Hadi spoke about graft, not race, say non-Muslim supporters

 

The public should not racialise Abdul Hadi Awang’s statement, says Balachandran G Krishnan of the PAS non-Muslim supporters’ wing.

PETALING JAYA: Detractors of PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang should not view his comments about corruption through a racial lens, says a leader of the party’s non-Muslim supporters’ wing.

Balachandran G Krishnan, the information chief of the non-Muslim supporters’ wing, said the public should not overlook the fact that corruption was becoming more prevalent.

He said Hadi’s remarks, which sparked a political furore, were based on a study conducted by a local university which found that non-Malays formed 88% of those who gave bribes.

There was no need for detractors to get so worked up, he said.

“Don’t racialise the statement. The president was not out to create racial tension nor was he trying to be condescending.

“Non-Muslim people are more inclined to offer bribes, while Malay people are more inclined towards taking them. This was what the research was about. Yet there were those who jumped on (the issue) and lodged police reports,” he told FMT.

Balachandran said the issue was not about which racial group gave or received bribes but the menace of corruption itself which should be addressed.

“If we are too focused on the racial aspect of it, we would never stamp out corruption. Everyone should find a way to curb graft,” he said.

Last month, Hadi stirred controversy after seeming to place blame on non-Muslim Malaysians and non-Bumiputeras for being at the root of corruption.

He blamed non-Muslims and non-Bumiputeras for ruining the country’s politics and economy.

The non-Muslim supporters’ chief, N Balasubramaniam, later said Hadi had informed them that he was in fact blaming the rich and famous.

A PAS central committee member, Zuhdi Marzuki, cited research conducted from 2010 to 2014 by a university that showed 88% of those convicted for giving bribes were non-Malays.

According to the study, 57.46% of those who gave bribes were Chinese, followed by Indians (30.51%) and Malays (12.03%).

Zuhdi also said the study found that a majority of those who took bribes were Malays. - FMT