A Perikatan Nasional component party leader has defended his vocal criticism of Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh after the latter issued a stern warning that Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) must remain only for bumiputera.
“No one from the non-bumiputera community has said that (UiTM needs to be opened up to them). Don’t digress recklessly until you (Akmal) sound delusional!
“The minister has given his assurance that there’s a UiTM act and honestly, we (non-bumiputera) in the first place don’t want to be enrolled in UiTM.
“(Akmal is a) ‘kokoi fella’! We don’t care if you want to sensationalise something for your political mileage. But next time, keep the non-bumiputera out of your fantasy, racial spiels,” Malaysian Indian People Party (MIPP) national information chief M Suthan (above) said in the one-minute TikTok video.
Recently, Akmal posted a TikTok video showing him attending a function and backed UiTM students protesting against allowing non-bumiputera to enrol in its cardiothoracic surgery postgraduate programme.
In the video, he said UiTM must remain only for bumiputera, pointing out that there are other public universities open to non-bumiputera.
“UiTM must remain for bumiputera, in the present, in the past, and in the future.
“When we defend our rights, we have never taken the rights of others,” Akmal was reported as saying.
Speaking to Malaysiakini today, Suthan defended his choice of words in castigating Akmal.
On calling the Umno leader a “kokoi fella”, Suthan said it merely means “uncooked kuih”.
“I only called him ‘kokoi’ (in the TikTok video), there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a local northern Indian slang.
“In this case, I meant to say that Akmal is still very unpolished. He plays racial politics and creates division and chaos to become popular.
“Calling him a ‘kokoi fella’ is apt. I think many Indians will agree,” he said.
Crude language?
On using a crude statement in the video - “orang tak goncang, dia dah pancut” (no one has shaken, but he has released) – the PN leader insisted it was nothing suggestive.
He added that the real meaning of this phrase was explained in the English subtitles included in the short clip.
“I provided a translation for the phrase in the video, which is ‘nobody said anything, (but) he (Akmal) started to spew b***s***’.
“It was not said suggestively - visually or in audio. It was not said in the wrong way.
“If you ask a Kedahan, that’s just how it’s being said. Nothing sexually suggestive about it,” he claimed.
Asked if he was deliberately attempting to provoke Akmal with his choice of words, Suthan said it was the former who had been instigating society for the longest time.
“Not us or me. We are just asking him not to drag us into racial politics,” he added.
On April 25, health news website Codeblue reported Raja Amin Raja Mokhtar, board member of the UiTM-IJN (National Heart Institute) cardiothoracic surgery postgraduate programme, saying the varsity is agreeable to opening the course to non-bumiputera.
UiTM is the only varsity that offers a parallel pathway programme in collaboration with IJN in the cardiothoracic field, which comprises surgery and care for heart and lung diseases.
Despite this, Higher Education Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir said there had been no discussions on allowing the entry of non-bumiputera and that the issue had been turned into a point of contention. - Mkini
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