Racists are those disregarding local sensitivities: Akmal to Tiong

Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh has rebutted Tourism, Arts, and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing’s assertion that Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s (DBKL) crackdown on business signages was racist.

Akmal instead implied that the raided businesses were the ones that were racist.

“The ones who are being racist are those who have lived in Malaysia for so long but still pretend not to understand the laws and sensitivities of the people in this country, minister,” Akmal said in a statement.

He was responding to recent remarks by Tiong, as the latter said he is receiving questions from foreign tourists on whether Malaysia is a racist or religiously extreme nation after DBKL launched a large-scale operation raiding premises that allegedly erected illegal signages.

While details are scarce, remarks by Tiong and Bukit Bintang MP Fong Kui Lun imply that city hall also cracked down on businesses with signs that did not comply with Malay-language requirements.

Last month DBKL was accused of selectively targeting Chinese businesses in a similar operation.

Commenting on this, Akmal drew comparisons with other countries where national languages dominate public signage.

“If you go to other countries, they prioritise their own language on signboards, and only then will there be additions in other languages.

“If even such a simple matter cannot be understood, how can they make others understand? Or is it that they really don’t understand Malay?” he said.

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