Scholar offended by display of ‘Chinese superiority’

Pro-Anwar protesters held up banners showing Justice Bao of ancient China.

BANGI: A scholar with the ArusBaru Research Institute has taken offence at the display of a portrait of Justice Bao, a Chinese cultural symbol, during a demonstration in support of Anwar Ibrahim.

“It’s as if they were trying to show that judges in this country, specifically the Malay judges who convicted Anwar, are corrupt and bereft of credibility,” said Zul Fahmi Bahrudin, an analyst of the Malaysian Constitution and history.

According to a report in ISMAWeb, Zul Fahmi said those who held up the offending posters had been used as pawns to promote Chinese superiority.

Justice Bhao Zheng is a symbol of justice in ancient China. He lived during the reign of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Fahmi said he saw no good reason for using Justice Bhao’s portrait during the demonstration, even if he was a symbol of justice.

He said the demonstrators could have used instead a Malay historical figure of justice such as Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah.