The position of Special Officer to the Prime Minister carries great responsibility. As such, the disposition and behavior of any aide to the premier is a reflection of the Prime Minister and his policies.
Hence, the disparaging remarks uttered by Dato’ Nasir Safar is most disappointing to say the least, as it smacks of jingoism completely devoid of the 1Malaysia concept mooted by the Prime Minister targeted at sowing cohesion and harmony between all the diverse ethnic groups in Malaysia.
It is even more disheartening that his racist remarks associating the flesh trade with the Chinese community whilst referring to the Chinese and Indians as “pendatang” were delivered at a seminar ironically entitled “Rapat 1Malaysia” in Malacca. Rather than contributing towards enhancing harmony, Nasir’s delving on stereotype derogatory identities have polarized society even further. He had also gone against the very spirit and fabric of 1Malaysia concept propagated by the Prime Minister.
If Nasir is so concerned about the flesh trade in Malaysia, perhaps he should also observe the sheer numbers of illegal foreign workers from Indonesia (the highest among all illegals)and numerous neighboring nations, who had also participated in the flesh trade. He should also be equally concerned with the number of locals involved in the flesh trade due to socio-economic reasons. He should also be concerned with the activities of human traffickers and the ineffectiveness of the authorities in fighting this social scourge. More efforts and focus should be placed on resolving such phenomenon instead of politicizing them.
No doubt the Prime Minister Office’s has since issued a statement declaring that Nasir’s remarks “do not in any way reflect the views of the Prime Minister” and Nasir has since tendered his resignation, MCA NGO Liaison Bureau believes that the former Special Officer should be investigated under the Sedition Act, as his remarks with regard to the citizenship of Non-Malays did provoke the sensitivities and encroached into the Constitutional guarantee of all Malaysian citizens. Action should be enforced against anybody irrespective of rank or status in society when they utter racist and seditious remarks, as such penalties will discourage others against pandering to racial slurs.
Nasir’s insults are a disservice towards building bridges in the nation already divided by distrust. He should have accorded recognition to all the multitude races in Malaysia who have contributed towards nation building whether they were Malays, Chinese, Indians, orang asli comprising Temiang, Negerito, Semai etc or the many different indigenous populace of Sabah and Sarawak consisting of Ibans, Bidayuh, Kenyah, Kenyalang, Ulu, Murut, Kadazan, Dayak, Melanau etc
We are all Malaysians. It does not matter where our ancestors derive their origins from or when they reached the shores of Malaya or Malaysia. What matters most is that we are all Rakyat Malaysia or Malaysian citizens. All our rights as Malaysian citizens are enshrined therein in the Federal Constitution and these rights should be respected irrespective of our ethnic identity.Historical background should be referred to in a positive manner and not to derogate, deprive or belittle one another in a irresponsible manner. Actions must be taken against such mischief to ensure that similar speech or actions are not repeated at the expense of the nation building.
Datuk Ti Lian Ker
MCA NGO Liaison Bureau Chairman
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