Press Statement
by DAP Secretary General and MP for Kota Melaka, Kerk Kim Hock
in Petaling Jaya
on Tuesday, 22.10.2002
Seditious article: Welcome the removal of the article from UMNO website
Two days ago, I issued a statement stating that although an assurance was
earlier given to me by the UMNO Headquarters that the offensive article titled "
Cina DAP Hasut Cina MCA Jangan Setuju Guna Bahasa Inggeris "would be removed
from the UMNO website, there was still no result.
I also said that if the said article is not removed by this coming Saturday, DAP
MPs who will be attending the coming Patriotism Congress will raise the issue
with the Prime Minister.
I went into the UMNO on line last night and found that the article had been
removed.
As I said two days ago, I could understand the BN leaders' sense of anger and
their justified protest against the baseless allegation by the UN Security
Council linking the BN with the terrorist movement. Similarly, the baseless
allegations made by Datuk Ibrahim Ali on the UMNO website against the Chinese
community were equally unacceptable and must be removed.
I am therefore glad that the UMNO Headquarters has made good its assurance and
has decided to give in to reasonable demand. It is a victory for rationality and
good sense.
I hope that such postings which carry offensive, baseless and unacceptable
allegations calculated to promote ill feelings between the races will no longer
be allowed to appear on the UMNO website.
As I had already lodged a police report on 10.10.2002 calling on the Police to
investigate the contents of the article under the 1948 Sedition Act, I will
leave it to the UMNO leadership to decide whether they want to take the
necessary disciplinary action against Ibrahim Ali.
I also hope that the Education Minister will do justice to the Chinese School
teachers by coming with a strong rebuttal against the most untruthful and unfair
allegations which Ali Ibrahim had made against them.
While commenting on the government's proposal of teaching Mathematics and
Science subjects in English, Ibrahim Ali has made baseless and malicious
allegations against the Chinese community and Chinese teachers, which include,
that the Chinese community worry about the proposal because they are afraid that the examination papers of the Chinese students will be marked by Malay teachers
that the Chinese community have objected to the proposal because they are worried that the truth about the declining academic standard of the Chinese students will be exposed
that the Chinese teachers have allowed their students who have actually failed their examinations to pass with excellent results
If UMNO Headquarters could give in to reasonable demand, surely the Education
Minister should understand his responsibility to clear the name of the Chinese
teachers and to protect the image of the Education Ministry itself