I call on moderate and rational Malaysians to give the Cabinet a third and final chance to do what is right on the Ismail Sabri affair – to get Ismail to retract and apologise for his racist statement calling on Malay consumers to boycott Chinese businesses or be removed from Cabinet.
Malaysians of good sense and goodwill, regardless of race, religion or even political affiliation, are tired of the cant and hypocrisy of the Ismail Sabri affair – to the extent that it is no more an issue affecting the Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Minister, but the quality and morality as well as the credibility and integrity of the entire 35-Minister Cabinet and the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
The 35-Minister Cabinet seemed to be very committed in wanting to prove former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathr Mohamad and former Finance Minister Tun Daim Zainuddin right that it is “half-past six” Cabinet with “deadwood” Ministers – for the Ismail Sabri affair has proved beyond a shadow of doubt that we have the most dim-witted and dishonest Cabinet in the nation’s 58-year old history.
How sad and gloomy for Malaysians when Vision 2020 is just five years away and those who had high hopes of the plural Malaysian society achieving its greatness as a nation of diverse races, religions, languages and culture where the people are united with a common purpose to build a world-class educational, economic, environmental and political system that could be an example and inspiration to the world, both Islamic and non-Islamic – especially at a time when Malaysia is expected to play a greater role in the international stage as a non-permanent member of the Security Council and Chairman of ASEAN.
It is not worth wasting any more time or arguments to try to convince Ismail Sabri that his cant and hypocrisy is completely unacceptable and intolerable to right-thinking Malaysians, claiming that he does not regret or apologise for his racist statement calling on Malay consumers to boycott Chinese businesses, but only regret that his statement had taken a racial slant and been viewed as an ethnic issue.
In other words, everybody else is wrong, except him!
I do not think Ismail Sabri could convince primary school students with such illogic and ridiculous arguments.
Ismail should just be written off as a sane, sound and moderate political leader as he insists that there is nothing wrong with his racist fulminations and the wrong was on those who had objected to his rabid racialism.
If on Wednesday’s third Cabinet meeting since Ismail’s rabid racialist call on Malay consumers to boycott Chinese businesses, Ismail is not prepared to retract and apologise for his racist call on Malay consumers to boycott Chinese businesses, I agree the country should move on – not to forget about the subject, but to demand full explanation from the all the other Cabinet Ministers, whether UMNO, MCA, MIC, Gerakan or the Sabah and Sarawak BN component parties, and the Prime Minister to explain how they could sanction, condone and defend Ismail’s rabid racialism.
It is no more an issue just concerning Ismail Sabri, but the credibility and integrity, as well as the quality and morality, of the entire Cabinet and the political parties headed by the Ministers.