(Petaling Jaya, Monday):The Attorney-General should prosecute Utusan Malaysia under the Sedition Act for inciting communal disaffection and hatred in questioning the trust and loyalty of the Malaysian Chinese as a result of the Lunas by-election.
It is most shocking that the UMNO-owned and controlled Utusan Malaysia has taken the official position to endorse the most offensive, inflammatory, racist and seditious article by Rozaman Ismail which appeared on Friday, questioning the trust and loyalty of the Malaysian Chinese because of the Chinese voter-swing to the Barisan Alternative and the election of Saifuddin Nasution Ismail as State Assemblyman in the Lunas by-election on Wednesday.
The article, under the heading "Politik orang Cina di Lunas", asserted that Chinese voters in the country could not be trusted any longer because of the outcome of the Lunas by-election.
In the Mingguan Malaysia yesterday, the editor-in-chief of the Utusan Group, in his Sunday column "Bisik-Bisik Mingguan - Awang Sulung", stoutly defended the incendiary, racist and seditious article under the comment entitled "KIT SIANG PALING GEMBIRA".
The Prime Minister and UMNO President, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad must dissociate UMNO and the Barisan Nasional Government from this Utusan Malaysia editorial stand if they are serious about Vision 2020 and a Bangsa Malaysia transcending race, religion and other differences in the country.
In the Lunas by-election, some 60 per cent of the Malay and Chinese electorate and 25 per cent of the Indian voters voted for the Barisan Alternative. If the Lunas by-election outcome had been different, with the Barisan Nasional winning the seat as a result of the support of the majority of the Malays voters, would Utusan Malaysia defend the right of the Chinese and Tamil papers publishing articles questioning the trust and loyalty of the Malays?
I have no doubt that in such a situation, Utusan would be in the forefront denouncing Chinese and Tamil newspapers for being racist, anti-national, inflammatory and provocative if they had carried articles like the one written by Rozaman but questioning the trust and loyalty of the Malays - even demanding the closure of the Chinese and Tamil newspapers concerned? There would be UMNO and UMNO Youth hotheads who would be lodging police reports up and down the country demanding that the police and the Attorney-General initiate prosecution under the Sedition Act.
Why then can’t Utusan Malaysia understand that Rozaman’s article questioning the trust and loyalty of Malaysian Chinese is completely unacceptable and highly inflammatory and seditious in a multi-racial society committed to creating an integrated Malaysian identity?
The Attorney-General should demonstrate that he is impartial in upholding the laws of the land, especially to take strong action against irresponsible race-baiting like the Utusan Malaysia editorial position questioning the trust and loyalty of the Malaysian Chinese which is no less than an incitement of communal disaffection and hatred.
There will never be inter-racial harmony and national integration if the mass media in the country are allowed to go on a racist rampage attacking the trustworthiness and loyalty of entire ethnic communities for any electoral setback suffered by a political party - and this is where the Attorney-General should draw a clear and unmistakable line against any form of race-baiting by prosecuting Utusan Malaysia under the Sedition Act.
For the sake of the higher vision of an integrated Malaysian identity, I would seriously urge the Utusan to admit its error, withdraw and apologise for the racist, provocative and seditious stand in questioning the trust and loyalty of the Malaysian Chinese as a result of the Lunas by-election.
Parliament and Cabinet on their part should deplore and dissociate themselves from such reckless, seditious, anti-national and un-Malaysian position taken by Utusan.
It is most disappointing that MCA and Gerakan Ministers had remained silent in the past four days against the Utusan’s racist and seditious anti-Chinese attack.
MIC President Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu has announced that he would be
raising his unhappiness about the Lunas by-election at Wednesday’s Cabinet
meeting. Will any MCA or Gerakan Minister raise the Utusan anti-Chinese
attack at Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting to demand that Utusan Malaysia should
be prosecuted for sedition to end all forms of irresponsible race-baiting
in Malaysia?
(4/12/2000)