'Malicious translation': Cops urged to probe 'crazy horse' dispute

Summary

• Petaling Jaya MCA Youth lodges a police report, claiming the term “crazy horse” was maliciously translated to mislead the public and cause unfair accusations.

• MCA Youth leaders warn that misinformation could deepen social divisions and urged authorities to investigate and prevent further spread of false information.

• The dispute arose after Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh alleged the term insulted Malays, while MCA leaders defended its intended meaning and criticised Akmal’s reaction.

The Petaling Jaya MCA Youth lodged a police report yesterday, urging authorities to investigate the dispute between the party and Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh over the term “crazy horse”.

The divisional youth wing believed the term had been maliciously translated and distorted to mislead the public, which placed the party at the receiving end of unfair accusations.

“What makes matters worse is that such misinformation could be exploited by ill-intentioned parties, further deepening social divisions and affecting harmony between different ethnic groups,” said its deputy chief Lee Yee Yuan.

“Therefore, MCA Youth urge the police to thoroughly investigate the matter to uphold the truth and prevent the further spread of false information,” he said.

In its statement yesterday, Petaling Jaya MCA Youth said the police report was lodged by its chief Teoh Tuck Wah, who was accompanied by Lee and several other party leaders.

Teoh emphasised that freedom of speech should be based on facts and reason, not misrepresentation and misinformation.

He urged all parties not to believe unverified information before the truth is fully clarified, to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings and conflicts.

“In a diverse society, harmonious coexistence is key to national stability. Rumours and misleading statements should not be allowed to erode mutual trust.”

Language war

On Jan 30, Akmal took aim at Johor MCA deputy publicity chief Law Yiak Kwang over the latter’s use of the Chinese term “癫马” in his social media posts, which literally translates as “crazy horse”.

The Chinese character “马” - pronounced mā - on its own means “horse”.

However, the character can also be used phonetically to represent the “ma” sound when transliterating from other languages, including the Chinese words for Malaysia, Malays, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and Akmal.

Akmal claimed the term was being used to mean “crazy Malays” and was insulting, but Law responded with a lengthy explanation stating that the term means “Akmal who always acts irrationally”.

Akmal had said he would instruct his and Umno Youth’s lawyers to initiate legal action against Law.

MCA vice-president Tan Teck Cheng later defended Law and urged Akmal not to overreact and instead reflect on his own actions and attitude rather than making repeated mistakes.

In response, Akmal fired back at Tan by reminding MCA that both of its parliamentary seats are in Malay-majority constituencies.

Umno supreme council member Puad Zarkashi also backed Akmal, urging MCA to reflect on why it has been abandoned by non-Malay voters.

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