IPOH, July 13 — DAP Socialist Youth (Dapsy) Perak today warned Ipoh Barat Umno Youth against twisting Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming’s statement for political mileage, saying his remarks had been deliberately taken out of context.
The wing was responding to Ipoh Barat Umno Youth’s call for Nga, who is also the Kepayang assemblyman, to resign following Pakatan Harapan’s defeat in the Johor state election.
Dapsy Perak in a statement said the demand clearly showed Ipoh Barat Umno Youth had failed to understand the actual context of Nga’s earlier remarks.
It said the demand by Ipoh Barat Umno Youth appeared to be a deliberate attempt to create the perception that Nga had promised to resign if Pakatan Harapan lost the Johor polls, despite him never making such a commitment.
“They deliberately quoted only a small portion of his statement without taking into account the full context that YB Nga Kor Ming himself had clearly explained.
“This is not only dishonest, but also shows that they are more interested in playing politics than safeguarding the interests of the people, to the extent of misleading the public simply to attack their political opponents,” the statement read.
Yesterday, Nga, who is also the DAP deputy chairman, said that he would stand by his earlier pledge to resign from the Cabinet if former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak were released without serving an appropriate sentence.
Nga said if Najib, whom he said had left Malaysians burdened with RM51.4 billion in debts linked to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), were released without serving a punishment commensurate with his conviction, it would undermine the credibility of the country’s judicial system and the rule of law as enshrined in the Rukun Negara.
“If such a situation were to occur, for the sake of defending the integrity of our beloved judicial system, I am willing to resign as a member of the Cabinet.
“This has nothing to do with personal matters. It is a question of principle. I remain steadfast in upholding this principle,” he said.
Dapsy Perak said Nga had made it clear that his position was based on the principles of upholding the supremacy of the Federal Constitution, the rule of law and the integrity of the country’s judiciary.
It said that as a lawyer, Nga had stressed that if the nation’s judicial system failed to uphold justice to the extent that individuals convicted of large-scale corruption and abuse of power were allowed to escape serving the punishment they deserved, the integrity of the judiciary would have been compromised.
“In such circumstances, he would be prepared to resign from the Cabinet as a manifestation of the principles he upholds, and not because of the outcome of an election.
“His statement was never conditional upon the victory or defeat of any political party in an election,” it said.
Dapsy Perak said Umno Youth had ignored Nga’s full explanation and continued to push what it described as a misleading narrative.
“Such politics is not only immature, but also reflects a desperate attempt to create perceptions that are not based on facts,” it said.
Dapsy Perak also urged Ipoh Barat Umno Youth to stop engaging in what it described as politics based on slander and half-truths.
“If they truly wish to debate, they should do so based on the full statement and the actual facts, rather than selectively quoting parts of a statement to construct a narrative that misleads the public,” it said.
It said democracy was not merely about accepting election results, but also required all parties to be honest in presenting facts to the public.
