I was misinterpreted, says Penang Umno delegate of racial slur against Chinese

Penang Pakatan Rakyat leaders including DAP Air Itam assemblyman Wong Hon Wai (left), DAP Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari (second left) and DAP Bagan Dalam assemblyman A. Tanasekharan (third left) outside the Penang Northeast police headquarters after lodging police reports on Permatang Pauh Umno head Mohd Zaidi Mohd Said today. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Hasnoor Hussain, December 1, 2014. 

Penang Umno delegate Datuk Mohd Zaidi Mohd Said says his speech at the recent party assembly was "misinterpreted" to appear as if he had said all Chinese in the state were rich and influential due to illegal means.

The Permatang Pauh Umno division chairman blamed media outlets for misinterpreting him and making his speech a racial issue.

"The word 'kadang-kadang' (sometimes) showed that not all (the Chinese in Penang) were like that. In Malay, the word 'kadang-kadang' means very seldom," he said at a press conference today.

"I uttered the word very clearly in my speech... I did not say all the Chinese in Penang. I said 'kadang-kadang ada segelintir orang Cina di Pulau Pinang' (sometimes some Chinese in Penang) were involved in such activities.

"The word 'kadang-kadang' was omitted in my speech... this shows malicious intention to split the people, cause them to fight," he said.

Zaidi has been under fire since Friday for saying at the party assembly that Penang Chinese were wealthy due to earnings gained from gambling, prostitution and entertainment outlets.

He said he wanted to clarify his speech because news reports had given an "inaccurate picture" of the content.

"I have not prepared a written statement today. I am speaking from my heart 'authentically'. What comes from my lips is from what I have in me.

"It is up to you (the media) to judge whether what I say is true or Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had misinterpreted my speech," he said at the Permatang Pauh Umno headquarters in Bukit Mertajam today.

Zaidi said there were two parts in his speech that had attracted attention, one being that weak law enforcement had “sometimes caused the Chinese to become rich from illegal activities”.

But for the two minutes he spoke on illegal activities, he said 90% of his speech time was devoted to talking about weak law enforcement.

"You can listen for yourself. I said there was weakness in the enforcement, that action was not taken, that they were in league (with those involved in illegal activities), that there is corruption, which all enabled those involved to make profit.

"Surely you (the media) understand that what I was talking about was regarding the enforcement authorities – the police, the local municipal councils, the councillors and the state Islamic Affairs department, and the immigration department.

"When I touched on enforcement weaknesses, it means the weaknesses of the government administration. The police and immigration departments are under the federal government while the Penang and Seberang Prai local councils and the religious department are under the state," he said.

Zaidi said he was questioning both Putrajaya and the Penang Pakatan Rakyat state government on the weaknesses of the enforcement authorities under their purview.

He said the media should have highlighted enforcement weaknesses that had allowed illegal activities to go on.

He also said raising the matter at the Umno general assembly was the "right platform", as Umno led the ruling government.

"This was what I had stressed in my speech but certain media outlets had taken the contents of my speech to say I accuse the Chinese in Penang of becoming rich from illegal activities. It is not true at all.

"Only few words were quoted and the rest was omitted. It is really not true and I am sure it was done with malicious intent and to seek cheap publicity. Maybe they need to sell their newspapers but it has caused people, including my Barisan Nasional friends and Lim, to misunderstand and criticise me.

"I am just a division chief. Lim cannot compare me to him, as he is the leader of the state. Today, when he says I have lied... is it not true when I said there are weaknesses in the enforcement, which cause action not to be taken and which have allowed illegal activities to go on?"

Zaidi said if what he was saying about lax enforcement was untrue, he would take responsibility for his remarks.

However, if he could prove that such illegal activities existed in Penang, Zaidi asked if Lim would answer his challenge.

"I was challenged to prove to him five places where such activities are carried out. If the state is truly free of these activities, should it not be enough to challenge me to show him just one place?

"Why five? I know that he knows himself that such activities exist in the state. If he pretends not to know, he does not qualify to be the chief minister," he said, adding that the post should be given to a Penangite who knew better what was happening in the state.

Zaidi also said he accepted Lim's challenge and in the soonest time, he would show Lim the five locations he wanted.

"When I have shown him, I hope he will also bear responsibility, resign and let a Penang DAP leader take over," he said.

When taking questions from the media after that, Zaidi said he was misquoted by the Chinese media.

"I don't read Chinese. I was informed by friends about what the media had reported about my speech. I don't know but I was told two or three headlines written in Chinese stated that I accused the Chinese community in Penang of gaining wealth and power through illegal activities like gambling and vice.

Despite claiming he was misquoted, he said he would not take action against the media because the media has a role to play and he wanted to leave it to the people to judge him.

He also explained that he was speaking as an Umno delegate and a Malay leader, and had to explain his disappointment in the enforcement authorities.

"I never had any intention to stir up racial sentiments... I hope the BN component parties and the people of Penang will understand my true intention, which is to see that the state is free of illegal activities," he said.

Zaidi said he was also surprised that the state police chief had said there were no gambling machines in Penang.

"But the news reported recently that there were cases of arrests at entertainment outlets. I also got some unofficial statistics from the immigration department that since January this year, 195 arrests were made under Ops Sayang at such outlets.

"I don't know which is true. But it is all right. Like I have said just now, I accept Lim's challenge and I will show him those five locations... Give me some time, they are shutting down their (illegal) businesses now," he said, jokingly.

"They may shut down for now when the issue is hot. Later they will reopen their businesses. But I will do it before the year ends," he said when asked how soon he would share the information.

Asked who he thought were the people involved in illegal activities, Zaidi said he believed they were Chinese as it was unlikely Malays would be in the business.

"If Malays are involved, despite such activities being forbidden by Islam, I am sure even the chief minister will be aware," he added.

The media had reported that Zaidi told delegates at the Umno general assembly that the Chinese in Penang gained wealth and power by being involved in illicit economic activities such as illegal gambling, prostitution and entertainment outlets.

Zaidi said such activities flourished because the Malays were mild-mannered and the relevant authorities were turning a blind eye to them, otherwise the Chinese would fear and respect the Malays.

Lim had slammed Zaidi for the remark, asking him if he was also accusing the police of not doing their job to fight crime and vice, while challenging him to furnish proof.

MCA vice-president Senator Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun said the party had decided to rebuke Zaidi for his false and wild accusations against the Penang Chinese, adding that Umno must look into it and take action against any of its member who insulted the sensitivities of others.

Chew, who also heads Penang MCA, said it was "pathetic" of Zaidi to score cheap political mileage by resorting to such claims.

- TMI