Cut political ties with Akmal, Penang DAP Youth urges party leadership

Upset with Dr Akmal Saleh’s incendiary attacks, Penang DAP Youth called on its national leadership to cut political ties with the Umno Youth chief.

“Akmal’s actions are getting overboard, and his methods are becoming a clear and present danger to national harmony and the rule of law.

“Penang DAP Youth stresses that such actions are unforgivable and we urge the DAP national leadership to cut all forms of political cooperation with Akmal, especially in the next general election,” it said in a statement today.

The statement follows Akmal’s protest against a hardware store owner in Kepala Batas, Penang, yesterday, after the businessperson was caught on video hanging a Jalur Gemilang upside down.

After the incident went viral on social media, the store owner, Pang Chin Tian, claimed that he was measuring the length of an iron pole while hanging the national flag and did not notice that the flag was upside down.

Pang had since been investigated and arrested by police, but despite this, Akmal had on Monday threatened to show up at the store and “educate” the man if authorities do not charge Pang in two days.

According to Penang DAP Youth, Akmal had committed serious violations of the country’s rule of law with his actions.

It said the Umno Youth chief did not only act against the coalition government’s inclusive principle, but had also incited racial sentiments and undermined public confidence in the government’s ability to maintain the country’s stability.

“While Akmal always chants patriotic slogans, he was actually abusing the issue as a cheap political stunt for his personal political mileage.

“Akmal’s gangster act has threatened public order and the rakyat’s freedom to do business.

“Penang DAP Youth wants to stress that when a politician is allowed to act unlawfully while he continues to incite racial hatred, Malaysia will become a country that is scary for its own citizens,” it said.

Sleeping with enemy

In a separate statement, DAP Youth chief Woo Kah Leong chided Akmal for joining forces with Bersatu Youth in yesterday's protest.

He said the Umno Youth chief had failed to address criticisms against his double standards when dealing with similar blunders by the party wing and PAS.

"However, he could mount attacks on this petty trader and even resort to attacking DAP and Pakatan Harapan, just to seek publicity.

"(Akmal) even hugged Bersatu and PAS youth wings.

"Perhaps he had forgotten that it was Bersatu and PAS that defeated Umno in most of the seats they contested (in the previous general election).

"He could sleep with the enemy for his personal interests...," Woo said.

Adding further, the DAP leader also took a dig at Akmal's language prowess for spelling a Malay word “biadab”, which means rude, incorrectly.

It is believed that he is referring to a statement issued by the Merlimau state assemblyperson on Sunday, where he described those who disrespected the Jalur Gemilang as "biadap".

"He also could not understand a simple message and thought that he was the party president, equating himself with the party.

"What a thick face. It is a shame to have a creature like this in the coalition government," Woo said.

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