Malays must read Utusan daily, says Ibrahim Ali

Ibrahim Ali has called for Malays to read Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia, over The Malaysian Insider. — File photo

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 15 – Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali lashed out at online news sites today, urging Malays to read the Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia instead.

Ibrahim was fuming at a report ran by The Malaysian Insider today where Gerakan Vice President Datuk Mah Siew Keong had blasted him for raising the May 13 bogeyman yet again.

“Malays must read Utusan everyday,” he urged while closing Perkasa’s general assembly here, claiming that only the daily would not be unbiased against him.

“You can buy cigarettes with RM10.20, can’t you buy a paper with RM1.50? Vow with me that you’ll buy Utusan,” he asked delegates who were still around.

He had singled out Malaysiakini and The Malaysian Insider as “foreign-funded pro-opposition news portals” which had frequently twisted his words.

“My statements which were nicely printed in Utusan Malaysia, they would never quote ... they would only pick on the negatives,” the Pasir Mas MP told a press conference after the closing.

Ibrahim had earlier branded another daily, Sinar Harian, as bangang (dumb) for allegedly misquoting him.

Sinar Online, the online version of the publication, had published the interview with Ibrahim verbatim and had been quoted by The Malaysian Insider yesterday.

Ibrahim also claimed that Sinar Harian is giving too much prominence to opposition leaders, and accused the daily of trying to rake profit in Pakatan-led Selangor.

“These are the kind of people that will split the (Malay) race,” he declared, referring to the news sites.

Yesterday, the Perkasa chief had suggested that the Chinese community will become a national security threat if it grows more powerful politically and economically.

In an interview with Sinar Harian, Ibrahim had warned that this could result in another bloody racial clash like the May 13 tragedy.

“What if there is chaos? Like during the May 13 incident, they could not proceed with their trade.

“We, too, do not want that to happen,” Ibrahim was quoted as saying in the article.

In response to that, Gerakan had accused him of hampering the government’s progress in spreading its 1Malaysia ideology.

Party vice-president Datuk Mah Siew Keong said Ibrahim was attempting to spread racial hatred and incite tension among the country’s different ethnic groups with his “fear-mongering” remarks, which he described as abhorrent and detrimental to racial unity and harmony in the country.

“The Perkasa chief has humiliated himself ... His remarks were hugely irresponsible and completely baseless,” said Mah in a press statement.

Perkasa had also been asking its members for donations to cover Utusan Malaysia’s legal cost since this morning.

The daily had recently been sued by PKR Vice President Nurul Izzah Anwar for allegedly misquoting her remarks on religious freedom for Malays.