branch became the latest target of protests today following the uproar over a Penang lawmaker’s “Umno celaka” remark, when a group claiming to be Umno members kicked the office door, damaged a signboard and pelted the building with eggs.
According to DAP organ The Rocket, the group of around 15 youths first staged a demonstration outside the building at around 3pm today before trying to kick down the metal grill door at the entrance of the shoplot.
Their repeated kicks damaged the door, The Rocket reported on its website.
One youth also used a stick to hit the office signboard while others threw what appeared to be rotten eggs at the building.
The report added that the youths donned red headbands, carried with them Pahang and Malaysia flags, and banners demanding that DAP’s Seri Delima assemblyman RSN Rayer apologise for his “Umno celaka” remark made at the Penang state assembly.
One banner, supposedly from Bentong Umno Youth, read: “DAP Rasict. DAP Celaka”.
The Rocket reported a spokesman from Pahang Umno Youth as saying that the group was there to hand over a memorandum to the DAP.
They later left the memorandum, which reportedly demanded an apology from Rayer, pinned to the damaged door.
“From the attacks on DAP in the past few days, we have reason to believe that these thugs intend to wreak havoc and incite violence at DAP’s offices across the country.
“Their main motive to commit such acts of violence is to stir up racial hatred and damage national unity,” DAP’s Ketari assemblyman Lee Chin Chen was quoted saying in the report.
DAP’s branches across the state have now been told to beef up security.
This is the third such protest against Rayer’s remarks.
On Wednesday, some Umno members trespassed into the Penang state assembly while it was in session, demanding an apology from Rayer but left frustrated.
Yesterday, a group of 50 people threatened to burn down the DAP headquarters in Kuala Lumpur and was reported to have vandalised property belonging to the party.
When debating the Governor’s speech on Tuesday, Rayer had uttered the words “celaka Umno (damn Umno”, triggering outrage among the party’s lawmakers.
The Penang lawmaker has refused to apologise for his remarks, insisting there was nothing wrong with the word he used.
“’Celaka is a common word that we always use in jest, so they should just take it in jest,” he said yesterday, when denying that he had applied the word on all of Umno or the Malays.
He added that he has been called worse things by a Barisan Nasional assemblyman, such as “haramjadah”, in state assembly but said he did not react violently against it.
“Haramjadah is worse than the word ‘celaka’ and I didn’t simply come into the Hall and (started) calling everyone names for no reason, otherwise I would be sent to a mental hospital,” he said.
