Media Statement (2) by Lim Kit Siang in Petaling Jaya on Sunday, 9^th August 2009: 

Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia’s immunity to flout the law by continuously inciting racial hatred and religious discord a disgrace to Malaysian journalism and a public slap-in-the-face for Najib’s 1Malaysia concept

Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia’s immunity to flout the law by continuously inciting racial hatred and religious discord is a disgrace to Malaysian journalism and a public slap-in-the-face for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia concept.

Just five days ago, Utusan Malaysia carried an editorial “Tidak sedarkah Melayu sedang di hina?” and an article “Melayu jangan jadi bacul” spouting unabashed rank racism, incitement and sedition totally subversive of Najib’s 1Malaysia slogan.

Today, Utusan Mingguan tried to create an explosive tinderbox by making baseless but incendiary allegations in a multi-religious Malaysia that DAP is anti-Islam in its Sunday editorial “DAP anti-Islam?”

It is most shocking that Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had defended Utusan Malaysia’s racist and chauvinistic spoutings last Tuesday, as if Muhyiddin does not understand Najib’s 1Malaysia concept or that it has nothing to do with him.

Is Muhyiddin going to defend Utusan Mingguan’s incitement of religious discord in the country?

Can Najib and Muhyiddin answer questions that have been asked since Tuesday why the Barisan Nasional government is practising double-standards as there is no doubt that if any Chinese and Tamil language newspapers and journalists had written or published one-tenth of the inflammatory and seditious material inciting racist hatred and now religious discord, the Chinese and Tamil newspapers would have been closed down immediately and the journalists concerned thrown behind bars?

It is most shocking and outrageous that at last Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting, not a single Minister from MCA, Gerakan, MIC and from the Sabah and Sarawak component Barisan Nasional parties had dared to raise this issue at the Cabinet to nip in the bud such racist and chauvinistic incitements which are totally subversive of Najib’s 1Malaysia motto.

The Cabinet inaction and indifference has encouraged Utusan Malaysia to move from racial to religious incitement.

Will MCA, Gerakan, MIC, Sabah and Sarawak BN Ministers continue to fail in their ministerial duties to put an end to such racial and religious incitement and sedition? Are there no moderate Umno ministers who are horrified by Utusan Malaysia’s crude communal and now religious incitements and sedition?

Is Malaysia’s 52nd National Day going to be marred not only by the A (H1N1) flu outbreak, but even more serious, by a recrudescence of rank racist and religious incitement and sedition in Umno-controlled media?

*Lim Kit Siang, DAP Parliamentary leader & MP for Ipoh Timor