5th
March 2018
PRESS
STATEMENT BY:-
TAN
SRI DATUK ROBERT PHANG MIOW SIN.
JUSTICE
OF THE PEACE.
CHAIRMAN
– SOCIAL CARE FOUNDATION
YB
DATO’ SERI NAZRI ATTACKS ON KUOK PERHAPS REFLECTS THE RULING COALITION’S
DESPERATION TO REMAIN IN POWER.
PETALING JAYA, 5 March 2018: Recent attacks against
Malaysian tycoon Robert Kuok led by none other than UMNO stalwart cum
Tourism and Culture Minister Dato Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz,
reflects the ruling coalition’s desperation to remain in power, at all cost.
Outspoken social activist Tan Sri Robert Phang reckoned that the
hostile remarks levelled against Kuok based on some false allegations made by
fugitive blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin (RPK), may be a
‘politically-motivated-and- premeditated’ ploy to whip up anti-Chinese
sentiments ahead of the country’s general election.
In three articles published in his blog Malaysia Today between
February 21 and 23, RPK has accused Kuok of trying to overthrow the BN
government in the next general election by funding DAP, which both Kuok and DAP
supremo Lim Kit Siang have categorically denied. Kuok is also currently looking
into legal action against RPK. Some
political observers have described the attacks on Kuok as a piece of political
opportunism to hit out at the Chinese-majority opposition DAP and stoke Malay
fears of a Chinese takeover.
In his follow-up statement issued today, Phang who is also a
founder and chairman of the Social Care Foundation, said the recent attempt by
Nazri trying to pit one community against another showed that some
political leaders in the ruling coalition have lost their moral
compass in their desperation to remain in power. “This (move of using Kuok to whip up
anti-Chinese sentiments) is a very irresponsible, dangerous and despicable move
that should be downright denounced by each and every right-thinking and
peace-loving Malaysian, regardless of one’s race and religious background.
“It has become even more urgent now that we, Malaysians of all
races, must unite against those power-crazy politicians who have no qualms to
inflict chaos and serious harms to the nation and the people, in order to
achieve their selfish agendas,” he asserted.
He also advised the Chinese community, the leaders especially, to remain
calm and not to overreact to the issue, so as not to fall into the entrapment
of the perpetrators. “In fact, the best
way to punish this bunch of unscrupulous politicians is to vote them out in the
coming general election,” he reiterated.
He went on to note that the subsequent
‘show of protest’ conveniently put up by various MCA leaders against Nazri,
inevitably gave many an impression that the whole episode could be just another
‘good cop vs bad cop’ play act designed to portray MCA as the ‘protector and
defender’ of the Chinese community.
Phang who is also a former Panel
Commissioner of Malaysia Anti-Crime Commission and executive council
member of the Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation also said he felt sorry
for Kuok that he had to endure such an unnecessary-and-outrageous attack by BN
leaders, close to labeling him as a traitor, when the whole world
recognized his enormous contributions to Malaysia, through his many business
ventures that undeniably helped create jobs for Malaysians and promote growth
in local industries.
Meanwhile, Phang also urged civil society organizations (CSOs)
in the country to come out in full force to state their disapproval against
such malicious move of using Kuok to fan racial sentiment. “In fact, we Malaysians of all races, should
put on record that we shall hold Nazri responsible should there be any social
unrest in the country due to this event. It’s puzzling that Nazri’s reason
for not apologizing was because he relied on the fugitive blogger’s comments,
which Kuok had categorically denied and in the midst of looking into initiating
legal action against the said blog.
“It’s further confusing because Nazri
has chosen to assume that the blogger’s comments were the truth when BN has
been lamenting that fake news are rampant in the social media. In the past, the
same blogger was accused by BN for blowing up faked news. How can the same
blogger be trusted when he was accused otherwise in the past?” said
Phang. He nonetheless believes under the circumstances, majority of the
right-thinking Malaysian would like to ensure that Malaysia is a beautiful
place to live with lasting harmony amongst all the races.
He also cited the famous quote by Roman Statesman, Marcus
Tullius Cicero – that “A murderer is less to fear. The traitor is the plague.”
to describe those in the corridors of power who are willing to pawn the nation
and the people, in order to achieve their political agenda.
Cicero was quoted to have said during one of his speeches in the
Roman Senate: “A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it
cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable,
for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst
those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys,
heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a
traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face
and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of
all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the
night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that
it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear. The traitor is the
plague."
“Nazri, stop all your nonsense and kurang ajar attitude or you
will have to pay for the price. If you do not apologize, for sure BN is
going to lose more seats. Can you afford to bear the
responsibility? Perhaps our able
Prime Minister should be seen to be doing the right thing in a more convincing
way this time, such as removing this ‘loose cannon’ from the Cabinet and
stripping him of his ministerial post. I believe many right-thinking Malaysians
would also agree with me that we should not have a thuggish character as our
Minister of Tourism and Culture,” he concluded.
Thank you and God bless.
“HUMBLENESS IS A GOOD
VIRTUE, ARROGANCE SHALL FALL AND THE MEEK WILL RULE THE WORLD”.
Tan
Sri Datuk Robert Phang Miow Sin.
Justice
of the Peace.
