Najib and his Cabinet should apologise to Malaysians for most shameful abdication of responsibility in allowing Malaysia Day to be desecrated and racial harmony undermined by the racially-charged and provocative Red Shirts Malay rally in KL

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, and his entire Cabinet should at its meeting next Wednesday offer an fulsome apology to the Malaysian nation and people for their most shameful abdication of responsibility in allowing Malaysia Day to be desecrated and racial harmony to be undermined by the racially-charged and provocative Red Shirts Malay rally in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

What is there to be proud about the Red Shirts Malay rally in Kuala Lumpur when there is everything to be ashamed for a responsible and dedicated Prime Minister and Cabinet who represent Malaysians regardless of race, religion, region, age or gender and not just Prime Minister or Cabinet for a coterie of people in the country?

Yesterday, over 1,000 shopkeepers and traders in Petaling Street, representing over 90 per cent of the businesses, closed their business for safety reasons to avoid any untoward incident.

On the eve of Malaysia Day, the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM) expressed its opposition to the Red Shirts Malay Rally due to its racial tone.

The ACCCIM said that instead of celebrating Malaysia Day in a jovial environment, the Red Shirts rally provokes racial disharmony which would also undermine economic recovery.

It appealed to the Prime Minister to take severe action to stop extreme remarks and actions that may harm ethnic relations and harmony as well as obstruct efforts to encourage foreign direct investment and tourism.

But Najib was only made an empty claim when he said in Kota Kinabalu yesterday that peace, security and racial harmony of the nation are his top priority as he did nothing to allay the legitimate fears of the businesses and traders in Petaling Street so as to persuade them to continue to open for business on Malaysia Day!

But even more serious, Najib and his Cabinet allowed race relations in Malaysia to reach the worst state in 46 years since the May 13 riots in 1969, allowing the most provocative outbursts of anti-Chinese slurs and insults, with the Chinese being called “babi” (pigs) and told to “balik Cina” (Go back to China).

It is shocking that the Prime Minister and some Ministers are quite pleased and proud about the Red Shirts Malay Rally yesterday, when they should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves for allowng such a disgraceful blemish in the history of the country’s race relations to take place.

The outcome is the media attention, locally as well as internationally, about the worsening of race relations in Malaysia, as if Malaysia does not have enough world-class scandals of late for Malaysians to be ashamed of.

Are the Prime Minister and his Cabinet capable of making amends for their great dereliction of duty in allowing the race baiting and racist provocations to take place yesterday, causing race relations in Malaysia to plummet to their worst position since 1969?

Najib and the Ministers should firstly, at the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday offer a fulsome apology for their failure of leadership and responsibility in allowing the racially-charged and provocative Red Shirts Malay rally to be held, and secondly, initiate a series of remedial measures akin to the formation or the National Goodwill Committees after the May 13 riots in 1969 to repair the damage done to racial harmony and social peace as a result of government neglect and failure.

DAP leaders and I are prepared to fully co-operate with the government, all other political parties and NGOs to undo the great damage to race relations caused by the racially-charged Red Shirts Malay rally in Kuala Lumpur on Malaysia Day yesterday.

Lim Kit Siang DAP Parliamentary Leader & MP for Gelang Patah