Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad using the term pariah when defending the Lynas rare earth plant should not be equated with the Indian caste system, said Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
Therefore, the Bersatu president urged all quarters not to overreact to certain issues.
“We need to establish facts. Be rational. As if the prime minister does not know it is rude (in the context of the caste system).
“If you want to know the real situation, ask the prime minister what he had said,” he told reporters in Putrajaya this afternoon.
Though claiming to be in the dark about what Mahathir had said with regard to Lynas, Muhyiddin, however, pointed out that the term had a different meaning in English.
“If someone calls you a pariah (in English), it is not related to the Indian pariah...
“Sometimes the Malays, when talking to other Malays, (also use the term) pariah. This does not mean the Indian pariah. This is a question of context.
“Contextual meaning is important rather than believing it is that (insulting the Indians). Because you feel anything to do with (the word) pariah is about Indians, which is not right,” he added.
Muhyiddin was asked to comment on a police report lodged by several Kapar PKR members against the prime minister for using the term, which they claimed had hurt the Indian community's feelings.
On Monday, Mahathir said Lynas cannot be asked to cease its operations in Malaysia as it would affect future investments.
“If we treat Lynas like a pariah and ask them to leave this country, we won’t be able to get other people to come and invest,” he had said.
The Kapar PKR members had demanded that Mahathir issue a public apology to all Malaysians.
Speaking to FMT, one of them, V Maneyvannan, said the prime minister should not have used the word.
“Because if he does, other groups will use it too,” he added although admitting that in the dictionary the word was used to describe an outcast. - Mkini
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