PKR man admits error over Sanusi claim but stands by implied meaning

 Dr N Sathia Prakash says debate over the word ‘return’ only diverts attention from the real issue of the content of Sanusi Nor's speech.

Selangor PKR’s Dr N Sathia Prakash has been accused of twisting the words of Perikatan Nasional election director Sanusi Nor.

PETALING JAYA:

Selangor PKR election director Dr N Sathia Prakash says he made a mistake when claiming that Perikatan Nasional election director Sanusi Nor had told Chinese and Indians to “go back” to China and India.

However, Sathia said the error did not affect the basis of the police report filed against Sanusi last Friday over a speech that was allegedly capable of inciting racial sentiments. He said he wanted to highlight the implied meaning of Sanusi’s entire speech.

“I admit there was an error when I repeated the speech by using the word ‘return’,” Sinar Harian quoted him as saying.

“However, I never claimed that the word was an exact excerpt from Sanusi’s speech. The debate over whether the word ‘return’ was mentioned or not only diverts attention from the real issue, which is the content of the speech that has the potential to stir racial sentiments.

“A narrative that portrays other races as threats to the rights or future of Malays could undermine the spirit of unity that forms the foundation of the country,” he said.

Sathia said he would leave it to the police to conduct a fair and professional investigation to determine whether his own remarks had violated any laws. Sathia had provided a statement to Seremban police regarding his remarks in a speech in Jempol, where he made the claim against Sanusi.

Sanusi had stirred controversy after suggesting that different ethnic groups in Malaysia could fall back on ancestral homelands outside the country. In a campaign speech in Negeri Sembilan, Sanusi was reported to have said that “the Chinese have China, the Indians have India, the Cambodians have Cambodia, and the Malays only have Malaysia”.

Earlier today, PAS Youth accused Sathia of twisting Sanusi’s remarks by claiming that Sanusi had told Malaysian Chinese and Indians to “go back” to China and India. PAS Youth chief Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden said Sathia had added the word “go back” to Sanusi’s remarks, changing the meaning of Sanusi’s statement and falsely suggesting he wanted non-Malays expelled because of their race.

Sanusi has come under fire from Barisan Nasional politicians, including BN chairman and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who said Sanusi should stay back in Kedah (where he is the menteri besar) and not campaign in Negeri Sembilan.

Last night, Umno information chief Azalina Ahmad Said reminded Sanusi that the constitution guarantees the rights and status of every citizen regardless of ancestry. “The reality is that for millions of Malaysians of Chinese and Indian descent, Malaysia is not a place of transit. Malaysia is their homeland,” she said. - FMT