Hisham: Those exploiting Interlok are narrow-minded cowards

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein Friday slammed those exploiting the Interlock issue and branded them as cowardly leaders who were narrow-minded.

He said they were only good at playing up the issue but not at finding a solution.

"These leaders who are trying to split the people by exploiting and politicising the issue actually are cowards with narrow thinking and are trying to take the easy way out. In the end, it is innocent children who will be the victims," he told reporters after handing over aid to 279 poor and outstanding students from the Sembrong parliamentary constituency here Friday.

Hishammuddin, who is also the MP for Sembrong, said as a former education minister, he understood very well matters that could become sensitive.

As such, he said he hoped the vested parties would discuss the Interlock issue towards arriving at a "win-win" resolution.

He said he believed efforts taken by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also Education Minister, to get the stakeholders to sit down and discuss the issue was the best way to reach an understanding on it.

"Through dialogue, I hope a a win-win situation can be reached. If not, as usual, any issue related to education can be twisted to take on racial and religious connotations," he explained.

The issue centres on a novel authored by national laureate Datuk Abdullah Hussain and published by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustakaan (DBP) which is used as a literature text book in secondary schools.

Certain quarters have expressed unhappiness over how Indians are depicted in it.

Meanwhile, on the Tenang by-election, nomination of which is on Saturday, Hishammuddin said he hoped there would be no untowards incidents and that police were fully prepared in the event there were such incidents and also to ensure the process goes smoothly, especially in terms of traffic congestion.

The by-election is called following the death of Datuk Sulaiman Taha of the BN on Dec 17. Polling for the state seat, which comes under the Labis parliamentary constituency, is on Jan 30.

-- BERNAMA