PETALING JAYA: Former prime minister Najib Razak has questioned why DAP members have defended a controversial comic book distributed in schools after party leaders had denied being involved with the book.
He said a group of 43 grassroots DAP leaders and several state assemblymen had demanded that Education Minister Maszlee Malik rescind his instruction that the comic book be withdrawn from schools.
“Eh … Didn’t they say the DAP has no involvement with that propaganda comic?” he said in an online posting today. “Why are they defending it now?”
He said he would respond later to their claim that a comic book portraying him in 2012 had been allowed to be distributed in schools.
Najib noted that the grassroots leaders had also demanded that the police halt their investigation into “Superman” Hew Kuan Yau, the firebrand former DAP member who has claimed responsibility for the publication of the comic book.
“Are you shaking now, Maszlee?” said the former prime minister in a swipe at the education minister.
The comic book, entitled “Inisiatif Jalur Dan Jalan – Meraih Manfaat Bersama” (“Belt and Road Initiative for Win Winism”) was featured in a photograph posted by Hew. It shows Chinese President Xi Jinping having a look at the comic book during a meeting with Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad in April in conjunction with the Belt and Road Forum.
The Prime Minister’s Office has stated that Mahathir was not involved in publishing the book and did not know its contents. It said Mahathir had not given consent for his picture to be used.
Today’s statement by the DAP grassroots leaders was also signed by five assemblymen: Phoong Jin Zhe ( Luyang), Chiong Yoke Kong (Tanah Rata), Chow Yu Hui (Tras), Lee Chin Chen (Bilut) and Leong Yu Man (Triang).
They echoed Hew’s earlier accusation that Maszlee was following Najib’s lead in handling the issue, and said: “Is Maszlee appointed by Pakatan Harapan or Umno?”.
They said no objections had been raised when a comic book “Transformasi Najib” was distributed in schools.
They denied that the comic book was riddled with DAP propaganda. Although it did contain elements of politics before and after the May 9 general election last year, “it’s based on facts”, they said.
Hew’s 164-page comic book has drawn criticism after news that 2,500 copies in Bahasa Malaysia were distributed to school libraries as reference material.
Among those critical of Hew was PPBM Youth leader Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman who accused Hew of racism in belittling as “extremists” those who had supported the Uighur minority in China. - FMT
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