Malays told to boycott Raya do at Low Yat

Don't allow yourselves to be bought by the organisers, says Ridhuan Tee.

PETALING JAYA: Sinar Harian columnist and Muslim preacher Ridhuan Tee has questioned the sincerity of those organising a Hari Raya celebration at Low Yat Plaza, the scene of rioting three weekends ago.

In his latest article for the paper, Tee said it was strange that non-Muslims would host a Muslim religious celebration. “It has nothing to do with them,” he said without mentioning MCA, which has said it would host the event.

“I’m not saying that it is wrong, but it is certainly strange.”

He said he suspected a selfish motive, a fear of a reduction in business at the Chinese-dominated mall as a result of the incident on July 11 and 12.

“As far as I’m concerned, there’s no need to celebrate Hari Raya there,” he said.

Tee, who is an academic at Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (Unisza) , said the money to be spent on the celebration would be better utilised as funds for academic research into the causes of the Low Yat incident.

“I’m sure that academics will be able to provide honest, non-hypocritical answers to the government as to what caused the incident,” he said.

He urged Malays “not to allow themselves to be bought” by the organisers of the event.

“It is so obvious that they have been targeting the Malays as their source for making as much money as possible,” he said. “This is the consequence of the Malays’ reluctance to be producers instead of consumers.”

He alleged that cheating was rampant among traders at Low Yat. “Many of my colleagues have been cheated there. Sometimes the cost of repairing an appliance there exceeds the sale price.”

He urged the Malays to boycott the businesses at Low Yat and to shun the Hari Raya event. “It would be a pity indeed if it turned out that you could be bought over with a glass of syrup,” he said.