FEBRUARY 7 — The PM wants everyone to stop talking about it.
This is one way of handling the problem, but not the best one.
If there is ever a chance for the PM to expressly demonstrate his message of national unity and moderation, this will be the one.
Unfortunately he has missed such a chance.
The Prime Minister’s Department has said Ismail Sabri’s statement did not target at a specific ethnic group, meaning the minister will be freed of his obligations.
Did Ismail Sabri target at Chinese traders in the country? Most definitely. These words are still hopping lively in front of everyone’s eyes.Even though he later attempted to find excuses for himself, that would not help to prove otherwise.
Was Ismail Sabri remorseful? Not a bit. He insisted not to apologize or retract his statement, and even grew arrogant at the support of his Umno comrades.
There is no way such “obstinacy and arrogance” should be put to an end by getting everyone to “stop talking about it.”
The damage has been done, but the wound is yet to be healed.
Indeed, this issue must be put to a stop and it must not be allowed to expand indefinitely. But, the best way to do this is one that conforms to the principles of equality and righteousness.
If a single word “stop” can solve the problem, how are we going to tell what is right and what is wrong? How are we going to rectify acts of prejudice and instigation? And how are we going to fulfill our goals of unity and moderation.
The main thing is not about punishing Ismail but to show a determined attitude of rejecting such racist statements that could potentially mar national unity.
Ismail has been emboldened by the staunch support of 92 Umno divisions, and the PM, as Umno president, would not want to tread on dangerous ground by reprimanding his minister.
But, this will set a very bad precedent with malicious eventualities to follow.
If Ismail were a Perkasa leader, we can always treat him with despise, and will never need to dance to his tune. But he is not Perkasa man but a cabinet minister, an integral part of the federal government.
A statement like his will not only meet with fierce reprimands in many a democratic nation, but also risks of office termination. No healthy democratic countries should condone a minister who refuses to apologize for nor retract a racist statement he has made, and be allowed to stay in the cabinet.
The support from Umno divisions will only embolden him while other cabinet ministers may be inspired to go the racist way without fearing of possible consequences except glorification as a community hero.
This way of tackling the issue hurts not only the Chinese community but the other BN component parties, including MCA, Gerakan, and Umno itself.
All the efforts of MCA and Gerakan to win back the faith of Chinese voters in this country will be defeated by the insensible act of an Umno politico.
Najib said in the closing speech at the recent Umno general assembly that Umno could not thrive on Malay ballots alone in the absence of Chinese support.
Chinese make up over 30 per cent of total voters in many Umno constituencies, including Ismail Sabri’s Bera parliamentary seat in Pahang, where 32 per cent of voters have been Chinese.
Some of the politicians in Umno live in contentment in their own fantasies, failing to visualize Malaysia’s multiracial population structure nor bother about national unity and moderation principles.
That makes them not much different from PAS, which has insisted to push ahead its hudud law agenda.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.
