Pressured on 'racist' issues, AG fingers police

 

Umno Youth and Malay rights NGOs are barking up the wrong tree, Attorney-General (AG) Abdul Gani Patail said today in response to mounting pressure for him to charge more Malaysians who make callous remarks on sensitive race and religion issues.

Yesterday, Sinar Harian printed on its front page in bold red and white type, ‘AG, do not sleep’, to highlight Umno Youth leaders picking a fight with Gani over what they said was selective prosecution.

The debate was kicked off by Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, who complained in a Facebook posting last Friday that charging road rage perpetrator Siti Fairrah Ashykin Kamaruddin, or Kiki, without also hauling others to court may have a racial ring to it.

Khairy was commenting on a youth, Kelvin Yip, who on Facebook had angrily complained of the volume of morning prayer recitals in his vicinity during the Hari Raya celebrations, but has so far not been hauled up by the police. Umno Youth then jumped on the issue.

However, after calling the AG repeatedly, Sinar Harian said that it only received a curt response from the man himself.

Police have begun probe on Yip

“You are better off asking the police... I don’t want to answer anything,” Gani is quoted as saying by the Malay daily today.

In a related development, Kuala Lumpur police chief Tajudin Md Isa said police have began their investigation on Yip for his Facebook posting on Hari Raya prayers and called for calm.

The pressure continues to mount as more NGOs and Umno Youth members voiced out their frustrations in multiple Sinar Harian and Utusan Malaysia reports today, including a police report against Kelvin Yip being made in Malacca.

“This is not play-acting. We are not doing it for fun but to show that we are really furious as Malays,” Malacca Umno Youth vice-chairperson Rohaizam Bakar is quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia in a news report quots Umno supreme council member Mohd Puad Zarkashi (right) as saying that it was time for Gani to go because he is incompetent. Puad said this was his personal opinion.

Puad also questioned why the case against DAP Sri Delima assemblyperson RSN Rayer was dropped.

“Why no new charges brought against Rayer for repeating his insult during a speech (outside the state assembly)? Because of that, for me Abdul Gani is incompetent and his time is up,” Mohd Puad told Utusan.

Others who voiced out in the Malay press asking Gani to take a harder stance included leaders from the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (Abim), Permim, Pekida and the Penang Malay Congress.