Utusan slammed for 'inflammatory' article
Susan LoonePublished: Dec 7, 2000 11:31 PM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 10:21 AM
A local Malay daily was slammed today by the Opposition for questioning the trust and loyalty of the Chinese community following the victory of Barisan Alternatif (BA) in the Lunas by-election on Wednesday.
DAP chairman Lim Kit Siang said Utusan Malaysia should apologise for the "inflammatory and unwarranted attack on the Chinese community" in the article entitled 'Politik orang Cina di Lunas' (Politics of the Chinese in Lunas) by Rozaman Ismail.
"They should aplogise just as Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad should heed the voice of the Lunas people," he said in a statement.
The Utusan Malaysia article today stated that BA's victory in Lunas had raised an interesting question, which was, "Is it true that the Chinese voters in the country cannot be trusted anymore? Going by the figures polled by BN and BA, particularly in Chinese-majority areas, the most accurate answer would be yes."
In the by-election, BA candidate Saifuddin Nasution Ismail beat BN's S Anthonysamy by 530 votes and denied the government a two-thirds majority in the Kedah state legislature, where PAS holds 12 of the 36 seats. The independent candidate N Letchumanan only managed to get 50 votes.
Dangerous
Lim said that Mahathir should drop the Vision School plan, end politics of ingratitude and apologise for the many unwarranted slurs on the Chinese such as "extremist, chauvinistic, terrorists and ingrates".
Lim said that unless Mahathir apologised, BN must expect to lose even more Chinese voter support both in future by-elections and the next general elections in 2004.
This was not because the Chinese in Malaysia were untrustworthy or disloyal, Lim said, but because they cared for their dignity and fundamental rights just like the other communities.
Lim said MCA president Dr Ling Liong Sik and Gerakan president Dr Lim Keng Yaik should strongly protest against the article which he (Lim) felt was "very dangerous for a multi-ethnic society like Malaysia".
He said the two leaders should also get Mahathir to stop what he (Lim) considered as "anti-Chinese attacks by Umno leaders and Umno-controlled media".
"Umno should respect the constitutional rights of the Chinese voters to elect Saifuddin as the new Lunas state assemblyman.
"Let it not be said that under BN rule, the people's right to vote is only confined to the right to vote for BN," said Lim, adding that if that were so, BN leaders had a lot to learn from the United States presidential elections.
DAP chairman Lim Kit Siang said Utusan Malaysia should apologise for the "inflammatory and unwarranted attack on the Chinese community" in the article entitled 'Politik orang Cina di Lunas' (Politics of the Chinese in Lunas) by Rozaman Ismail.
"They should aplogise just as Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad should heed the voice of the Lunas people," he said in a statement.
The Utusan Malaysia article today stated that BA's victory in Lunas had raised an interesting question, which was, "Is it true that the Chinese voters in the country cannot be trusted anymore? Going by the figures polled by BN and BA, particularly in Chinese-majority areas, the most accurate answer would be yes."
In the by-election, BA candidate Saifuddin Nasution Ismail beat BN's S Anthonysamy by 530 votes and denied the government a two-thirds majority in the Kedah state legislature, where PAS holds 12 of the 36 seats. The independent candidate N Letchumanan only managed to get 50 votes.
Dangerous
Lim said that Mahathir should drop the Vision School plan, end politics of ingratitude and apologise for the many unwarranted slurs on the Chinese such as "extremist, chauvinistic, terrorists and ingrates".
Lim said that unless Mahathir apologised, BN must expect to lose even more Chinese voter support both in future by-elections and the next general elections in 2004.
This was not because the Chinese in Malaysia were untrustworthy or disloyal, Lim said, but because they cared for their dignity and fundamental rights just like the other communities.
Lim said MCA president Dr Ling Liong Sik and Gerakan president Dr Lim Keng Yaik should strongly protest against the article which he (Lim) felt was "very dangerous for a multi-ethnic society like Malaysia".
He said the two leaders should also get Mahathir to stop what he (Lim) considered as "anti-Chinese attacks by Umno leaders and Umno-controlled media".
"Umno should respect the constitutional rights of the Chinese voters to elect Saifuddin as the new Lunas state assemblyman.
"Let it not be said that under BN rule, the people's right to vote is only confined to the right to vote for BN," said Lim, adding that if that were so, BN leaders had a lot to learn from the United States presidential elections.
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