Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s ‘Keluarga Malaysia’ slogan rings hollow due to the BN and Perikatan Nasional governments’ continued “exclusion and neglect” of the feelings of non-Malay communities, said DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.
He said Ismail Sabri’s refusal to dispel feelings of marginalisation and neglect by the non-Malay or non-Muslim communities is why the slogan lacks credibility.
“No one objects to government programmes and financial aid to help bumiputera but what about non-Malays and non-Muslims in both Peninsular Malaysia as well as Sabah and Sarawak?” Lim questioned in a statement today.
He was responding to a recent report about the Chinese community in Terengganu feeling sidelined by the state’s PAS-led government.
“(The report) highlights the sad reality of the exclusion and neglect suffered by the Chinese community as a result of the racist and extremist policies of the PN and BN governments at both the state and federal levels.
“The discrimination faced by non-Malays has deprived them of both development and financial aid, not just in Terengganu but also in many states.
“Such discrimination is not only unfair but also unconstitutional to citizens and those who pay taxes.
“Questions will be asked on why citizens who happen to be minorities in Terengganu are not given financial aid whilst Malaysia can offer aid to the extremist Taliban government in Afghanistan,” said the Bagan MP.
‘Leaders of all Malaysians’
He pointed out that there have been many other incidents where the feelings and sensitivities of non-Malay communities were neglected.
Among them, he said the Kedah menteri besar was “openly hostile” to the sensitivities of non-Muslims by demolishing Hindu temples and banning gaming shop outlets.
Lim added that the federal government had also imposed licensing restrictions on the selling of beer in coffee shops as well as the ban in Kuala Lumpur on the sale of alcohol in Chinese medicine halls and convenience stores.
The liquor licence measure for restaurants and coffee shops had since been revoked.
“By interfering in the normal business practices and customary lifestyle of non-Muslims, both BN and PN hope to hide their failures of leadership and poor governance to garner support from one community at the expense of minorities.
“The BN and PN federal and state governments have forgotten that they are leaders not only of one community but represent all Malaysians in accordance with the Federal Constitution,” he said. - Mkini
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