The prime minister must instruct Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Ismail Sabri to retract his statement and apologise for his baseless accusations against Chinese traders.

If PM Najib Abdul Razak fails to do so, he should take his 1Malaysia slogan and throw it into the dustbin.

DAP’s Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming said this in a press statement today in response to Ismail’s outburst on Facebook yesterday.

Citing the Sedition Act but short of calling Ismail to be arrested, Ong ( left ) said that the Facebook post by Ismail - which urged for Malays to boycott Chinese traders - has undoubtedly raised feelings of ill-will and hatred among Malays towards not just Chinese traders, but the Chinese community in general.

To illustrate his point, Ong cited a number of comments responding to Ismail Sabri in his Facebook page.

“There is a comment which characterises Chinese traders as leeches and calls for the Malays to declare war on this group of people.

“There is a comment which accuses the Chinese of insulting the Malays. There is a comment which says that the Chinese are ‘bangsat’, an insulting and vulgar term.

“There is a comment which uses this example as ‘proof’ that the Malays are being victimised by the Chinese.

“Ismail’s statement is baseless, irresponsible and has heightened feelings of hatred and ill-will towards the Chinese in general,” lamented Ong.

Ong stressed that there are many reasons why traders, regardless of race, have not decrease their prices even though the price of petrol has dropped dramatically.

“The price of petrol comprises of a small component of the cost of goods. Even though the price of petrol has dropped but the wages of workers have not dropped, the price of electricity has not dropped, the price of cooking gas has not dropped, the price of cars have not dropped, just to give a few examples.

"In addition, because of the depreciation of the ringgit, the price of imported goods have not only not dropped but have increased!"

Shameful, minister!

Meanwhile, PAS’ Parit Buntar MP Mujahid Yusof Rawa said it was extremely shameful for a cabinet minister to use racial threats to put pressure on the business community.

“ What should have been stressed are those opportunist businessmen who profit from the consumers, without pointing at any one race.

"By pointing at one race, it has further widened the racial gap in Malaysia.

“If there is any halal dispute, go to the authorities. These kind of statements increase hate and is provocative,” said Mujahid, who also heads anti-racism group Gerakan Anti Perkauman (GAP). 

Yesterday, Ismail had urged Malays to boycott Chinese businesses in order to force the latter to bring down the price of goods.

He cited the Old Town White Coffee chain as an example, and claimed that the chain's halal certification was suspect and that it is owned by Perak DAP adviser Ngeh Khoo Ham's family.

Later, Ismail Sabri issued a statement clarifying that he was not referring to all Chinese businesses, but only a few "stubborn" ones.