DAP Leaders Zoom in on Public Varsities Organising Malay Congress

1273
- Advertisement - [resads_adspot id="2"]

Remember other ethnic groups, says Kit Siang.

Two top DAP leaders have echoed the views of an Umno leader in questioning why public universities are organising the Malay Dignity Congress set to be held on Sunday.

DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang asked if the four varsities would organise dignity congresses for other ethnic groups.

“Would these four public universities be organising a Chinese Malaysian Dignity Congress, Indian Malaysian Dignity Congress, Kadazan Dignity Congress, Dayak Dignity Congress, Orang Asli Dignity Congress and most important of all, a Malaysian Dignity Congress?

FMT

“There can only be dignity for Malaysia if every ethnic and religious group in Malaysia enjoys dignity – which will be in keeping with the fundamental principles in the Malaysian constitution and the Rukun Negara,” Lim said in a statement.

The congress on Sunday is jointly organised by Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM).

Organisers say the congress, to be held at the Malawati Stadium in Shah Alam, will focus on problems faced by Malays in the fields of education, religion, culture, politics and the economy.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is expected to deliver a keynote speech at the gathering, while Umno and PAS leaders have also said they would attend.

Previously, Umno vice-president Khaled Nordin – who is also a former higher education minister – alleged that Bersatu was using the public universities as a tool to organise the congress.

Bernama

Lim asked if participants at the congress will seek to allay fears of racial and religious tensions created by “fake news and hate speech”.

“Will the Malay Dignity Congress on Sunday spearhead a media literacy campaign to deactivate these time-bombs to Malaysian nation-building which can only spell disaster for peace, tolerance, harmony and success in plural Malaysia?”

Meanwhile, Penang deputy chief minister P Ramasamy said it was not acceptable for a public university to organise such an event. He questioned the intentions of the congress organisers, saying they were politically motivated.

He said this could be seen when organisers “snubbed” Anwar Ibrahim by not inviting the PKR president.

“Is he not qualified as a Malay leader? Has he not fought for the Malay or even Malaysian cause? Mind you, he will be the next prime minister of the country taking over from Mahathir in the very near future,” he said.

He said the Malay leaders at the congress “might not be too pleased with Anwar”.

He also accused the organisers of playing politics by tying together Dr Mahathir and PAS.

Ramasamy questioned if Education Minister Maszlee Malik or the Cabinet had given the green light for the varsities to host the event.

“Public universities playing the role of organisers is not something acceptable. Perhaps the gathering could have been outsourced to others.

“In the final analysis, it is naive to assume that there are no political motivations behind the congress.”


Related report: Oct 3, Anwar Not Invited to Malay Congress, Trusts Dr M’s Message Will Be for All Malaysians