Malay rights group Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) has been reminded that the Chinese are Malaysian citizens too, and accorded equal protection in the federal constitution.
"Perhaps Isma is not familiar with Article 8 of the federal constitution which declares that 'there shall be no discrimination against citizens on the ground only of religion, race, descent', said MCA secretary-general Ong Ka Chuan.
"We are Malaysian citizens, rakyat Malaysia. Our blue MyKad indicates our citizenship which should not be questioned by any quarters at all.
"All our rights as Malaysian citizens irrespective of ethnicity are enshrined in the federal constitution," said Ong, who is also Tanjung Malim MP, in a statement today.
He was responding to Isma president Abdullah Zaik Abd Rahman's statement on Tuesday that the Chinese were "intruders" who allegedly were "in cahoots with the British" to oppress Malays.
"Such a racist and bigoted mentality contravenes the 1Malaysia concept of inclusivity and mutual appreciation introduced by our Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak," said Ong.
He urged the authorities to probe and charge the Isma president with sedition to serve as a strong message that Malaysia will not tolerate any form of racial bigotry and prejudice, and also to prevent any deeper forms of racism to manifest".
DAP: Najib unlikely to act
Meanwhile Klang MP Charles Santiago said while he welcomed the police "finally" investigating Zaik, he was sceptical that Najib would do anything about the Isma chief nor other similar inflammatory statements made by similar groups.
"But Mr Prime Minister, I know you won’t speak up given that your position within your party is shaky and you need to pander to the conservative elements in Umno," said Santiago in a statement today.
"Ibrahim Ali’s remarks, comments from some cabinet members and many of Utusan Malaysia’s editorials speak volumes.
"And Prime Minister Najib Razak’s silence on pressing issues such as the UiTM salvo where 12 students were allegedly forced to convert to Islam, rising anti-Christian sentiments, the swing to the ultra-orthodox seen in the banning of books recently, the increasing need to regulate everyday lives of the Malays, the heightened level of persecution against the LGBT community, will only serve to accelerate Malaysia’s regression," he said.
The DAP parliamentarian said it was increasingly hard to ignore such "ignorant" statements as they "have serious consequences in multi-racial, multi-religious Malaysia".
"We have become a society where crucial issues such as hudud, abuse of power by the ruling elite and people in uniform and anything else that has an impact on every Malaysian cannot be discussed in a civil manner," he added.
He cautioned that the "ugly clamouring for power and in its pursuit, the vulgar use of race and religion" will have dire consequences for the entire country.
"Perhaps Isma is not familiar with Article 8 of the federal constitution which declares that 'there shall be no discrimination against citizens on the ground only of religion, race, descent', said MCA secretary-general Ong Ka Chuan.
"We are Malaysian citizens, rakyat Malaysia. Our blue MyKad indicates our citizenship which should not be questioned by any quarters at all."All our rights as Malaysian citizens irrespective of ethnicity are enshrined in the federal constitution," said Ong, who is also Tanjung Malim MP, in a statement today.
He was responding to Isma president Abdullah Zaik Abd Rahman's statement on Tuesday that the Chinese were "intruders" who allegedly were "in cahoots with the British" to oppress Malays.
"Such a racist and bigoted mentality contravenes the 1Malaysia concept of inclusivity and mutual appreciation introduced by our Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak," said Ong.
He urged the authorities to probe and charge the Isma president with sedition to serve as a strong message that Malaysia will not tolerate any form of racial bigotry and prejudice, and also to prevent any deeper forms of racism to manifest".
DAP: Najib unlikely to act
Meanwhile Klang MP Charles Santiago said while he welcomed the police "finally" investigating Zaik, he was sceptical that Najib would do anything about the Isma chief nor other similar inflammatory statements made by similar groups.
"But Mr Prime Minister, I know you won’t speak up given that your position within your party is shaky and you need to pander to the conservative elements in Umno," said Santiago in a statement today."Ibrahim Ali’s remarks, comments from some cabinet members and many of Utusan Malaysia’s editorials speak volumes.
"And Prime Minister Najib Razak’s silence on pressing issues such as the UiTM salvo where 12 students were allegedly forced to convert to Islam, rising anti-Christian sentiments, the swing to the ultra-orthodox seen in the banning of books recently, the increasing need to regulate everyday lives of the Malays, the heightened level of persecution against the LGBT community, will only serve to accelerate Malaysia’s regression," he said.
The DAP parliamentarian said it was increasingly hard to ignore such "ignorant" statements as they "have serious consequences in multi-racial, multi-religious Malaysia"."We have become a society where crucial issues such as hudud, abuse of power by the ruling elite and people in uniform and anything else that has an impact on every Malaysian cannot be discussed in a civil manner," he added.
He cautioned that the "ugly clamouring for power and in its pursuit, the vulgar use of race and religion" will have dire consequences for the entire country.
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