KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 25 — Seputeh MP Teresa Kok today said MIC and MCA leaders should consider launching a nationwide ‘Boycott PAS Campaign’ for religious insensitivity and intolerance of other faiths following Kedah Mentri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor’s decision to cancel the Thaipusam public holiday in the state.
“Since this PAS MB has shown utter contempt for the festivals of non-Muslims and openly claimed that his party doesn’t need Indian votes, it is high time for MIC leaders to teach PAS a lesson by initiating a nationwide campaign to boycott PAS now, to pave the way to encourage more peace-loving Malaysians to boycott PAS in the coming general election,” she said in a statement today.
Kok also urged the two Barisan Nasional (BN) components to demand that the decision be overturned.
The DAP deputy secretary-general also pointed out that other Perikatan Nasional (PN) leaders who have kept mum over Sanusi’s “racist” statement can be considered as supporting him.
“It is time for all PN component parties, particularly those from Sabah and Sarawak to voice out their protest against the divisive and discriminatory pronouncement of the PAS-led government in Kedah, because if a PAS-led government can implement such a discriminatory policy in Kedah, it will also surely push for other discriminatory policies in other states too.
“It is time for all component parties in PN to take a stand on this issue,” she said.
Sanusi’s announcement on Wednesday cancelling Thaipusam, which falls on January 28, in the state saw him draw flak from several quarters, including MIC deputy president and Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan who called it a shortsighted decision.
In response, Sanusi said the decision was not aimed at denying the rights of Hindu believers, adding that they could still celebrate or observe the holiday as long as the proper standard operating procedures are in place.
