FOLLOW IN THE LEAD OF THE 25 PROMINENT MALAYS: Speak up, Chinese community told

KUALA LUMPUR - Prominent and respected Chinese community leaders are urged to emulate and respond to the open letter jointly issued by some 25 prominent Malay leaders calling for the defense of the country's Constitution in counteracting the aggressive and radical statements of the extremists.

They are also urged to revert their erstwhile "low-key" and "conservative" styles to speak up on major issues pertaining to the interest of the nation.

It is generally believed that if the Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Huazong), the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce & Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM), the United Chinese School Teachers' Association of Malaysia (UCSTAM or Jiaozong) and other civic organizations would speak up, the effects would be enhanced.

Speak in unison

The Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Huazong) president Tan Sri Pheng Yin Huah said Huazong could played a leading role in this.

He said Huazong hoped there were people who would stand up and speak against the various extremist discourse in expressing our common voice.

"We need a group of neutral individuals who care about our society and country to stand alongside Huazong to voice up in unison instead of just a few of us yelling every day."

He told Sin Chew Daily Huazong welcomed the open letter jointly issued by the 25 prominent Malay leaders.

"It is very rare that we have 25 prominent Malay leaders to voice up. We heard some delegates say things that hurt other people's feelings during the recent Umno general assembly. Besides, we also had people threatening to burn the Bible and proposing to implement the hudud law. All these will lead the country towards unhealthy developments."

He said it was good that we had some Malay leaders speaking up against such aggressive remarks, showing that such acts of extremism indeed did not represent the whole Malay society.

Similar response from Chinese community

Renowned local businessman Datuk David Chua gave his thumbs-up to the 25 prominent Malay leaders who jointly issued the open letter, saying we should also have a similar response from the Chinese community in Malaysia, including a joint declaration or open letter.

Speaking to Sin Chew Daily,. Chua said the elite members of the Chinese community should explore the various issues proposed by the Prominent 25 before issuing a jointly signed open letter.

He urged the local Chinese associations to organize a forum on this matter.

"This will be a more positive way of doing things and the effects will also be more pronounced."

He said it was unnecessary to pinpoint which organizations should sign the joint declaration, adding that the 25 prominent Malay leaders did not represent any particular background although they were all elite members of the Malay society.

"As they are the elite of the Malay society, what they say carries some weight. They are not deliberately singing praises to please certain people."

Poverty, inequality our common foes

Meanwhile, Malaysia-China Friendship Association (PPMC) secretary-general Tan Kai Hee said the Chinese community should also stand up and express our concerns following the issuance of a joint open letter by 25 prominent Malay leaders. He urged Huazong, ACCCIM, Jiaozong and other civic organizations to assume the leading role.

"I hope we have influential and respected community leaders to take the lead to issue a joint open letter. This is going to be a good thing and I am willing to sign the letter.

"The late Usman Awang said the common enemies of Chinese and Malays are poverty and inequality."

He said all religions advocate peace and harmony but the problem is some people are promoting religious extremism and racism, adding that some of the remarks by the delegates in the recent Umno general assembly have been alarming.

"Just because some people have gone overboard, we have 25 conscientious Malay leaders signing the open letter to safeguard their moderate religious spirit while defending the good name of their own religion.

"This open letter is very open minded. It allows us to see that the Malays are generally not a racist lot.

"The open letter also serves the restrictive purposes by reminding others not to issue similar aggressive remarks. The Chinese community fully backs their initiative. However, we need the input from both sides to really promote national unity in this country."

Constitution above all else

Datuk Low Hop Bing

Retired Court of Appeal judge Datuk Low Hop Bing insisted that moderate Syariah law should be encouraged and defended.

He said the Chinese community should emulate these 25 prominent Malay leaders' action to collectively express our common stand on certain issues.

He said although this would not be easy to do, it would be very rewarding if we could achieve this goal.

Low told Sin Chew Daily the issues mentioned in the open letter were issues all Malaysians were very much concerned about, adding that all Malaysians had to defend the constitutional spirit and that no other laws, including the Syariah law, should supersede the country's Constitution.

He emphasized that any law superseding the Constitution should be declared invalid.

He also said the behavior of any individual must be guided by the country's Constitution and since the Constitution is of paramount importance, any law to be put into implementation must look to the Constitution as benchmark.

He said Malaysia is a multicultural, multireligious and multilingual society, and we must respect one another's cultures and languages so that we can live together in peace and harmony.

He reiterated that the open letter signed by the 25 Malay leaders should receive serious attention of the government. - Mysinchew