The DAP advisor said that although Datuk Seri Najib Razak had finally “broken his silence” today over the case of two principals accused of uttering racial slurs, the prime minister should “walk the talk” and begin with firm action against the Malay daily over recent articles published, which Lim claimed were offensive.
“The prime minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has finally broken his silence, declaring a ‘zero tolerance’ policy towards racism and pledging immediate action against those found to have made racial slurs. It is welcome although belated — provided it is not an empty declaration.
“Najib should not only declare a ‘zero tolerance’ policy for racism but also for all forms of religious incitement, starting with Utusan Malaysia,” said Lim in a statement.
Lim claimed that Utusan had tried to “incite racial tensions and hatred with baseless and irresponsible headlines and articles” like “‘Elak perang besar — Harussani enggan dedah pihak terlibat wujudkan ‘perlembagaan baru’” and “Benar, ‘perang besar’ boleh berlaku di Malaysia”.
The Ipoh Timur MP said that Umno-owned daily had also stoked religious sentiments with regards to the issue of mosques in Penang replacing the name of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong with the name of Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng during Friday sermons.
Utusan had carried out articles with headlines such as “Lagi nama Guan Eng dalam khutbah” and “Pasukan khas siasat khutbah guna nama Guan Eng.”
“Were these Utusan Malaysia front-page headlines [meant] to promote 1 Malaysia and foster inter-racial and inter-religious understanding, accord and harmony, or the reverse?
“While there is controversy as to what had actually happened in the Penang mosques and suraus, what is clearly established is that there is no basis for the insinuation that Guan Eng had anything to do with the khutbahs or that he had intended any disrespect to Islam or Yang di-Pertuan Agong,” he said.
Lim also said the same would apply to the latest “controversy” involving the DAP MP for Serdang, Teo Nie Ching, with Utusan Malaysia today publishing a front-page photo-story of her visiting Surau Al-Huda in her Kajang constituency to give donations and speak on the invitation of the surau authorities.
“There is divided opinion in the Muslim community on the propriety of the event, but Nie Ching had acted out of fullest respect for Islam and her Muslim constituents and not to insult Islam,” said Lim.
The DAP veteran also questioned why Najib had taken so long to break his silence over the case of the two principals in Johor and Kedah who were accused of uttering racist remarks to students.
“Two Cabinet meetings had since come and gone — August 18 and 25 — with the issue still unresolved. What is even more unbelievable, the ‘outspoken’ MCA President Datuk Seri (Dr) Chua Soi Lek could publicly deny that the government was ‘slow’ in taking actions against the headmistresses from Johor and Kedah.
“How long more is needed by Najib and Chua to establish whether the school principals of the two schools in Kulai and Bukit Selambau had made derogatory, offensive and insensitive remarks which completely negates Najib’s 1 Malaysia policy, Vision 2020, the Rukunegara and the Malaysian Constitution rendering them completely unfit to continue as school principals?” said Lim.
The school heads of SMK Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra in Kulai and SMK Bukit Selambau in Sungai Petani have since apologised but various parties are still calling for stern disciplinary action against the duo, including sacking.
Last Friday, Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin broke his own silence on the issue and directed Education director-general Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom to set up a task force and probe the incidents.
Alimuddin had previously claimed the Kulai incident had been settled.
The DPM’s delayed reaction did not go unnoticed by Pakatan Rakyat (PR) politicians, who excoriated the Najib administration for its perceived tolerance of racism.