IF the clock can be turned back, perhaps it is best that rightist UMNO Youth chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh did not poke his nose in the call by Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing for the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to embrace multilingual signages displayed by businesses.
But how could the Merlimau state assemblyman resist such a tempting opportunity to showcase his nationalistic prowess/pride coupled with political might given that the status of Bahasa Malaysia as the national language has been challenged?
For the uninitiated, DBKL had earlier conducted a large-scale operation alongside officers from Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) and the police targeting signages that fail to accord sufficient prominence to the Malay language.
Following this, Tiong who is also the Bintulu MP – in his ministerial capacity – remarked that tourists had asked him whether Malaysia is a racist or religiously extreme country.
He then urged DBKL to embody the capital city’s cosmopolitan and open spirit instead of projecting an authoritarian and regressive image, especially as Malaysia prepares to chair ASEAN next year and host the Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign.
As expected, Akmal who is also the Melaka state exco for rural development, agriculture and food security took a jibe at the Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party president by accusing him of displaying racist tendency for not understanding the law and sensitivity of Malaysians despite having lived in the country for a long time.
With the memory of hurling the “Nyonya Tua” (literally, “Old Lady”) insult and other humiliating remarks (i.e., “don’t you dare to touch our religion” and “bringing shame to the country”) which led to DAP vice-chairman and Seputeh MP Teresa Kok filing a RM25 mil defamatory suit against the Russia-trained medical doctor still fresh in mind, probably some form of self-constraint from both gentlemen is warranted.
After all, if the exchanges were to boil over, the image of the Madani government would be further tarnished with what could well be a second civil suit among Madani government partners.
With Tiong having reacted to criticism levelled at him by Akmal by asking the latter what has been his contribution to Melaka aside from playing the racist card which has only humiliated his own party (UMNO), the younger politician has promptly responded by challenging Tiong to an open debate over the business signage issue.
Although he has toned down on his provocative diction as displayed at the height of the KK Super Mart sock-gate incident where he rallied for a blanket boycott of the 24-hour convenience store lest an apology banner is hoisted across all of KK Mart’s 881 outlets, the emotional outburst can still be felt.
“You are the one who issued racist statements first and then want to blame others for being racist. (Then you went on) to accuse me of embarrassing my party when I disagree with what you said,” rebutted Akmal on his Facebook page.
“Hey minister, you are the one who embarrassed the country; even as a minister, you still can’t understand the sensitivities of Malaysians or speak Malay well. What level of minster are you?
“I beg PMX (Prime Minister Datuk Seri Awar Ibrahim) to replace this minister with someone who is much more qualified. It would even be better to appoint the Jelutong MP (RSN Rayer) as the tourism minister!” – Nov 27, 2024
