Shah Alam – Seputeh MP Teresa Kok rushed to defend candidate for Tenang by-election, Normala Sudirman – affectionately known as Cikgu Mala – over her refusal to shake the hands with males who are not related to her. The gutsy DAP leader condemned MCA personalities including its President, Dr. Chua Soi Lek and his won Tee Yong, Vice-President Ng Yen Yen, Fong Chan Onn and Gerakan leader Tan Lian Hoe for negatively playing up Cikgu Mala’s choice not to shake hands, which reveal “that they are extremists of their own kind and expose 1Malaysia for the sham that it is.”
“By making such remarks, these MCA and Gerakan leaders reveal their own religious bigotry and intolerance for religious practices different from their own. Their insistence that Normala should deny her faith, remove her gloves and shake hands with all is most disrespectful and is akin to insisting that a vegetarian must consume meat”, Kok continues.
She went on to categorically list down the instances when the MCA and Gerakan leaders played up on the isusue. Chua senior was castigated for allegedly spreading the lie that “non-handshaking is a PAS requirement when it is in fact a Muslim religious restriction that is also practiced by Muslim members of UMNO.”
Kok even singled out tweets by younger Chua, “candidate normal is wearg glove n assistant is shakg hand on her behalf. She will definitely claims it is health or personal reason”, and that of Fong Chan Onn who twitted “What happens if (Normala) saw a male knocked down by car. Will she go n help lift him??” and “Not shake hand is only 1st step to seperation, next will b no male n female in same hall etc etc”.
Also mentioned was Gerakan Wanita chief Tan Lian Hoe who said “Not only men, but when she shakes hands with women, she also needs to wear gloves. This is not friendly. It's as if she thinks our hands are dirty."
“It is disgraceful that these MCA and Gerakan leaders are spreading religious bigotry and fear as a tactic to win votes for Barisan Nasional in the Tenang by-election. In doing so, they insult the intelligence of Tenang voters and all upright Malaysians,” said Kok.
In campaigning for the Tenang by-election, MCA had resorted to its often tried but lately unproven tactic of spooking the Chinese electorate on PAS’ Islamic state agenda, including implementation of hudud laws and ban on the sale of alcohol.
Cikgu Mala’s “handshake” issue refuses to die down, and MCA president Chua Soi Lek has even defied a directive from Deputy Minister Muhyiddin Yassin made to the media to stop harbouring on what is essentially an issue concerning the private and religious choice of the PAS candidate.
Unfazed, the former MP for Labis, of which Tenang is part of, continued to assert his bold and straight talking style.
“As a Chinese-based party, it is my duty and I’ll be failing in my duty and mCA would be failing in its duty if we don’t explain to Chinese the true agenda of PAS because Hadi Wang has said this very clearly,” Chua explained.
“I have been in the public life for many years. It’s part of the basic culture and manners to shake hands.,” he added.
When asked about the fact that it was Cikgu Mala’s preference he quipped, “What is so great about that? That is your religious value which I don’t know. How am I to know about the religious values when I’m not practising that religion?”
The strategy appears to gain little traction among the Chinese voters that make up 39% of the Tenang electorate, particularly the young. Many Chinese cite the issue as petty, preferring the candidates to look into issues such as rampant corruption, education opportunities and ease of doing business.
- malaysianmirror
“By making such remarks, these MCA and Gerakan leaders reveal their own religious bigotry and intolerance for religious practices different from their own. Their insistence that Normala should deny her faith, remove her gloves and shake hands with all is most disrespectful and is akin to insisting that a vegetarian must consume meat”, Kok continues.She went on to categorically list down the instances when the MCA and Gerakan leaders played up on the isusue. Chua senior was castigated for allegedly spreading the lie that “non-handshaking is a PAS requirement when it is in fact a Muslim religious restriction that is also practiced by Muslim members of UMNO.”
Kok even singled out tweets by younger Chua, “candidate normal is wearg glove n assistant is shakg hand on her behalf. She will definitely claims it is health or personal reason”, and that of Fong Chan Onn who twitted “What happens if (Normala) saw a male knocked down by car. Will she go n help lift him??” and “Not shake hand is only 1st step to seperation, next will b no male n female in same hall etc etc”.
Also mentioned was Gerakan Wanita chief Tan Lian Hoe who said “Not only men, but when she shakes hands with women, she also needs to wear gloves. This is not friendly. It's as if she thinks our hands are dirty."
“It is disgraceful that these MCA and Gerakan leaders are spreading religious bigotry and fear as a tactic to win votes for Barisan Nasional in the Tenang by-election. In doing so, they insult the intelligence of Tenang voters and all upright Malaysians,” said Kok.
In campaigning for the Tenang by-election, MCA had resorted to its often tried but lately unproven tactic of spooking the Chinese electorate on PAS’ Islamic state agenda, including implementation of hudud laws and ban on the sale of alcohol.
Cikgu Mala’s “handshake” issue refuses to die down, and MCA president Chua Soi Lek has even defied a directive from Deputy Minister Muhyiddin Yassin made to the media to stop harbouring on what is essentially an issue concerning the private and religious choice of the PAS candidate.
Unfazed, the former MP for Labis, of which Tenang is part of, continued to assert his bold and straight talking style.
“As a Chinese-based party, it is my duty and I’ll be failing in my duty and mCA would be failing in its duty if we don’t explain to Chinese the true agenda of PAS because Hadi Wang has said this very clearly,” Chua explained.
“I have been in the public life for many years. It’s part of the basic culture and manners to shake hands.,” he added.
When asked about the fact that it was Cikgu Mala’s preference he quipped, “What is so great about that? That is your religious value which I don’t know. How am I to know about the religious values when I’m not practising that religion?”
The strategy appears to gain little traction among the Chinese voters that make up 39% of the Tenang electorate, particularly the young. Many Chinese cite the issue as petty, preferring the candidates to look into issues such as rampant corruption, education opportunities and ease of doing business.
- malaysianmirror
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