No apology needed, Ibrahim Ali is what he is

YOURSAY 'Even if there is no ill-intent, Perkasa members need to actually get out and learn somethingthe culture of others.'

White ang pow: Perkasa pleads ignorance

Malaysian Born: It would have been very rude of the guests to have made an issue of the really bad and embarrassing mistake of the white ang pow.

Most Malaysians are aware of the cultural significance of colours among the Chinese community just as we are inundated with the sensitivities of the Muslim and Malay communities.

This is equivalent of putting your legs up on the table with the soles of your feet pointing at your guests.

It's really bad form, the white envelopes are for funerals and to do it in this way is quite offensive.

Unfortunately, these Perkasa people have no understanding of what it is to be Malaysian and have no appreciation or empathy for other people's cultures or sensitivities as they maintain only superficial relationships with them.

In this case, Perkasa is an uncultured and ignorant lot, so it is to be expected. They are not representative of the Malays or Muslim community, and certainly not Malaysians'.

Anonymous_40a7: Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali is either plain ignorant or just stupid. The act of giving white packets for Chinese New Year is akin to serving beef to Indians on Deepavali, or telling your Muslim friends that only beer and pork is served when they come to your open house.

Has he been living inside a cave all this while?

Bibliobibuli: Even if there is no ill-intent, this incident shows that Perkasa members need to actually get out and learn something about the culture of others.

Chritopher Loi: It only goes to show how ‘Malaysian' they are. I am sure at one time or another during their childhood, they would have at the least received an ang pow.

How old are they? Living in such a beautiful multi-racial country like Malaysia and they say they did not know.

James1067: Well, elections are coming around. So realising how much damage he and his Perkasa have done, they are starting to do damage control.

Now they want to win the Chinese hearts, realising that they need them for their votes.

After the elections, it will be back to square one. Anyway, it's not the colour of the ang pows but the intention of the heart that matters - whether it's sincere or insincere.

Thinking: Perkasa talks about mutual understanding - so many nice words but no apology for all its venom and tirades against the Chinese.

Ibrahim, please put yourself in the shoes of non-Malays. Do you think that your ang pows are going to wipe out the non-Malay's anger at what you have done or said?

Please, if you are sincere, do as you say - no need for nice and flowery words. Action speaks louder than words.

DontPlayGod: How is it that red packets given out by the Chinese are red in colour and Ibrahim Ali has not noticed it all these decades in this country?

Is he colour-blind or is he simply an ignoramus? It just goes to show that he has no Chinese friends in any political party.

To the Chinese, red signifies good omen and prosperity. And how can he claim that he is ignorant? Red packets are called red packets because they are red in colour.

Darrel Damian: How to spread the word about mutual respect when there is clearly none?

Apologise for white ang pow, Perkasa told
Disbeliever: I wonder how Ibrahim Ali and Perkasa would respond if the Chinese community served the ‘haram' meat to him and members of Perkasa and then plead ignorance of this religious taboo?

I bet my bottom dollar that he and Perkasa will go on the warpath on what he would call a ‘jihad'.

All I can say is as much as they deny it, Ibrahim Ali and Perkasa distributed the ang pows in white envelopes to insult and belittle the Chinese community.

YF: Please give those poor and old people a chance before attacking them. Just like the poor Indians at Hulu Langat who voted for MIC, the same applies here. They are not as educated or well-fed or well-read.

They live on what they can get. So what to do? We, who are able to give, should help them and educate them.

Malaysia is so ‘sakit' (sick) because these crooks have robbed and divided the rakyat for far too long. We are all Malaysians, so stop this ‘us and them' thing.

Podeh: Suddenly Gerakan vice-president Mah Siew Keong sees an opportunity to enact a resurrection of the moribund Gerakan by demanding an apology for Perkasa's funeral ang pow fiasco.

Mah, it's a little too late; Gerakan will remain useless and irrelevant. It will make a comeback when the skies fall.

Kbe: MCA and Gerakan, there are much more serious issues facing the general public in Malaysia on which you should be voicing out.

The faux pas by Perkasa is clearly unintentional and minor, and you should stop wasting your time and breath in pursuing it.

Get your priorities right, and concentrate on more important things instead of merely harping on minor stuff just for the sake of looking good.

CiViC: People, listen. The whole fiasco was no doubt staged. The minor details up to using white tablecloth, chairs, envelopes, are all part of the drama, don't be fooled.

There's absolutely no chance that the whole Perkasa could have missed this. It could be, or not, that this was staged so that Ibrahim Ali could have a chance to play Mr Nice Guy by apologising later on, showing him repentant, and caring for the feelings of the Chinese.

Please do not be fooled. He doesn't deserve a chance to apologise at all. No apology needed. He is what he is. Nothing will change that.

Thinking: MCA president Chua Soi Lek, your own member Collin Tiew cooperated with Perkasa for this event and did not even advise Perkasa against this white ang pows.

What have you to say? Or is keeping quiet the safest policy?

Avatar1: This ‘katak' (frog) tried to show he is not a racist and it backfired. God is great. I wonder if the RM10,000 for ang pows is accounted for?

Only 300 were reported to be in the venue and at RM10 per person, it should be only RM3,000. - Malaysiakini