Our hands barely touched, says Perkasa chief

Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali was photographed shaking hands with DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang during the signing of the Citizens' Declaration.

Claiming that their hands barely touched, he said certain parties had blown the issue out of proportion.

"Other BN leaders have been photographed greeting and even hugging DAP and opposition leaders.

"Why isn't anyone making an issue of it?" he asked during an exclusive interview with Malaysiakini yesterday.

Ibrahim said he bumped into Lim by chance during last Friday's event, and the latter held out his hand to greet him and he shook his hand because as a Muslim, he is required to be courteous.

"Although our hands barely touched, the photo made the Chinese newspaper's front page.

"Greeting Kit Siang with a handshake is not something new for me. We have been greeting one another since 1986 when I first became a parliamentarian," he explained.

Ibrahim said the handshake had become a hot topic among netizens since the photograph appeared in Sin Chew Daily.

"Now some are saying that Ibrahim Ali has become a communist supporter," he added.

The Perkasa leader also pointed out that DAP's membership currently consists of numerous Malays.

"Have they forgotten? DAP now has many Malay members.

"To those who criticise my handshake with Kit Siang, why don't you comment about Prof Aziz Bari (constitutional law expert), A Samad Said (national laureate) and lawyer Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud joining DAP? I'm not even a DAP member," he added.

Ibrahim also cited examples of leaders with clashing ideologies or from different political divides greeting each other in a civil manner such as Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi with DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

"Those photos (of other leaders) are more significant compared to my handshake with Kit Siang," he said.

On the same note, Ibrahim praised the Chinese community for not having a negative perception about the handshake.

"Has the Chinese community criticised Kit Siang? (Have they accused) Kit Siang of plotting with Ibrahim Ali?

"No one has done so. Instead, certain people decided to criticise me. It's difficult to communicate with these narrow-minded individuals," he added. -Mkini