PMO claims Ismail did not target Chinese traders

  Odin: PM Najib Razak, you and your office staff have lied as blatantly as minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob did.

In Ismail Sabri’s Facebook posting, there is no mention of traders in general, but specifically Chinese ones. There is no mention of ‘stubborn’ Chinese traders. He directed his venom at all Chinese traders.

Ismail Sabri further cast aspersions on Chinese traders/restaurateurs by alleging that many of them had dubious ‘halal’ certificate.

Then he shovelled more dirt on the Chinese, albeit indirectly, by accusing the Ngeh family of being anti-Islam.

To ensure that the Malays were sufficiently provoked to boycott all Chinese businesses, he delivered his coup de grace on the Chinese thus – if the Malays did not change, the Chinese would take advantage of and oppress them.

Despite what is abundantly obvious, you have chosen to put Ismail Sabri in the clear when you should have immediately removed him from his position.

Your 1Malaysia, Najib, is an odious farce. And the 1Malaysia badge that you wear on your jacket lapel is nothing more than a symbol of double-talk.

Jiminy Qrikert: This is typical Umno sandiwara which never fails to play out according to script. Minions in Umno will be given permission to make racist statements. Ismail Sabri’s is just one in a long series of such statements and it is not the worst.

There have been more serious seditious statements targeting the entire Chinese community before. Umno loves to bash the Chinese. Why?

Because by bashing the Chinese, they get to feel big, important, that they are heroes, that they still reign unchallenged as the ‘tuan’ in this ‘tanah Melayu’.

It has happened repeatedly over the past decade but the situation is worse under Najib.

Chathrina: There is unnecessary manipulation of what was said by Ismail Sabri. He did not have any intention to make any racist remarks. He didn’t incited people to hate the Chinese people.

He’s just telling consumers to boycott any stubborn dealer who does not want to lower the prices of goods.

Why did he use “Chinese”? Because majority of the suppliers and wholesalers in Malaysia are Chinese. People who are exaggerating this issue are the real racists.

Swipenter: Now “Chinese traders” means “all traders”. Now “few stubborn Chinese traders” also mean “all traders.”

Even when written Bahasa Malaysia and in black and white, without any leeway for more than one meaning, these Umnoputras can deny and/or change its meaning.

I urge all minorities to grow a stronger backbone to face what the future has in store for us and never take things thrown at us sitting down or take things for granted.

Wira: There is no PM in PMO (Prime Minister’s Office). Just a bunch of morons trying to keep the PM in power.

Imagine someone asking the Chinese to boycott the Malays for the same reasons. That poor soul will find himself harassed by every law thrown at him.

MatrixLYN: “I demand Malay traders to lower their prices. Non-Malays must stand up or be oppressed by the Malays.”

I have reversed what Ismail Sabri said. Does it sound racist to you? You be the judge.

Anonymous #20513663: As the economy goes down the drain, we can expect more and more Ismail Sabris to appear, while the PM becomes more extreme or is replaced by an even more extreme leader.

The fact is that Umno has lost control and has no new ideas apart from playing ‘batu api’ with race and religion.

And while in the past these were used to manipulate the rakyat, some in the lower ranks of Umno but rising rapidly (such as Ismail Sabri) have begun to believe the party’s own lies.

All Malaysians should read Kua Kia Soong’s book on what really happened on May 13, 1969, together with Sophie Lemière’s work (‘Misplaced Democracy’) on how the extremist side of Malaysian ‘civil society’ is just a ‘wayang kulit’ to understand what is likely to happen next in our beloved country.

Factor in the fact that Umno is rudderless and has run out of ideas and is thus likely to replay old scripts rather than finding a new way out of their predicament. All must speak up now before it is too late.

It boggles the mind why Najib is using up his fast-diminishing political capital to defend a nobody. What kind of hold does Ismail Sabri have over him that he ‘owes’ Ismail this kind of support?

Shibboleth: Now who is spinning stories? The Facebook posting by the minister was in black and white. Now it is interpreted in many shades of grey.

In other countries, the minister would have been sacked.