Police reports to be filed over 'keling' remark

 

An NGO will file a series of police reports nationwide against Permatang Pauh Umno chief Zaidi Mohd Said for using a derogatory word during his speech at the Umno general assembly last week.

Tamilar Action Force (TAF) kickstarted its campaign with a police report filed in Klang this afternoon.

"This is not just for the Indian community, but for everyone," Malaysian Indian Progressive Association (Mipas) secretary-general S Barathidasan told Malaysiakini.

Zaidi had allegedly said, “We (Umno) are very unlucky because we lost badly in constituencies with a majority of Chinese voters. So, this shows that the Malays in Penang support Umno, regardless of them being ‘mamak’ (Indian-Muslim) or ‘keling’.

By using the term "keling", Barathidasan said Zaidi had "deeply hurt and insulted" the entire Indian community in Malaysia.

Zaidi should be probed under both Secton 504 of the Penal Code and the Sedition Act, since Prime Minister and Umno president Najib Abdul Razak is so keen on retaining the Sedition Act, he said.

Section 504 deals with “intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of peace”.

"Zaidi did not only insult the Indian community, but also… the harmony of this country," he said.

'Why wasn't he ticked off?'

The Umno delegate also courted brickbats when he said the Chinese in Penang were successful due to illegal businesses but later claimed that he was misquoted.

Barathidasan said Zaidi's remarks showed that the Umno delegate did not respect other BN component parties and Umno leaders' call not to raise sensitive issues at the assembly.

Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor had a few days before the assembly warned delegates not to play up sensitive issues related to race and religion.

Barathidasan (right) is also disappointed that nobody reprimanded Zaidi for using a derogatory term.

"The speaker should have stopped him. He has the right to stop a delegate from hurting other community's feelings.

"He should have stopped him immediately. But he did not do that. Why not?" he asked.