Gerakan has slammed former chief justice Abdul Hamid Mohamad for promoting ill-will among Malaysians by belittling the contributions of non-Malays in the fight for independence.

"It is a blatant offence to all Malaysians which only serves to promote ill-will within Malaysian society," said vice-president Kohilan Pillay in a statement today.

He described Abdul Hamid's remarks as "outlandish" and "troubling".

"I must say that all communities have worked together to fight for the nation's independence.

"It is also a painful reminder that many Chinese have lost their lives during the Japanese occupation and Communist insurgency also hit all communities," he said.

He added that every community in Malaysia shared a similar fate and destiny and all paid a price for the country's independence struggle.

"It is a validated historical fact, we must not leverage it irresponsibly for racial defamation that only threatens to divide the nation," he said.

Kohilan called on Abdul Hamid to apologise over the offensive remark.

Yesterday, Abdul Hamid said only Malays truly fought for independence.

"Even the aims are different. The Malays fought for independence to free the country while the non-Malays did it to safeguard their interests after independence," he reportedly said.