Can't handle diversity? MCA Youth tells Ridhuan to migrate where hatred feels at home

MCA Youth has a suggestion for Ridhuan Tee Abdullah, the Chinese Muslim academic known for his acerbic and divisive views: emigrate.

And the wing’s deputy chairperson, Mike Chong, even has a destination in mind, somewhere “filled with hatred, antagonism, or even conflict”, but he stopped short of naming any particular country. 

After all, Chong suggested, Ridhuan (above) might finally “feel comfortable” in such a place, given his apparent inability to come to terms with the diversity that defines Malaysia.

Chong also had a choice selection of words for Ridhuan, accusing him of stoking hatred and antagonism while laying bare what he described as the academic’s narrow-mindedness.

“If Ridhuan feels he is unable to live in a peaceful, harmonious, diverse, and inclusive Malaysia, he does not need to continue to subject himself to this grievance.

“MCA Youth strongly advises him to voluntarily renounce his Malaysian citizenship and migrate,” he added.

'Hypocritical performance'

Chong’s trenchant suggestion came in response to Ridhuan accusing government leaders of hypocrisy and of staging a “performance” by attending the funeral of Dr Hasmah Ali.

Ridhuan, a lecturer at Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) in the Faculty of General Studies and Advanced Education, claimed that those who had ignored former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s wife when she was alive were now suddenly eager to display their kindness following her passing.

Chong was also stumped on a psychological level, asking: “What kind of mindset does Ridhuan possess that compels him to manufacture antagonism and provoke hatred over everything?”

“This is not Ridhuan’s first controversial remark. Recently, his rants ranged from accusing the Malaysia Airlines in-flight magazine of lacking Bahasa Malaysia, questioning why Hungry Ghost Festival celebration banners only used Chinese characters, and characterising the Unified Examination Certificate as a ‘product of communism’.

“He consistently steers issues towards ethnic, linguistic, and identity confrontation which could otherwise be discussed rationally. Now, even a funeral can become an outlet for his hatred,” he added.

'Think of the children'

Emphasising that a moment of national mourning should not be exploited to manufacture hate, Chong (below) likened Ridhuan’s words and actions to “someone walking around with a torch of hatred, indiscriminately fanning the flames on all sorts of issues”.

“As an academic with social influence, Ridhuan should treat his public statements with greater care and cease using tactics that tear society apart and manufacture antagonism simply to chase web traffic and show off.

“He should do so not only for the sake of his fellow Malaysians, but also for the well-being and future of his own descendants,” he added.

Two days ago, DAP lawmaker RSN Rayer lodged a police report against Ridhuan over a social media post, which the DAP MP said contained words that were “insulting, sarcastic, and disparaging” towards the Chinese community.

Central to Rayer’s report was Ridhuan’s use of the term “ultra kiasu harbi”, which conflates non-Muslim political figures with hostile combatants or “enemies of Islam”.

'This is not what Islam teaches us'

Separately, PKR’s Kota Anggerik assemblyperson Najwan Halimi also weighed in, backing MCA Youth’s criticism of Ridhuan and accusing the academic of repeatedly pushing divisive views on race and religion.

Najwan (above), also Shah Alam PKR chief, said such positions have no place in a multiracial country like Malaysia.

“His statements do not at all reflect the mindset of a rational and civilised scholar or Muslim.

“I do not understand what version of Islam Ridhuan subscribes to - day after day, he sows hatred and calls for division.

“The true teachings of Islam do not teach us what Ridhuan teaches,” he said.

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