Nazri Aziz was questioned by police today over his controversial speech at a ceramah in Beranang, Semenyih on Saturday night where he criticised the Pakatan Harapan government over the appointments of non-Malays as chief justice, attorney-general and finance minister.
The Barisan Nasional secretary-general told a press conference at the Umno headquarters in Kuala Lumpur today that he had his statement recorded by police this morning.
It is believed that he is being investigated for sedition.
“I was called up by the police this morning and I have given them my statement… I only spoke (at the ceramah) about what the Malay grassroots are talking about,” he said.
“If the A-G is not a bumiputera or Malay, the Malays fear he won’t act fairly. And this appears to have happened in the case of fireman Muhammad Adib (Mohd Kassim).
“Four individuals were questioned over the incident but when Adib passed away, the case was withdrawn and we don’t know the state of the matter,” he added.
He said the Adib incident has caused uneasiness among the Malays and denied that he was playing up racial issues.
“I only spoke about something which was being felt and discussed at the grassroots level, and it is not seditious,” he added.
He also denied issuing racial remarks during his speech in Semenyih.
In the ceramah in Beranang, Nazri has been reported as accusing the Pakatan Harapan government of being weak to the point of surrendering the rights of the Malays to others.
“It is the duty of every prime minister and the government to defend the (Malay) privilege. However, the government is weak.
“Many things that never happened before are happening now – (look at the appointment of the) attorney-general, chief justice and finance minister.
“Lots of issues that were unimaginable before are an issue now. As some said, (we are) surrendering our rights to others,” he had said.
When speaking about Adib, the former senior minister had said:
“Take, for example, the attorney-general. Everyone said Adib was sacrificed. We ask why no charges were brought against the people who were arrested for allegedly assaulting Adib back then. None has been charged.
“People can see that the attorney-general and the suspects have the same skin colour, so don’t blame the Malay because they thought the attorney-general is not fair.
“What is the problem? Just charge (them to court). I was made to understand it (the prosecution) was withdrawn and (they) just kept quiet.
“This has led to dissatisfaction among the Malays because (they) do not trust a non-Malay holding that position can be fair, instead of acting according to the skin colour,” he had said.
He had also said that non-Malays should not question the Malay privileges as the former also enjoy special privileges such as vernacular schools. – TMI
Earlier report: Feb 25, Nazri Playing Race Card, Should be Probed for Sedition