COMMENT The rabid, racist statement by Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob urging Malay consumers to boycott Chinese businesses has snowballed from the aberration of one errant minister, to a crisis of an entire errant cabinet of 35 ministers because of the extraordinary and outrageous decision by the cabinet to sanction, condone and defend Ismail’s racist fulminations.

Today is the first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman’s 112th birthday anniversary. I have no doubt that if the Ismail Sabri episode had happened in Tunku’s time as PM, Ismail would have been made to apologise for his racist fulminations and even been sacked from Tunku’s cabinet.

This was why, in my statement six days ago on Feb 2, I had said:

“If a past minister had done what Ismail did under the first three PMs - Tunku Abdul Rahman, Abdul Razak Hussein and Hussein Onn - he would have been sacked on the spot immediately after the expression of such racist sentiments, for it would be conclusive proof of his total unsuitability to continue as a cabinet minister in a plural society.

“I think such a minister would have been sacked by Dr Mahathir Mohamad ( right ) during his 22 years of premiership, although Mahathir may now look for excuses to come to Ismail’s defence or rescue.”

Mahathir has since proven me wrong, for he had publicly expressed his disapproval for Ismail’s racist fulminations - rightly pointing out that the rising cost of living had nothing to do with ethnicity.

But Mahathir had tried to soften his blow of disapproval by saying, “Maybe he (Ismail) didn’t think (about) what he said. If he thinks carefully, he would not say 'boycott Chinese goods'.”

Mahathir said Malay and Indian businesses were also not reducing their prices and not all traders are Chinese, stressing, “This is not about Chinese or Malay, this is about oil prices going down, but goods prices are not going down.”

I also do not think there would have been a place for such a rank racist in the cabinet under Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s premiership.

Weakest PM in M'sian history?

Why then, is Najib the only one of six PMs to sanction, condone and defend Ismail’s racist fulminations when the other five prime ministers before him would never have done such a thing?

Is this because he is the weakest prime minister in the nation’s 58-year history?

All the other 34 ministers have done a great disservice to their ministerial offices and their own credibility and reputation in lining up behind Ismail to deny the undeniable, to defend the indefensible that the agriculture and agro-based industry minister had crossed the line of what is permissible for a minister, in making a rabid racist call on a matter which has nothing to do with ethnicity.

Ismail had, in fact, betrayed his oath of ministerial office to serve all Malaysians regardless of race, religion or region.

In sanctioning, condoning and defending Ismail’s racist fulminations, all the other 34 cabinet ministers - regardless of their political party of origin - have also betrayed their oath of ministerial office.

The cabinet on Wednesday (Feb 11) should revisit the Ismail Sabri case, and it must be made clear to Ismail that he should unconditionally retract and apologise for this baseless racist fulmination, or he should be sacked from the cabinet - if not as a decision of the PM, then as a decision of the cabinet by way of a cabinet resolution.

Malaysia cannot have a minister who lives in the world of 'double think', 'double talk' and 'double act'.

Yet, now the country is also in danger of having a 'double think', 'double talk' and 'double act' cabinet.

Wednesday is the last opportunity for the cabinet to prove that the 34 ministers have pulled back from the precipice and have not joined the rank of Ismail Sabri to 'double think', 'double talk' and 'double act'.

But rest assured, even if there is such a minister or cabinet, the overwhelming majority of Malaysians - regardless of race, religion or region - will not be subdued or cowed into a people of 'double think', 'double talk' and 'double act' for they will continue to be decent, sensible and moderate human beings who will not allow the rhetoric and politics of hate, intolerance, bigotry and extremism to govern their lives.

LIM KIT SIANG is DAP parliamentary leader and MP for Gelang Patah.