Ibrahim Ali says proud to be 'King of Racists'

Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali admits he is "Malaysia's King of Racists", and is proud of the label.

“I want to inform you ladies and gentlemen, I am most proud and admit I am 'Malaysia's King of Racists'.

“So what? So what? Whoever says we are racist, we are small, whoever insults us, to hell with them (persetankan mereka),” he said during his address to officiate the Perkasa Wilayah Persekutuan's Malay Congress in Kuala Lumpur today.

He said he was justified as what the group does is defend the rights enshrined in the federal constitution.

The fiery Malay rights group leader has often been criticised for his abrasive statements concerning racial matters.

Last Tuesday, Tourism and Culture Minister Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz accusedPerkasa of being racists after the group criticised the launch of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL).

The group’s secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali had slammed the launch event as a "Chinese affair" due to the heavy presence of Chinese-language banners at the function and accused the government of pawning Malaysia’s dignity to China.

The RM55 billion project to build a 668-kilometre rail line connecting the east coast of peninsular Malaysia to the west coast is being funded by a soft loan from a China state-owned enterprise.

Amongst the condition of the loan was that the contractor of the project will be appointed by China. It is slated for completion in 2024.

'BN is race-based too'

Ibrahim questioned why Perkasa was criticised for its stance even though race-based BN component parties too championed for their own race.

“They accused us of being racists. So MCA, MIC, and Gerakan are not racists? Nonsense,” said the former Pasir Mas MP.

MCA and MIC are race-based parties while Gerakan does not have race-based restrictions on its membership.

Ibrahim also lamented that Malays in the federal territories were being consigned to the five-foot ways, and said there is nothing left for them there.

He claimed this was because it was difficult to get the Kuala Lumpur City Hall's (DBKL) approval for a food stall and unlicensed stalls risk being confiscated by enforcement officers.

On another matter, Ibrahim expressed shock over Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s statement claiming that he was helping Kelantan for pahala (reward in the afterlife).

Ibrahim claimed Putrajaya had traditionally discriminated against Kelantan for being a PAS stronghold while making concessions to other non-Malay groups such as the United Chinese School Committees' Association (Dong Zong) and Hindraf.

“But it was different in Kelantan, so I don’t understand Najib, or perhaps he thinks that the Kelantanese won’t give him votes no matter what he does,” said Ibrahim.

Najib made the statement when he announced a RM57 million hospital in Jeli, Kelantan on Aug 12.

“As a leader, I must be fair to the people, whether they are BN supporters or otherwise. At least, I will get merit in the hereafter, even if I don’t get the votes," he was quoted as saying by Bernama. - Mkini