A COALITION of Malaysian Tamil NGOs has expressed concern with the call by Subang UMNO to appoint UMNO Youth chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh as a cabinet member under the Madani Government.
This action is inappropriate considering the Merlimau state assemblyman is neither a MP nor a senator, hence should not be given such an opportunity, according to Coalition of Malaysian Tamil NGOs coordinator Kalaimughilan Arjunan.
“Even more troubling – if we look closely – Dr Akmal often raises sensitive issues that disunite Malaysians, thus making him a very controversial leader,” he pointed out in a media statement.
“As a leader, he should represent all races in this country as well as rigorously pursue check and balance so as not to disappoint or hurt any race in Malaysia.”
“In the context of the Madani government which emphasises the importance of unity and equality among all races, this is a major oversight. As Malaysia is a multi-racial country, every change made in the system needs to take into account the interests of all races before being implemented.”
Kalaimughilan further recalled the recent controversy surrounding the purposed mandatory JAKIM halal certification on pork/alcohol-free eateries whereby DAP vice-chairman Teresa Kok has opposed such move by offering constructive criticism that it would eventually burden small business owners and various other parties.
“However, Dr Akmal cleverly twists this issue as if Kok is against Islam and the Muslim community for him to both excel as a hero within UMNO as well as to initiate the revival of UMNO in the Malay community,” observed the Malaysian Naam Tamilar Organisation secretary-general.
“As a highly educated person, Dr Akmal should have handled Kok’s proposal with more wisdom and prudence. Instead, he made the issue as seemingly related to the 3Rs’ (race, religion and royalty) sensitivity till it got out of hand. Which part of Kok’s statement actually challenged or disputed the religious rights of Islam?
“His rude and unprofessional statements such as describing Kok as Nyonya Tua (literally, old woman) raises the question of who is actually being insulted – is it Kok or the Straits Chinese community in Melaka?”
Pitted against such backdrop, Kalaimughilan opined that the Russia-trained medical doctor has damaged the fruits of the Madani government’s labour to protect Bumiputera rights and Islamic rights while maintaining cordial inter-racial ties with unethical statements.
“In fact, I would like to suggest that the Unity Minister and PDRM (Royal Malaysia Police) conduct a detailed study to gather evidence as to how Malaysians used to be united living in a multi-racial society 20-30 years ago and what is the situation now?” he proposed.
“Do Malaysians really hate each other or is this hatred provoked by individuals like Dr Akmal who lacks understanding of sensitive issues and ethics in dealing with differences of opinion? Many inciteful and racist comments have now piled up in the comment section of TikTok.”
Therefore, if individuals like Dr Akmal is allowed to be part of the Madani government cabinet, Kalaimughilan id fearful that there could be major chaos in the quest to preserve the unity and harmony among multi-racial and multi-religious Malaysians.
“This is more so with his numerous actions to break the unity government coalition with his negative criticism. He is certainly not qualified to be a member of the unity government,” he added. – Oct 4,2024
