After apology, Selangor Umno demands Kulasegaran resign for ‘pendatang’ remark

(MMO) – Selangor Umno Youth demanded the resignation of Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran despite the latter’s apology and retraction of the word “pendatang” in a recent speech today.

The wing’s state leader Rizam Ismail said the DAP lawmaker must offer further proof of his remorse than a mere apology, insisting that the use of the word which means immigrants, was sensitive to the Malays and can affect interracial harmony.

“I feel if he thinks he is someone ethical, rightfully he should feel ashamed and resign over what he said.

“A minister who does not know history is not qualified to be a minister,” Rizam told reporters outside the Selangor police headquarters here ahead of filing police complaints against Kulasegaran.

He said that as a minister, Kulasegaran should have been more careful when making statements.

“He must respect the Federal Constitution, and don’t manipulate the history on Malaysia’s formation,” Rizam added.

The Umno man said Kulasegaran should not be allowed off the hook because the president of Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia, Abdullah Zaik Abdul Rahman, had been charged with sedition and penalised two years ago for issuing a similar remark in an academic paper published on his Islamic right’s group’s website.

Earlier today, Kulasegaran apologised and withdrew use of the word made in a Tamil speech reportedly on the Malay archipelago’s history and immigration during a function in Nilai, Negri Sembilan last week.

The matter sparked controversy after Malay daily Utusan Malaysia reported last Friday that Kulasegaran made the statement that Malays were “pendatang” in Malaysia, while Indians were the original residents of this country.

The very next day, the Ipoh Barat MP accused the paper of twisting his remark to provoke racial tension.

According to Kulasegaran, he had explained in his speech that Indians arrived in the Malay Archipelago 2,500 years ago and brought Hinduism with them, citing as proof the archaeological discoveries in Kedah’s Lembah Bujang area, including the discovery of Sungai Batu.

He said history showed Hinduism to be the earliest religion embraced by locals in the Malay peninsula and archipelago and that this was later expanded to Buddhism, before Islam was brought to the region and popularised in the 15th century.