MCA: Ismail Sabri's racial rhetoric uncalled for

For Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaakob to accuse MCA and DAP of secretly working together is just nonsensical.

MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said MCA was only performing its responsibility in defending the Chinese community after he had blindly accused Chinese businessmen.

In a statement today, Liow said the party’s presidential council in a meeting today agreed that the Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister’s comments urging Malay consumers to boycott Chinese businesses not only incited racial hatred but was detrimental towards maintaining racial harmony.

“One must always be careful of one’s words in a multiracial society such as ours in order to prevent instigating racism. Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri’s racial rhetoric has only serve to deeply hurt the Chinese community,” he said.

Liow said MCA supports government agencies in taking action against businesses which have unscrupulously raised prices, regardless of race, but would not condone any accusations directed at a certain race.

MCA ministers would also be raising this issue at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow, he added.

On Sunday, Ismail in his Facebook posting had called for Malay consumers to boycott Chinese traders for the prices of goods to be reduced, following the drop in oil price.

He wrote on the social networking site: “Forgive me for sharing my views, but besides the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism, which uses the Price Control Act and the Anti-Profiteering Act to act against traders who raise their prices indiscriminately, the greatest power lies with consumers.

“The majority of consumers are Malay, Chinese are a minority, if the Malays boycott their businesses, they will surely have no choice but to reduce their prices.”

Yesterday, MCA Youth chief Chong Sin Woon, as well as several DAP members including Lim Kit Siang, had condemned the minister’s statement. Chong had said Ismail was not qualified to be a minister and that his post on Facebook was a racist one that violated the spirit of the Constitution and the Barisan Nasional’s multiracial spirit.

To this, Ismail retorted by saying the MCA Youth chief should be thanking him for using the Malay majority voice to pressure the Chinese traders into reducing prices of goods, as majority of the Chinese are also consumers that are burdened by prices of goods not going down.

He said Chong should have contacted him for explanation, and that MCA Youth ‘didn’t seem to know whose priority it should be protecting’.