Rayer tells Putrajaya to battle 'race baiters' with Nik Aziz, Karpal and Kit Siang

PARLIAMENT | Ridhuan Tee Abdullah, Zamri Vinoth and S Chandrasegaran. These three names rang out in the Dewan Rakyat as DAP lawmaker RSN Rayer accused them of stoking racial sentiments.

Ridhuan is an academic, Zamri a Muslim preacher, while Chandrasegaran, better known as Cikgu Chandra, is a social media personality who recently converted to Islam.

But Rayer had three other names to put on the table as well.

He mentioned the late PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, whom he regards as his “idol”; the late DAP chairperson Karpal Singh, whose portrait graces the background of his WhatsApp profile; and former DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang.

The Jelutong MP was making a case for Putrajaya to publish books, magazines and articles that would educate the younger generation on the importance of national unity, offering them a different set of role models amid what he sees as the rise of racial rhetoric.

“(The youth) can be educated by reading the material, especially on Nik Aziz (above, left), who was a statesman and my idol,” he said, interjecting during National Unity Minister Aaron Ago Dagang’s winding-up speech on Budget 2027.

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This was not the first time Rayer had made the pitch.

In 2023, he called for similar publications, arguing that they could dispel allegations that DAP leaders were communists while highlighting Nik Aziz’s contributions.

Although DAP has published several books on these leaders, none has received the government’s imprimatur.

'Already on ministry's agenda'

Responding to Rayer, Aaron said books on the figures specifically mentioned by the MP would be “implemented in the near future”, adding that the proposal was already on the ministry’s agenda.

The minister offered no further details, but stressed that his ministry regularly organises programmes to commemorate the contributions of statesmen across Malaysia.

Nik Aziz, known as Tok Guru, combined conservative religious teachings with a pragmatic political approach, helping shape PAS and its appeal beyond its traditional support base. He passed away in 2015.

Karpal, nicknamed the “Tiger of Jelutong”, was a formidable lawyer and one of DAP’s most recognisable leaders. He served as DAP national chairperson from 2004 until 2014. He died in a road accident in April that year.

Lim is among Malaysia’s longest-serving political figures, having joined DAP in 1966 and entered Parliament in 1969.

After more than five decades in politics, he retired from active political life in 2022, having witnessed DAP’s journey from an opposition party to the federal government.

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