Reject groups stoking racial sentiments, says Utusan


By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani
June 06, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 6 — Utusan Malaysia said today the government must take stern action against those who fan racial and religious sentiments, saying that the country is at risk if these groups remained unchecked.

The Umno-owned newspaper, in echoing Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s message over the weekend, said these groups were willing to divide society with their narrow political understanding.

Last Saturday, Najib said the government will not compromise with groups acting for their own interests, warning that they were playing with fire.

“No compromise should be given to these groups that play with racial and religious issues. If they still continue then stern action must be taken. Like it or not, preventive and corrective measures must be taken.

“It is true by closing one’s eyes and hoping for unity without any pro-active measures by the government and community leaders from each race will only promise tragedy,” Utusan said in its editorial today entitled “Reject groups stoking religious and racial issues.”

The editorial said the groups were willing to become “champions” of their various communities for political mileage without considering the impact on the country.

“If this issue continues to be played then Malaysia will be inherited by a generation that is divided because they will constantly disputing issues involving race and religion,” said Utusan.

Utusan, known for its fiery racial editorials, recently caused public outrage when it alleged that church leaders were in a plot with the DAP to turn Malaysia into a Christian state and install a Christian prime minister.

The Malay daily has also called on owners Umno to spearhead a “1 Melayu, 1 Bumi movement” involving all Malay parties, claiming that the DAP was intent on toppling the country’s Malay leadership.

The opposition has claimed that Utusan was becoming Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s voice against Najib’s 1 Malaysia platform, saying that Putrajaya was divided by two separate ideologies.

Today, the editorial also warned that the groups will not succeed in their racial games because the country has shown that diversity is not a barrier and the people have experienced lasting peace without any racial riots.

“We have to learn from the downfall of other nations. Learn how Islam fell and why Islamic countries cannot unite and ultimately nobody will gain from it,” said the paper.

  1. #1 by Godfather on Monday, 6 June 2011 - 1:46 pm

    Yup, learn a lesson from history, especially recent history in Egypt, Tunisia and other places. It’s got nothing to do with racial sentiments. It’s called STEALING.

  2. #2 by Godfather on Monday, 6 June 2011 - 1:46 pm

    Utusan: Who ? What ? Me ? The Alfred E Neuman equivalent in Bolehland.

  3. #3 by dagen on Monday, 6 June 2011 - 2:00 pm

    Oh boy! Look people. Look. Who is talking?

  4. #4 by Racheljansz on Monday, 6 June 2011 - 2:09 pm

    Beware of Utusan call for stern action against those who fan racial and religious sentiment.
    “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter”

  5. #5 by k1980 on Monday, 6 June 2011 - 2:10 pm

  6. #6 by wanderer on Monday, 6 June 2011 - 2:13 pm

    What?…Utusan, you are a farking joke!!!

  7. #7 by Taxidriver on Monday, 6 June 2011 - 2:20 pm

    They can see their one finger pointing at others but not their three fingers pointing at themselves.

  8. #8 by Jeffrey on Monday, 6 June 2011 - 2:27 pm

    ///the government must take stern action against those who fan racial and religious sentiments///

    How are racial and religious sentiments fanned and who does it?

    Here there is play on definition of word “fan”. To fan is to incite. Who is the arbiter of who is fanning/inciting? That’s where the issue is leveraged because here we can have a person who fans and another who rebuts and replies to the first person who fans and when it comes to the arbiter of “who is fanning” it adjudges it is the second person who fans and incites!

    This is what we call “glossocracy” concept popularised by Alexander Boot, a Russian who defected to the West.

    Boot believes that democracy, or in the words of Abraham Lincoln, the government of the people, by the people and for the people, has been replaced by glossocracy, the government of the word, by the word and for the word.

  9. #9 by jus legitimum on Monday, 6 June 2011 - 2:29 pm

    Utusan now is talking rubbish again.It has already lost credibility after it has published lies,half-truths,falsehoods and baseless allegations.By right it should have been charged for creating racial intolerance and be suspended under the sedition act.

  10. #10 by Jeffrey on Monday, 6 June 2011 - 2:30 pm

    Here is a play on the words (esp vague definitions like “fan” “racial” & “religious” sentiments. According to Boot, the more meaningless the word, the more useful it is for glossocrats. Twisting the language we use, using government power to enforce interpretation of meaning of words, changing by new interpretation the meaning of old ones, one uses “words” as weapons of political control to frame vilify and demoise one’s political opponents.

    Students of logic love to read Lewis Caroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland because of Lewis’s insight into how language is power and how power uses language as wellin Wonderland by Lewis Carroll:

    ‘When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.’ ‘The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean different things.’ ‘The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master – that’s all.’”

    What has the world come to? The rules and rituals – and laws – are now arbitrarily enforced by whimsical interpretation of meaning of words by those who think they have power to enforce such a definition and interpretation!

  11. #11 by Indon Planter on Monday, 6 June 2011 - 2:48 pm

    Hypocrite of the highest order. Like the Chinese saying – 做賊喊賕。

  12. #12 by Indon Planter on Monday, 6 June 2011 - 2:51 pm

    Sorry, 做賊喊賊

  13. #13 by ENDANGERED HORNBILL on Monday, 6 June 2011 - 3:55 pm

    Utusan…wtf?

    Nobody can get any more stupid or crazy than Utusan presently!

    Utusan is swimming in a whirlpool of a cesspool.

  14. #14 by ablastine on Monday, 6 June 2011 - 3:57 pm

    Is Utusan talking about itself. I don’t see anybody stoking racial sentiments besides Utusan and Perkasa.

  15. #15 by limkamput on Monday, 6 June 2011 - 4:11 pm

    I don’t know to laugh or to cry
    This is the society where wrong seems right
    How dare these people openly defile
    Openly deny

  16. #16 by Taxidriver on Monday, 6 June 2011 - 6:10 pm

    Najib is powerless over Utusan. The paper is controlled by two persons whose names start with ‘M’ Utusan’s latest statement is an indirect challenge to Najib to shut-up and not to talk kok; to take action against Utusan and gang if he is anak jantan. M & M is laughing ang enjoying themselves. Oh! poor Najib. Semua orang tahu dia punya salah, apa dia boleh buat melainkan buat bisu sambil bodoh aje.

  17. #17 by Cinapek on Tuesday, 7 June 2011 - 12:43 am

    Utusan is clearly mocking Najib over his message warning groups about inciting racial disharmony. They are thumbing their nose at Najib and parroting his words when Utusan knows all along their mission to divide and destroy. They are doing this because they know the PM would not dare to act against them.

You must be logged in to post a comment.