Isma slams Obama over equality call

Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia chides President Obama for seeking equal opportunities for non-Muslims here.

PETALING JAYA: Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) president Abdullah Zaik Abdul Rahman today hit out at US president Barack Obama for his “handicapped thinking”.

He was commenting on Obama who yesterday said that Malaysia would not succeed if the non-Muslims were not provided equal opportunities.

“It is handicapped thinking and is not fit for a president of the US, especially one who claims to be educated,” Abdullah told FMT.

“If Obama and his allies think that the Malays have to relinquish their rights to the non-Muslims, then it is a clear defect on his part.”

He added that it was unfair for Obama to make such statement and he should first look into the country’s history.

“He should do his research first. For Isma, we always study about the history first before coming out with statements.”

Abdullah stressed that Obama should not be siding with “America’s proxies” but rather look at the issue of justice holistically.

“If I were to go to India or China and say that for justice, I must be given equal opportunities and demand to become the Premier of China, would they also consider this as justice?”

Abdullah also said that in the US, fighting for justice is merely to ensure continuity of their “colonising policies”.

“The colonisers changed many things in the country without the permission of the Malays. As a result, we are facing many calamities due to their bad policies,” he said.

In response to Abdullah’s statement, Malaysian Indians Progressive Association (Mipas) secretary-general S Barathidasan said the former’s statement was not applicable as the country’s non-Muslims were born here.

“If he demands for equal opportunities in China or India, he is going there as a visitor. Malaysia’s non-Muslims are the co-developers of the country’s socio-economy and politics.

“We also fought together for independence. As such, we should be given the same opportunities.”

Barathidasan pointed out how in India Italian-born Sonia Gandhi was given the opportunity to become an Indian politician, serving as the Indian National Congress president since 1998.

“You get opportunities in India, but in Malaysia the minorities are not being protected,” he said.