Zamri Vinoth slams Steven Sim for siding land-grabbers; “just let’em erect kuil haram at your home”

 

AS Firdaus Wong Wai Hung faces public backlash for his delayed admission of having personally converted suspect of the Quran trampling incident, his counterpart Zamri Vinoth has found himself in a collision course with Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong.

This came about after the the Gerakan Anti-Rumah Anutan Haram (GARAH) co-founder/coordinator openly berated the Bukit Mertajam MP for turning a blind eye by condoning land encroachment in the name of erecting illegal houses of worship a.k.a. kuil haram.

“What have you been doing all this time, Steven Sim?” he penned on his Facebook page. “If you are truly loyal to the country, you’ll not let people steal the nation’s land.”

The Angkatan Skuad Mubaligh Malaysia president hit out at the Penang DAP chairman after the latter urged the police to stop a purported public protest code-named” Ops Terjah” in front of the Bukit Mertajam Hospital this Saturday (March 7)

The gathering is intended to demand that the management of the illegal temple in front of the hospital be subject to legal action.

“If you talk too much about this, why don’t you give up your land or house for them to build kuil haram,” jibed Zamri who is often touted as a staunch disciple of controversial celebrity preacher Zakir Naik in response to Sim’s call on FB “to scrap the demonstration, stop the provocations and don’t create chaos”.

“I’ve also requested the PDRM (Royal Malaysia Police) to ensure there’s no provocative gatherings by any party,” he added.

Rare public backlash

Interestingly, not all commenters were in agreement with Sim as they contended that it is well within their rights to hold a peaceful rally.

One commenter ceded that the former human resources minister had previously served the Muslim community well but he cannot use this as a license to prevent them from expressing their dissatisfaction over this issue.

Another sarcastic netizen chided Sim for blemishing his great record with this one post, claiming it was just a lightning rod for negative comments.

To this, the National DAP deputy secretary-general responded that all his social media posts are made in the same spirit with the intention of assisting all citizens regardless of race or religion.

Indeed, there were plentiful of spiteful remarks aimed at the lawmaker born and raised in Bukit Mertajam.

One commenter pointed out that Sim as a potential future Penang Chief Minister should be wiser in handling this issue lest “YB should compensate by moving the shrine into the compound of YB’s house”.

Another obviously angered commenter resorted to foul language to express his unhappiness at the SK Stowell alumni by alleging that the legislator “has just revealed his true self as a kafir (infidel)”.

Highlighting that this was a long-standing issue, a Penangite claimed that it has been in discussion since 2002 with the traffic police raising concerns that the shrine may be obstructing traffic.

It was also noted that this shrine has expanded considerably over the years.

Whether the demonstration proceeds on March 7 is immaterial. It can be safely surmised that there will be continued flashpoints until the authorities outline a feasible plan to tackle this highly sensitive and emotive issue.

Until then, be prepared for more vitriol and emotional pleas. What Malaysians want are concrete solutions. 

 - Focus Malaysia