'Arrest Khairy under ISA'

A MCA Youth delegate today called on the authorities to detain Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for making racist remarks.

MCPX

He also wanted the security law to be invoked against suspended Umno Penang leader Ahmad Ismail who courted controversy recently by describing the Chinese in Malaysia as squatters.

Perak delegate Ting Tai Fook (right) made the call during the debates at the MCA Youth annual general meeting held at the party headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

Khairy, who was one of the VIPs present at the MCA Youth meet this morning, has however left shortly after the opening before the debates commenced.

Ting took Khairy, who is also the son-in-law of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, to task over his remarks concerning the ratio of the bumiputera and non-bumiputera quota on scholarships.

He said such remarks were not only condoned by the Umno leadership but also paved the way for Ahmad to make similar offensive remarks.

At this juncture, Ting said the ISA should not be used against civilians as seen in a crackdown last month.

“If we want to use ISA, let’s use ISA against these few people first [...] I also believe Khairy, this irresponsible leader will be defeated badly in the coming Umno Youth chief elections,” he said to applause from the delegates.

The Perak MCA Youth delegate stressed that the ethnic Chinese were not second-class citizens or the servants in this country.

Ting also hit out at Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim and accused him of being a liar for consistently claiming that he has the numbers to form government.

Resolution targets Khairy, Ahmad

Meanwhile, a majority of the MCA Youth delegates also echoed the dissatisfaction concerning the remarks made by Khairy and Ahmad.

Replying to Ting in the winding-up later, MCA Youth legal bureau chief Gan Ping Sieu said the wing is against the use of ISA against any civilian.

Apart from coming under heavy fire during the debates, one of the resolutions adopted at the meeting was also made in reference to Khairy and Ahmad. The resolution condemned several “narrow-minded leaders.”

“Their action will jeopardise the racial ties in this multiracial country which is formed based on different ethnicity, cultures and religions.

“Therefore, MCA Youth urges the relevant quarters to take immediate action to avoid these extremists from affecting the harmony in the country,” read the resolution.

Although the resolution did not name Khairy and Ahmad directly, it however stated that the reason for this resolution was due to the duo’s recent statements.

“Khairy made a statement in Parliament that the non-bumiputeras have taken away the bumiputeras’ privileges and their quota for the (government’s) JPA scholarship. His statement is against the cabinet decision.

“Ahmad also made a statement filled with racist elements to the extent that it caused unhappiness in the society. Therefore, serious action should be taken against these racist leaders,” read the document.

Other than this, the other resolutions which were passed included calling on the government to review the ISA and Printing Presses and Publications Act 1948 to make it relevant with the current times.

The Youth wing also expressed support for the government’s move to set up the Malaysian Commission of Anti-Corruption, as well as a special complaints commission on the reforms of the police force and judicial appointment commission.

Election results

In another development, the MCA Youth election results announced at 7pm revealed that those seen to be aligned to the new Youth chief Dr Wee Ka Siong had made a near clean sweep.

Except for the newly-elected deputy secretary-general Loh Chew June, the rest were those whose names had appeared on the cai dan (list of preferred candidates) that was widely circulated today.

As expected, Perak MCA Youth chief Dr Mah Han Soon won the No 2 post. He garnered 1,152 votes to beat his opponent Song Kee Chai, who polled 394 votes.

Wee, who was the wing’s secretary-general, won the top post uncontested on Monday.

Met by reporters later, Loh thanked the delegates for their support despite him not being on the cai dan. He said this had spurred him to work harder in order to get support from the delegates.

Those who were elected into the wing’s top posts include vice-chairpersons Yong Chen Leong, Yoo Wei How, Dr Chin Tung Leong and Yit Lee Kok. The new secretary-general is Chai Kim Seng.