PAS leader disrespected Agong, armed forces - PPP Youth

Summary

• PPP Youth chief S Sathiah says Sungai Buloh PAS division chief Zaharudin Muhammad had undermined the armed forces and Agong’s wisdom after seemingly taking issue with the appointment of Malaysia’s first Chinese lieutenant general.

• He says Zaharudin’s remarks are disrespectful to the nation’s highest institutions.

• DAP assemblyperson S Preakas also urges the opposition’s top leadership to state their stand on the matter.

Criticisms mount against Sungai Buloh PAS division chief Zaharudin Muhammad for seemingly taking issue with the appointment of Malaysia’s first Chinese lieutenant general.

People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Youth chief S Sathiah said not only did Zaharuddin (above) undermine the armed forces, he also seemed to be questioning the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s wisdom, who serves as the supreme commander of the armed forces.

“This is not only disrespectful but can also be seen as incitement and an affront to one of the nation’s highest institutions.

“PPP Youth urges the authorities to take firm action against this racially charged and seditious remark.

“Racial politics must never be used as a tool to sow hatred and division among Malaysians who live in a diverse and multicultural society,” he said in a statement today.

In the now-deleted social media post, Zaharudin had penned a hypothetical scenario set in 2058, where a Chinese individual from Kampung Sungai Baru - now a Malay enclave - is appointed as Malaysia’s 50th prime minister.

Zaharudin, who is PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s son-in-law, attached a screenshot of a news article dated yesterday on the armed forces’ promotion of Johnny Lim from major general to lieutenant general, but denied he was linking the two.

The PAS leader’s comment drew brickbats from several quarters, with DAP national adviser Lim Guan Eng urging the authorities to mete out “severe punishment” against the former.

Echoing Guan Eng’s sentiments, Human Resources Minister Steven Sim said Zaharudin’s remarks were “heartbreaking”.

“When enemy bullets come flying, they don’t ask whether our soldiers are Malay, Chinese, Indian, Kadazan, Iban, or Orang Asli. Yet, when an appointment is announced, some people choose to see race before sacrifice,” Sim added.

State your stand, opposition

DAP assemblyperson S Preakas challenged PAS and Perikatan Nasional’s top leadership to state their stand on Zaharudin’s statement.

“Do you support this racist statement, or will you disown it?

“If you have any credibility left, condemn it publicly. Show Malaysians that you still have a shred of decency,” the Kota Kemuning lawmaker said in a statement today.

However, he expressed doubt that the opposition leadership would distance themselves from Zaharudin’s remarks, given their tendency to play the race and religion cards.

“Your political survival depends on sowing fear and mistrust. You hide behind religion and race while others do the real work of nation-building.

“Your cowardice is deafening,” he added.

It should be noted that earlier, PAS central committee member Annuar Musa lauded Johnny’s promotion, adding that national defence must rise above racial narrow-mindedness.

The PAS and PN leadership have yet to issue any statement on the matter.

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