Malay DAP leaders hit out at Hadi for pinning corruption on non-Muslims

 

DAP central committee members (from left) Young Syefura Othman, Syahredzan Johan and Sheik Umar Bagharib Ali said non-Muslim-majority countries like Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, and Singapore have much better rankings in the corruption perception index.

PETALING JAYA: Three Malay leaders from DAP have hit out at Abdul Hadi Awang for linking corruption to race after the PAS president cast non-Muslims and non-Bumiputeras as being at the root of corruption.

DAP central committee members Young Syefura Othman, Syahredzan Johan and Sheik Umar Bagharib Ali asked Hadi to explain why the country’s corruption perception index (CPI) ranking was worse than non-Muslim countries although PAS had been in the government since 2020.

They pointed out that non-Muslim-majority countries like Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, and Singapore had much better CPIs, which showed that they fared better than Malaysia in combatting corruption.

“This shows that the (government) leaders’ lack of political will has hindered efforts to root out corruption.

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“What is worse is when leaders themselves commit corruption and abuse of power. This is not about non-Muslims or non-Bumiputeras as claimed by Hadi.

“The responsibility to curb corruption cuts across race and religion,” they said in a statement.

They also cited the National Anti-Corruption Plan 2019-2023 report’s statistics on corruption, which mentioned that administrative failure and conflict of interest accounted for nearly 70% of the 20,000 complaints received by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) from 2013 to 2018.

Yesterday, Hadi said corruption stemmed from those who reaped profit through illegal means and claimed that “the majority of those involved in ruining the country’s politics and economy were non-Muslims and non-Bumiputeras”.

He also blamed apathy among Malay voters for causing non-Malays and “liberals” to gain political power in the last general election.

Meanwhile, Lee Chin Chen, who is also a DAP central committee member, called out Hadi for being rude, ignorant, and arrogant as well as for frequently offending non-Muslims.

He warned that Hadi’s remarks could disrupt racial harmony due to his racial and prejudicial tone.

“I am amazed at the ignorant attitude (displayed by) PAS leaders who have zero respect for non-Muslims and non-Bumiputeras in this country as if we are not Malaysians,” Lee said in a statement.

“This is not the first time that PAS leaders have come up with rude statements against non-Muslims and non-Bumiputeras.” - FMT