AN UMNO Youth leader has taken a pot shot at several DAP leaders for their “provocative” statements, saying that the DAP leadership should be more sensitive and respectful of the existing harmony rather than raising feelings of unease and pessimism among the people.
Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh was referring to DAP stalwart Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang’s remarks on whether a non-Malay can become the prime minister, as well as Federal Territories DAP chief Tan Kok Wai’s call for local council elections to be held in Kuala Lumpur, which he said were unnecessary and could trigger disharmony among Malaysians of various ethnicities.
“In fact, I believe certain quarters within the unity government are similarly uncomfortable (with such statements),” Akmal, who is also a Melaka executive councillor, said in a Facebook post on Monday (Dec 18).
“This is akin to intentional provocation against the status quo of the understanding that we have achieved among the races.”
Citing Tan’s call for the implementation of a local election in the capital city, Akmal noted that based on the census, there were 1,588,750 people residing in Kuala Lumpur, and out of that number, only 45.9% are Bumiputera.
“If local elections were to be held, an imbalance would occur and we can already expect what the outcome would be,” he remarked.
“For the past six decades, Malaysia has been government with the support and agreement of the majority. Such statements (by the DAP leaders) seemed to carry a hidden message.
“The DAP leadership should be more sensitive and respectful of our harmony, instead of raising feelings of unease and pessimism among the community and between the races.”
Akmal further stressed that UMNO Youth will never compromise with any such suggestions and actions.
“Being in the same government doesn’t mean agreeing with everything because this is not a DAP government but one that is established with UMNO’s presence and we will not back down or compromise with any decision concerning the interests of Islam, the Malays and the Malay rulers,” he remarked.
At the end of last month, Lim, in his speech to Malaysian students in Manchester, UK, had said it took the US 230 years before an African-American (Barack Obama) could become president.
He further expressed hope that that it would not take that long for a non-Malay to become the prime minister of Malaysia, which had then led to a police probe against him.
Meanwhile, Tan made the proposal for local elections in Kuala Lumpur during the state chapter’s convention on Sunday (Dec 17).
The Cheras MP said the implementation of a local election will lead to a sustainable capital city, one that practices effective, clean, and people-centric governance.
The last time Malaysia held a local council election was in 1963. The next round, which was supposed to be held the following year, was suspended.
The suspension – which was supposed to be temporary – became permanent in 1976 when Parliament passed the Local Government Act resulting in the abolishment of the local government election altogether and only provided for the appointment of local councillors. – Dec 18, 2023
Main pic credit: Facebook/Dr Akmal Saleh
