Jeff Ooi's comments on Haron Din were insolent, said UMNO Veterans

The comments made by DAP's Jelutong Member of Parliament, Jeff Ooi about the late Datuk Dr Haron Din on Twitter Friday were insolent and touched the sensitivities of Muslims.

UMNO Veterans Club secretary Datuk Mustapha Yaakub said as a Malaysian, Ooi should have understood the religious practices of other communities.

"It was clear from what Jeff Ooi did that he forgot that in this country, the majority of the people are the Malays and Muslims.

"His insolence proves that he has no respect for people of other religions," he said in a statement, here Saturday.

Ooi on Friday, in his Twitter account commented on the death of the PAS Spiritual Leader, saying: "Adios Haron Din. Let there be peace".

Mustapha said the UMNO Veterans Club condemned Ooi's insolence and demanded that he apologised publicly to all Muslims in the country.

"This is an insult not only to Haron Din but is felt by all Muslims in this country. It must be remembered that we Malays may differ in our political believes but we are still one in matters of religion.

"Although Haron was a PAS leader, he was also a Muslim. Malays who are Muslims whether in PAS or UMNO are united when it comes to religion," he said. Meanwhile, the deputy advisor of Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) Abdul Ghani Samsuddin said the party was disappointed with Ooi's actions which made many people angry.

"Amanah strongly condemns Jeff's actions, differences in opinions and political ideologies should not be cause for not respecting Haron Din," he said.

He said Ooi's actions did not benefit the nation because Malaysians should respect each other in order to create a harmonious society.

Meanwhile, chairman of the Penang Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Leadership Council, Datuk Mansor Othman also condemned the insolent and irresponsible behaviour of the Jelutong MP in making fun of Haron Din's death.

He said Penang PKR's detached itself from Ooi's racist and foolish act.

"The Parti Keadilan Rakyat has always believed that people are born honourable and we should place human dignity as a important foundation of our political ethics," he said in a statement on Saturday.

Mansor who is also the MP for Nibong Tebal said differences in political beliefs should not be the reason for a person to lose his humanity by making fun of anyone's death.

"Once again, we want to express our sense of loss and pray that his (Haron's) family find the strength and patience needed in this sad time," he said. - BERNAMA