“THE Chinese have China. Indians have the India. The Siamese have Thailand. The Khmer have Cambodia. The Malays only have Tanah Melsyu.”
At a glance, this may just be a tabling of historical facts – nothing racist – just to point out that every indigenous populace belongs to a country.Henceforth, PAS election director Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor may get away with such statement in a classroom environment but certainly not in the context of a political campaign whereby Malaysians are easily riled up with the fanning of 3R (race, religion, royalty) sentiments.
As revealed by Chevening scholar in political communication Daniel Teoh who claimed to have heard the entire speech of the Kedah Menteri Besar on PAS Kedah’s TikTok platform, the damming underlying tone is such that the Chinese and Indians still have the option to return to their deemed ancestral motherlands.On the other hand, the Malays are left with no choice for they only have Tanah Melayu, thus they must hold on to political power.
“Why is this statement condemned as racist? Firstly, the assumption that Chinese and Indians are only temporary residents in Malaysia,” he justified on Threads.
Secondly, the assumption that Chinese and Indians possess aspirations to colonise the Malays.
These are bad assumptions and prejudices that reject the reality that non-Malays have long been living in the Malay Archipelago in a peaceful manner.
‘Better stay put in Kedah’
Concerned of vote swing from non-Malay/Muslim electorate which effectively throws a spanner into the Barisan Nasional’s (BN) conquest of Negeri Sembilan in the Aug 1 state election, the coalition’s chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has hinted to Sanusi that “he’s unwelcome if his intention is to stir up racist sentiments”.
“If his intention is to foster Muslim unity, there’s no need to touch on ethnicity, religion, culture and the backgrounds of other races in this country,” the UMNO president told the media after a campaign event in Kuala Pilah yesterday (July 25).
“I don’t intend to advise him, only to remind him. Even if there is a tiger inside him, at the appropriate time, he should let the goat come out instead … as we only have six more days to go, I reckon it would be good for him to keep himself busy administering his state of Kedah.”
As PAS information chief Fadhli Shaari lashed out at the ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) “for persistently distorting content of the Kedah MB’s speech in Jempol to fool their supporters”, BN Youth has reiterated that every Malay, Chinese, Indian or Orang Asli/indigenous group in Sabah and Sarawak is a Malaysian”.
“History has proven that Malaysia was built on the struggle of various races together,” the movement’s communications director Neow Choo Seong asserted in a media statement.
“Therefore, I call on Sanusi as an experienced PAS leader and Kedah MB to stop chauvinistic politics that’re detrimental to unity, just like DAP’s very own extreme approach.”
Added the National MCA information chief: “MCA will not remain silent against any leader who issues irresponsible statements that hurt the emotions of the rakyat and rapture the country’s stability and national unity.”
Meanwhile, Sanusi has threatened to take legal action, including filing civil suits, against anyone found to be twisting his remarks for political gain.
He told the media he would also lodge police reports against those responsible in distorting comments he made during his ceramah in Jempol while insisting that his remarks were purely factual.
However, PKR’s deputy secretary-general Dr Sathia Prakash Nadarajan alongside the party’s Selangor State Election Department (JPRN) leadership has overtaken Sanusi in filing a police report against the Perikatan Nasional (PN) election director for 3R incitement. – Focus Malaysia
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