Time for Malaysia to be 'united': Malaysia PM Najib
KUALA LUMPUR — A day after a deputy minister threatened to slap Chinese Malaysians if they took their grouses overseas, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak today (Oct 2) called on Malaysians to stop making politically charged statements that could lead to conflict and misunderstandings.
“I want all parties in Malaysia not to issue political statements that can cause strife and misunderstanding,” Mr Najib wrote on social media today.
“Now is the time for us to be united to make sure our country continues to develop, not be divided and accusatory,” he added.
The premier’s comments comes after local media reported on Thursday that the Deputy Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Tajuddin Abdul Rahman had allegedly threatened to “slap” the Chinese should they take their problems to other countries.
“Chinese people in Malaysia, don’t fantasise that there will be a big boss coming, that there will be a godfather coming from China to help you,” local media quoted the deputy minister as saying, although he later denied issuing the threat.
The deputy minister was referring to the climate of heightened tensions between groups of Chinese and Malays following a series of anti-government and pro-government protests with strong racial overtones. Last week, the Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia, Huang Huikang, further clouded the issue by speaking out against racial discrimination and giving the impression that Beijing was attempting to interfere in Malaysian politics.
During a visit to Petaling Street, commonly known as Chinatown, which was in conjunction with the Mid-Autumn Festival, Dr Huang was quoted as saying “the Chinese government opposes terrorism and any form of discrimination against races and any form of extremism”, adding that Beijing would not hesitate to speak out against any threat that may affect China’s ties with Malaysia.
Seeking to calm backlash that he was stoking tensions by commenting on racial relations during a sensitive time, Dr Huang himself clarified on Sunday that his visit to Petaling Street was an act of goodwill.
However, at an event on Monday, Dr Huang also reportedly said that China will remain a ‘maternal home’ for the Chinese diaspora — in what seemed to be another reference to the racial tensions in Malaysia.
Although the envoy had been summoned by the Malaysian foreign ministry earlier in the week to explain his recent remarks, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi took the rare diplomatic move on Thursday to announce that Dr Huang was to provide an official explanation to the Malaysian Cabinet over his comments, and added that the matter would be officially dropped once the envoy explains his comments.
Speaking at a special ministerial meeting on radicalisation and extremism among members of the Association of South-east Asian Nations today, Mr Zahid, who is also Home Minister, urged racism to be stamped out.
“We are concerned that if racism is not prevented from the start, it could lead to ethnic cleansing as has happened in several countries. This must be avoided,” he said. AGENCIES
KUALA LUMPUR — A day after a deputy minister threatened to slap Chinese Malaysians if they took their grouses overseas, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak today (Oct 2) called on Malaysians to stop making politically charged statements that could lead to conflict and misunderstandings.
“I want all parties in Malaysia not to issue political statements that can cause strife and misunderstanding,” Mr Najib wrote on social media today.
“Now is the time for us to be united to make sure our country continues to develop, not be divided and accusatory,” he added.
The premier’s comments comes after local media reported on Thursday that the Deputy Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Tajuddin Abdul Rahman had allegedly threatened to “slap” the Chinese should they take their problems to other countries.
“Chinese people in Malaysia, don’t fantasise that there will be a big boss coming, that there will be a godfather coming from China to help you,” local media quoted the deputy minister as saying, although he later denied issuing the threat.
The deputy minister was referring to the climate of heightened tensions between groups of Chinese and Malays following a series of anti-government and pro-government protests with strong racial overtones. Last week, the Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia, Huang Huikang, further clouded the issue by speaking out against racial discrimination and giving the impression that Beijing was attempting to interfere in Malaysian politics.
During a visit to Petaling Street, commonly known as Chinatown, which was in conjunction with the Mid-Autumn Festival, Dr Huang was quoted as saying “the Chinese government opposes terrorism and any form of discrimination against races and any form of extremism”, adding that Beijing would not hesitate to speak out against any threat that may affect China’s ties with Malaysia.
Seeking to calm backlash that he was stoking tensions by commenting on racial relations during a sensitive time, Dr Huang himself clarified on Sunday that his visit to Petaling Street was an act of goodwill.
However, at an event on Monday, Dr Huang also reportedly said that China will remain a ‘maternal home’ for the Chinese diaspora — in what seemed to be another reference to the racial tensions in Malaysia.
Although the envoy had been summoned by the Malaysian foreign ministry earlier in the week to explain his recent remarks, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi took the rare diplomatic move on Thursday to announce that Dr Huang was to provide an official explanation to the Malaysian Cabinet over his comments, and added that the matter would be officially dropped once the envoy explains his comments.
Speaking at a special ministerial meeting on radicalisation and extremism among members of the Association of South-east Asian Nations today, Mr Zahid, who is also Home Minister, urged racism to be stamped out.
“We are concerned that if racism is not prevented from the start, it could lead to ethnic cleansing as has happened in several countries. This must be avoided,” he said. AGENCIES
