KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 — Datuk Seri Nazir Razak urged today for stricter laws to criminalise racism, saying the bloody brawl at Low Yat Plaza last weekend had made him fear for the future of all Malaysians.
The CIMB Group chairman and brother of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak noted that the incident had not only turned violent but racial as well although it was merely triggered by a “silly” theft case.
“When a silly handphone theft results in racial brawls I fear for their future.
“Let’s define and make racism illegal to bring us closer together,” he wrote in his caption to a photograph featuring several children of different races garbed in traditional costumes that he posted on Instagram.
Nazir who is an avid social media user has in recent months used the photo-sharing site to comment on various headlining issues, including the probe into debt-ridden 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
A riot broke out Sunday night at Low Yat Plaza that left five people injured, including several journalists.
The riot reportedly started after 22-year-old Shahrul Anuar Abdul Aziz was handed over on Saturday to the police for allegedly stealing a RM800 phone from a store at the popular tech mall.
The Inspector-General of Police yesterday said Shahrul’s friend, who was also nabbed but later released, had contacted their other friends and the group returned to the mobile phone store, assaulted its workers and caused some RM70,000 worth of damages.
Rumours swirled on social media after the alleged theft that the Chinese trader had sold the Malay man a counterfeit phone, leading to calls for boycotts of “cheating” Chinese traders and the complex.
The incident then led to a mob descending on the mall Sunday night.
Shahrul this morning pleaded not guilty at the Magistrate’s Court to the offence punishable under Section 380 of the Penal Code.
If convicted, he faces a maximum 10-year jail term and a fine, with subsequent offences punishable by imprisonment and fine or whipping.
