Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy is standing firm on his recent remark about the May 13 racial riots, saying he is neither apologising nor clarifying about it.

Despite being criticised by his opponents, with some asking him to resign from his post while Gerakan Youth chief Tan Keng Liang has told him to retract his challenge, Ramasamy said he will not be apologising for his statement.

Instead, Ramasamy said he wants to explain why he asked Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to “bring May 13".

“I said since Isma, Perkasa are so interested in May 13, then why not bring it on, why keep harping on it, why are you (Muhyiddin) intimidating us, invoking May 13 all the time?” Ramasamy asked.

“Whenever there is a problem - usually a mismanagement by the present government - then you start blaming it all on the non-Malays,” he added.

“Instead of resolving problems, why are you talking about May 13? Frightening people with something that happened so many years ago,” he stressed.

Ramasamy, however, denied he was challenging Muhyiddin, adding that Malaysians were “sick and tired” of May 13.

He added that this country cannot afford racial riots because when it happened in 1969, it was devastating for the country.

Ramasamy was referring to a remark he made on Sunday during a press conference held in Kuala Lumpur regarding the Hindu Endowment Board and the arrest of several Sri Lankan refugees by the police.

He said he was asked about Muhyiddin’s remark that May 13 is possible, and duly responded to the issue.

“Don’t talk. All the time talking May 13, May 13. Bring-lah May 13. You start May 13. This will be the first time the government starts May 13. You think what? You think we’re scared ah?” Ramasamy was quoted as saying in the Malay Mail Online on Sunday.

But he said he was not issuing a threat or a warning, nor was he openly challenging the DPM and Umno deputy president.

Healing process

Ramasamy said there should be a healing process in this country, among all the different races and religions instead of continuously invoking the tragic part of May 13.

“Somehow or another we have surmounted problems, so let’s not harp on it as there are many better ways to manage ethnic relations,” he said.

“I was a bit upset about Muhyiddin’s remarks as though we (DAP or the non-Malays) are to blame for May 13,” he added.

 

“This is coming from the DPM. If it comes from Isma or Perkasa, or any extremist group, I wouldn’t have bothered to comment on it,” he stressed.

However, Ramasamy said the remark came from someone in a responsible position who is supposed to instil confidence in different groups, but instead he is the one invoking May 13.

He also chided MCA and Gerakan for defending Muhyiddin, when they said his remarks were merely “a reminder” .

He said the two parties should not “bend over backwards” to defend Muhyiddin ( left ).

“His remarks were a threat and I saw them as a threat. My perception was he was threatening us with May 13,” Ramasamy said.

“So that is why I said bring it on but you take the responsibility for it,” he told Muhyiddin.

Ramasamy said he was not a rioter but a “peacemaker” as he was involved in the Aceh peace process from 2004 to 2005 and in Sri Lanka from 2003 to 2006.

He added that in both countries he saw the devastation and the ruins of racial conflicts.

He recalled that he was also consulted for peace process in countries like Philippines and Columbia.

“I know the devastation if ethnic relations are not managed well,” he said.

“So it is with this background that I am saying, don’t threaten the Malaysians,” he added.

“Forget about May 13, it is the past, unpleasant. Let’s look forward and see how we can built up good foundations for ethnic relations,” he stressed.

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