All of sudden, Robert Kuok becomes the favourite punching bag of UMNO.
On February 24, Umno supreme council member-cum-deputy agriculture and agro-based industries minister Tajuddin Abdul Rahman has warned tycoon Robert Kuok to not forget his roots and how he has emerged as one of Malaysia’s richest man.
UMNO President Najib Razak then on February 25 said that Robert Kuok would not have made his fortune without various government policies that had become a key to his success.
We also have UMNO Wilayah Persekutuan Youth Chief, Mohd Razlan Rafii, who claimed Robert Kuok only assisted Chinese and has never assisted Malay businessmen.
And now, Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz also joins the troop. He described the billionaire as a “coward with no testicles” and challenged him to return to Malaysia and contest in the coming General Election.
First of all, DAP has never received any funds from Kuok directly or through any intermediaries such as his relatives in Malaysia.
And yet, despite the fact that UMNO has not able to produce any proof to substantiate the claim, they continue to lambast Robert Kuok and calling him “ungrateful”.
Nazri on one hand admitted that Kuok is free to donate to a party of his choice and this is not against the law, but he also claimed that funding DAP was irresponsible and could harm racial unity.
How could donating to DAP become an act of irresponsibility that harms racial unity when we are a legal and registered political party in Malaysia and part of the Government in Penang and Selangor?
Besides, while UMNO leaders demanded Robert Kuok to be “grateful”, have UMNO and MCA ever showed any gratitude towards Robert Kuok for his contribution to the nation?
Did Robert Kuok not play an “intermediary role” in ending communist insurgency in Malaysia by passing messages between Malaysia and China in the 1980s? And the contributions that he made to Barisan Nasional and MCA “especially when it comes to election time”? And his assistance in settling up Malaysian International Shipping Corporation (MISC)?
And for sure, MCA won’t forget how Robert Kuok bailing out their president with RM20 million in Singapore in 1986 and rescuing MCA’s business projects that were doomed to fail.
Have we ever heard any words of thanks and appreciation from these UMNO and MCA leaders?
So, who are the real “kacang lupa kulit” here?