The action of hundreds of UMNO Youth members who marched and gathered at the DAP headquarters in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday to press Taiping MP Nga Kor Ming to apologise is not an offence, said UMNO Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
He said the action was more prompted by a feeling of responsibility in defending the dignity of the Malays and Islam who were insulted by a statement allegedly made by Nga on his Facebook recently.
"The action is one of the examples of reactions or feeling of dissatisfaction with Kor Ming. We cannot blame UMNO Youth in this matter because their duty is to defend the integrity and dignity of the Malays who are offended.
"I will also feel insulted if our children are told to eat bran (dedak). Bran is eaten by chickens and ducks, so we have placed children who receive duit raya on par with chickens and ducks...that is why we are angry," he said in commenting on the action of UMNO Youth members who gathered outside the DAP headquarters to press for Nga to openly apologise over his alleged disrespect in uploading a picture and caricature insulting the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration.
Ismail Sabri said Nga, as a leader, should have been more sensitive in issuing statements to avoid public ire, specifically on the giving of duit raya which had become a custom of the Malays in the country.
He said the giving of duit raya among Muslims was more towards alms, the same concept as the ang pow given by the Chinese community during Chinese New Year, or any other similar act practised by other communities when celebrating their respective festivals.
"In this matter, I urge all quarters not to play with issues which can trigger racial conflicts...I am in agreement with the apology tendered by Kor Ming but the police must investigate his statement," he said.
In another development, Ismail Sabri, who is also Rural and Regional Development Minister, said the speculation that former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad would set up a new party was not a threat to UMNO and Barisan Nasional's (BN) strength.
He said as a democratic country, Dr Mahathir was free to set up his own party as had been done by several UMNO leaders prior to this such as Parti Semangat 46 under Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.
"Tengku Razaleigh had set up Parti Semangat 46 which was regarded as strong at that time but in the end still could not defeat UMNO. Similar to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who set up Parti Keadilan Rakyat)... despite appearing very strong when he was deputy prime minister, it still could not threaten UMNO," he said.
He said the action was more prompted by a feeling of responsibility in defending the dignity of the Malays and Islam who were insulted by a statement allegedly made by Nga on his Facebook recently.
"The action is one of the examples of reactions or feeling of dissatisfaction with Kor Ming. We cannot blame UMNO Youth in this matter because their duty is to defend the integrity and dignity of the Malays who are offended.
"I will also feel insulted if our children are told to eat bran (dedak). Bran is eaten by chickens and ducks, so we have placed children who receive duit raya on par with chickens and ducks...that is why we are angry," he said in commenting on the action of UMNO Youth members who gathered outside the DAP headquarters to press for Nga to openly apologise over his alleged disrespect in uploading a picture and caricature insulting the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration.
Ismail Sabri said Nga, as a leader, should have been more sensitive in issuing statements to avoid public ire, specifically on the giving of duit raya which had become a custom of the Malays in the country.
He said the giving of duit raya among Muslims was more towards alms, the same concept as the ang pow given by the Chinese community during Chinese New Year, or any other similar act practised by other communities when celebrating their respective festivals.
"In this matter, I urge all quarters not to play with issues which can trigger racial conflicts...I am in agreement with the apology tendered by Kor Ming but the police must investigate his statement," he said.
In another development, Ismail Sabri, who is also Rural and Regional Development Minister, said the speculation that former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad would set up a new party was not a threat to UMNO and Barisan Nasional's (BN) strength.
He said as a democratic country, Dr Mahathir was free to set up his own party as had been done by several UMNO leaders prior to this such as Parti Semangat 46 under Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.
"Tengku Razaleigh had set up Parti Semangat 46 which was regarded as strong at that time but in the end still could not defeat UMNO. Similar to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who set up Parti Keadilan Rakyat)... despite appearing very strong when he was deputy prime minister, it still could not threaten UMNO," he said.
