Former Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin today said the statement he had made about PAS leaders asking the country's first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, to seize the assets of the Chinese after the racial riots of May 13, 1969 was not something new.

azlan"This was disclosed by the Tunku during an exclusive interview with me and Utusan Melayu deputy chief editor Osman Abadi more than 40 years ago," he said in response to a police report lodged against him for having made the statement.

Zainuddin, better known as Zam, showed to reporters at his house today pictures of him and the Tunku during the interview which was conducted while he was a journalist with Utusan Melayu.

"When we went to the Tunku's office in Jalan Dato Onn a few months after the May 13 incident, the Tunku told us that a PAS leader had just left his room and that he (the PAS leader) had told him that it was time for a military coup and for the army to take control of all assets belonging to the Chinese," he said.

Zainuddin said he asked the Tunku for his comment.

"The Tunku said 'crazy, they worked so hard to build their wealth and suddenly we want to seize them and, furthermore, the Malays do not know how to do business'," he said.

He said the statement by the Tunku was published in the Utusan Melayu newspaper and was also contained in the book, "Di Sebalik Jendela Utusan" which was published in conjunction with Utusan Melayu's 50th anniversary in May 1989 as well as repeatedly published subsequently in several of his articles.

- Bernama