Prime Minister Najib Razak has been urged to tell Kinabatangan MP Bung Mokhtar Radin to apologise and retract his remark yesterday on Adolf Hitler, or make him resign.

 

Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming in a statement this morning said Bung is unlikely to apologise on his own, and therefore the PM must step in if the latter values Malaysia's international reputation.

 

"Bung’s initial tweet is highly offensive and unacceptable behaviour, coming from a member of Parliament.

 

"His refusal to apologise and his ignorant defence of his tweet is even more unacceptable.

 

"Many politicians in democratic countries have resigned for making racist and bigoted statements.

 

"Since it is very unlikely that Bung will apologise or resign over his remarks, I call upon PM Najib to ask the MP for Kinabatangan to publicly apologise…

"And, to ask him to resign as a member of the Umno central committee and as MP for Kinabatangan, as a sign that Najib is a PM who values Malaysia’s international reputation, the reputation of Malaysia’s Parliament and also the reputation of his own party, Umno," said Ong.

 

Bung stirred a hornet's nest yesterday following Germany's shocking win over Brazil in the 2014 World Cup, saying " Long Live Hitler ".

He worsened the situation by praising the win and saying the German football team fought like the fascist dictator.

Ong noted that the MP's remarks have made the news worldwide, from " Time , UPI, the Huffington Post , the Washington Post , BBC news and the Daily Mail , just to name a few".

MCA: Think before opening mouth

 

Meanwhile MCA religious harmony bureau chairperson Ti Lian Ker concurred that Malaysia's international reputation was at stake and did not need to be linked to "neo-Nazism".

 

"It is bad enough that Malaysia has become (in)famous after some of our citizens were reported to have become militants by joining the terror group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).

 

"We do not need to be known as a country which supports neo-Nazism and its warped belief of genetic superiority of the Aryan race, and annihilation of ethnicities deemed inferior," he said in a statement today.

Ti ( left ) said he was " ashamed and appalled" that Bung has "blatantly saluted" the Nazi dictator, a remark he said made "zero common sense".

 

He reminded the Sabah MP that the World Cup was an apolitical affair.

 

"Politics, and definitely not distorted racist ideology, must never be allowed to creep in," he said.

 

Reminding Bung of the latter's infamous remarks "from insulting women to disabled people", the MCA leader called on him to apologise and retract his tweet.

 

"And to think hard and deep before opening his mouth lest his foot gets stuck in it again."

Gerakan: Bung's unintelligence showing

Gerakan also said inaction over the remarks would sour bilateral relations between Malaysia and Germany.

In a statement today, Gerakan vice-president Dominic Lau ( left ) said "Hitler and Nazi Germany are considered as extremely sensitive to the Germans, which can be compared to the Article 152 and 153 in Malaysia".

“Bung’s remarks has drawn severe criticism from not only the Malaysian public but from the German ambassador as well.

"Gerakan demands Bung Mokhtar to issue an unreserved apology to the German government and public for his actions.”

"His remark vividly displayed him as ‘unintelligent’ and lack of sensitivity towards others,” he added.

Following the outcry, Najib has issued a brief statement saying Bung's comment was " unacceptable and wrong " and that the MP "will apologise".

The controversial MP eventually tweeted a somewhat glib apology around noon, ending it with "Long live Bung".

Related stories

MCA sees red over Bung's green bra

Bung's Hitler tweet wrong, says Najib

Thanks to Bung, Malaysia on world map again

Hiter Bung-ling continues despite apology