'Don't boycott Chinese for BN's poor polls showing'

Gerakan has hit out at Malay groups who are urging a boycott of Chinese traders, labelling the move as "unrealistic, racist and immature" and arguing that the Chinese shouldn't be blamed for BN’s overall poor performance in GE13.

"In a democracy, everyone has the right to choose and must be respected," said party vice-president A Kohilan Pillay.
 
“It is an outrageous stand, how can we boycott the business of any ethnic group because we do not agree with them. Malaysia has never tolerated such absurd calls and we must reject it," he stressed.
 
Kohilan (left) added that the economy will suffer greatly if the boycott took place, (thus) hindering Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s efforts to turn Malaysia into a high-income nation by 2020.
 
“While the prime minister is trying his very best to lift the living standards of the country, here we have some irresponsible quarters calling for a boycott which will affect the business climate in the country.”
 
He argued that the swing in support is not along racial lines, but more along regional lines as GE13 was an urban tsunami, where BN had also lost in urban Malay majority areas.

"It is unwise to blame any ethnic group. I, too, lost in Puchong, but I accept the choice of the voters,” Kohilan said.
 
He reminded all quarters not to be too emotional over the results of the just-concluded general election, stressing that reconciliation should be the priority for the moment.