Show real leadership, PKR Sarawak tells PM amid sedition crackdown

DESMOND DAVIDSON

PKR Sarawak has ripped into the prime minister’s assurance that the government remains committed to its 1Malaysia philosophy, calling it nothing more than lip service amid the government’s crackdown on dissent.

Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian (pic) said he took Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s remarks that every citizen “had a place under the Malaysian sun” with “more than a touch of cynicism”.

Najib had said this when speaking at a forum called “Strengthening the Voice of the Moderates, Moving Forward Together” on September 4 in Kuala Lumpur.

Baru, the Ba’kelalan assemblyman, said if Najib were really serious about his 1Malaysia philosophy, he should start behaving like the prime minister for all and show some real leadership.

“It is clear as day that the authorities are practising selective persecution while the prime minister chooses to remain silent on these inflammatory and divisive matters.”

Baru said it was easy for the prime minister to say the right things when reading from a script, but the relentless sedition charges against one opposition politician after another, and now an academic, had rubbished the assurance.

“We have been witnessing so many instances of perceived repression and selective persecution by the authorities that it only makes the prime minister’s assurance sound sadly insincere,” Baru said.

If the prime minister were serious about moderation and the 1Malaysia concept, he should address issues that affect the harmony between ethnic groups, Baru added.

These issues include the Facebook postings of pro-jihad group Jemaah Isis Malaysia that had called for the people of Sabah and Sarawak to be slaughtered because they were considered “infidels”.

Authorities have also failed to act on other actions that were seditious in nature, such as the threat to slap DAP Seputeh MP Teresa Kok by Malay far-right groups, as well as calls by such groups for non-Malays to leave Malaysia.

“No-one from these groups was charged for their shocking actions. In fact, the Home Minister (Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi) said the threat to slap Kok was not an offence,” Baru said.

The government’s pandering to these groups have only further emboldened them, and this has been made worse by the home minister’s recent remarks against non-Malays, Baru added.

“Calling other races arrogant or insolent is fine for those like him. But opposition members and academics are hauled up and charged for saying perfectly harmless things.”

He was referring to Zahid’s speech at the Segambut Umno division meeting earlier this week where he said non-Malays were getting “arrogant” and that Malays had allowed themselves to be taken for granted. Zahid later said his remarks were only aimed at DAP and not all non-Malays.

In the meantime, PKR Youths are joining the Bar Council’s National Young Lawyers Committee to campaign for the repeal of the Sedition Act by launching a signature drive in Sarawak.

They will start by collecting signatures at the Kubah Ria wet market tomorrow morning.