FINANCE Minister Lim Guan Eng has set the record straight on a wall hanging with Chinese characters photographed in his office, which drew the ire of certain social media users and the support of others.
The photos in question are those of him receiving Microsoft Corp president Andrea Della Mattea during her official visit featuring a wall hanging with Chinese characters in the backdrop.
Lim said on the sidelines of the 2020 Budget Consultation that the photos were taken during Chinese New Year.
He also questioned why certain quarters only chose to highlight the wall hangings and not the Quran verses in his office.
“Why only publicise this when there are Al-Quran verses in my office as well?
“This was done during the Chinese New Year period,” he said, referring to when the decorative piece was put up.
“Don’t fall for the racist and extremist rhetoric of quarters which support the opposition,” he told the reporter who asked the question.
The photos, which were featured in Lim’s tweet dated June 25, raised questions among social media users.
“Why is there a red bunting with Chinese characters? Is it appropriate for the finance minister’s office to do so? Why was the Malaysian flag not there?” tweeted InderaPutera.
Another Twitter user known as Rey-Yan tweeted in response to the photos that Malaysia is a Muslim country and questioned Lim’s loyalty towards the country.
“This is muslim country and bahasa melayu kebangsaan Negara (Bahasa Melayu is the National language)..why do u put Cantonese words banner??..where is ur loyalty and contoh kesetiaan kepada raja dan negara (your loyalty towards the king and the country)???? Very much shame and voting on you! This wont happens like singapore!! Bumiputra will fight on this!!! Remember!!”
However, there were others who came to Lim’s support.
“Don’t you remember the Arabic scripture he placed behind his working desk,” Twitter user long-a-ling replied to Rey-Yan’s tweet.
Meanwhile, Nor Adzlan told the finance minister to ignore racist comments.
“YB your room is beautiful. Increased Ong (prosperity) will help reduce the debt.As a Smart malay, we respect the culture of the Malaysian Chinese. Ignore Racist comments. That is your office and you have the right to decorate it.”
– https://www.themalaysianinsight.com
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