KUALA LUMPUR, Sep 1 — Both Umno and PAS should come out and condemn the boycott of non-Bumiputera goods if they want to show they are not against non-Muslims and non-Malays, said DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.
He said such boycotts would be counter-productive in more ways than one.
“It would be counter-productive not only in terms of jeopardising national unity but causes consumers to lose out by boycotting products which are superior in price and quality,” Lim said in a statement.
He agreed with Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s assessment that the movement to boycott non-Bumiputera goods by some people would not help improve any situation but only create anger in others.
“If this is the case, then by extension, foreign products especially hand phones should also be boycotted. A number of NGOs also called for a boycott of halal products made by non-Muslims.
“If PAS and Umno are not against both non-Muslims and non-Malays, both parties should adopt a similar stand condemning such boycotts of non-Bumi products,” Lim said.
He called upon Malaysians to heed the words of former national badminton champion Datuk Lee Chong Wei, who called for public unity against those shouting vulgarities at each other over petty issues.
“A Chinese Muslim convert and preacher had claimed that Chinese Malaysians should not pretend to love Malaysia, if they vote for ‘ultra kiasu’ — a reference to DAP — when they would support badminton players from China over Malaysian players like Misbun Sidek or Lee Chong Wei.
“Lee denied this vehemently and that badminton players received support from all races regardless of race. Lee said petty issues like Dong Zong or the introduction of jawi illustrations in vernacular schools’ Bahasa Malaysia textbooks should not tear us apart or succeed in spreading racial hate,” Lim said.
This was a veiled reference to pro-Malay, ethnic Chinese convert Ridhuan Tee.
He added that Lee is also correct in saying that Malaysians must never allow evil people — regardless if they are Chinese, Indians and Malays — to defeat the country and its people.
On Friday, Dr Mahathir said after chairing a Pakatan Harapan presidential council meeting that the boycott is something carried out by those with shallow thinking and would prove to be ineffective in the long run.
