KUCHING, Jan 16: Just because one may be proficient in the Malay language, it does not necessarily mean they are the most loyal to the country, says Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) president Voon Lee Shan.
In a press statement issued today, Voon said those who question the loyalty of the Chinese and Indians in Malaysia should reflect upon themselves.
He said without the support of the Chinese and Indians, Malaya could not been granted independence by the British in 1957 and that the Chinese and Indians helped, like all Malaysians, build the economy of Malaya.
“Those who speak Malay and understand Malay culture well do not necessarily mean that they are the most loyal people in the country. At the same time, there are people who claim themselves as Malays, but are they 100 per cent loyal to Malaysia?
“If a person is 100 per cent loyal to Malaysia, he would not steal from the country to enrich himself, his families, and cronies.
“Some are rumoured to have hidden their ill-gotten wealth overseas. Those who robbed or stole from the country had committed treason,” he said in his statement.
He added that their actions have hindered the country’s efforts to progress and have caused the common Malays and Bumiputera to suffer due to them using their positions to enrich themselves.
Voon’s statement was made in response to former Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan, who was reported to have said loyalty to the country should not be based on proficiency in the national language.
On Jan 15, in a news report by the national news portal Free Malaysia Today (FMT), Shahril said the debate on who was more loyal to the country would still be valid even if “everyone was fluent in Malay”.
“If we are unable to cultivate love and respect between one another, there will still be division even if we are fluent in Malay,” he said in the latest episode of the ‘Keluar Sekejap’ podcast, which he co-hosted with Khairy Jamaluddin, as reported by FMT.
Khairy, a former minister and Umno Youth chief, suggested that being fluent in Malay would end the discussion on non-Malays’ loyalty.
The former Rembau MP said this when discussing Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s controversial claim that ethnic Indians were not completely loyal to Malaysia. — DayakDaily
