KUALA LUMPUR, May 10 — DAP’s Hew Kuan Yau today denied he had uttered racist remarks against the Malays while campaigning in Batu Kitang for the Sarawak polls, saying the BM subtitles given to a video of a speech he had delivered there in Mandarin were inaccurate.
In a lengthy explanation on his Facebook page, the man better known by his moniker “Superman”, clarified that his remarks had been directed at Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), which is Barisan Nasional’s (BN) lynchpin in Sarawak.
“Umno’s cyber warriors deliberately twisted my remarks in Mandarin that were posted on Ubah TV and YouTube, with inaccurate translations.
“They changed the word PBB to Malay — that is twisting my words. I am not anti-Malay but I am against corruption in PBB,” he wrote.
A 59-second clip of Hew’s speech during the just-concluded Sarawak polls was posted yesterday on social media with subtitles in Bahasa Malaysia suggesting that the politician had urged Batu Kitang voters to vote for DAP’s Malay candidate Abdul Aziz Isa and “screw” the “corrupt Malays”.
But Hew pointed out that if he was indeed anti-Malay, he would not have invited Batu Kitang voters to pick DAP’s Malay candidate over PKR’s Chinese candidate.
He said the DAP is a party that champions the interests of all races, adding that he is Malaysian at heart.
“The parties that play racial politics are MCA, Umno and the other BN component parties,” he claimed.
According to The Star Online, DAP disciplinary chairman Tan Kok Wai said he has yet to view the video.
The fight for Batu Kitang was a five-way battle among BN, DAP, PKR and two independents. BN clinked the seat, however, on May 7, with its candidate Lo Khere Chiang from SUPP taking the lead with a 1,840-vote majority.
PKR’s Voon Shiak Ni and the two independents lost their deposits for failing to garner one-eighth of the total votes cast.
