Facebook user Kelvin Yip would not have been singled out for his remarks if people genuinely wanted justice and were not merely looking through racial lenses, says Gerakan Youth chief Tan Keng Liang.

 

Tan (below) said that people should likewise be demanding justice against religious preacher Shahul Hamid for insulting Hindu deities and urging Muslims not to purchase curry powder by Hindu manufacturers.

 

Yip has come under fire for a profanity-laden Facebook post criticising the use of loudspeakers to broadcast Muslim prayers in the morning, on Facebook.

 

"Why focus on Kelvin Yip only? I don't understand. What was said by Shahul, which is recorded, and someone of his stature as an ustaz, will probably have the same impact if not worse," Tan told Malaysiakini .

 

While admitting that he was "shocked" by Yip's remarks, he said the matter should not be racialised.

 

He said even though both Yip and Shahul have apologised for their remarks, they should both face action.

 

Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin last week took to his own Facebook page, which has 673,000 followers, to tick off Yip for the remark.

 

He said since Siti Fairrah Ashyikin Kamaruddin, better known as Kiki, was charged for road rage despite an apology, Yip should similarly be charged for his offence.

 

Racial turn

 

While Khairy did not specifically mention race, his contrasting of the two cases have spawned a racial dynamic over the matter.

 

Taking the lead was Khairy's lieutenant Federal Territories Umno Youth chief Mohd Razlan Muhammad Rafii who accused the authorities of being slow to act against a Chinese but were swift when dealing with Malays and Muslims.

 

The same message was featured in Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia in an editorial piece by the newspaper today.

 

Tan said he disagreed with Khairy's Facebook posting but said his Umno counterpart may have done so because he was angry at Yip's comments.

 

Tan said it was not right for Khairy (right) to use the charging of Kiki as an example as it was not an "egg to an egg" comparison as her case had nothing to do with race or religion.

 

He added Shahul, like Yip, remains unpunished and the former was a more appropriate example to contrast with.

 

"If something is wrong, then it is wrong and action should be taken but don't point to race," he said.

 

Both Shahul and Yip are being investigated by police.

Following Kiki’s conviction, older videos of ethnic Chinese either verbally abusing or hitting Malays have been circulating with some netizens questioning why the perpetrators in those videos did not face the same action.

In response, Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said Kiki’s case was dealt with swiftly as she had turned herself in.

 

Khalid also warned against accusations of double standard within the police force, insisting the the enforcement agency is colour blind.

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