“I have been made a ‘victim’ for bringing some 50 people to attend Perkasa's Chinese New Year open house in Kampung Baru on Sunday.”
This is the position taken by embattled MCA Seputeh division committee member Collin Tiew.
Even though he knew it was organised by the Malay rights NGO Perkasa, he thought it was just a regular Chinese New Year visit and did not expect the function to turn controversial, Tiew (left) claimed yesterday.
"It was not my intention (to offend anyone), If my action has hurt the people's feelings, I would like to apologise to the Chinese community," he added.
Perkasa at its open house on Sunday stirred controversy after its chief Ibrahim Ali handed out ang pow in envelopes of white, a colour reserved for funerals in Chinese culture.
Tiew, who is also MCA Sri Desa branch chief, raised the ire of netizens for his presence at that event.
Tiew defends his speech
Defending his action, Tiew said he attended the event in his capacity as chairperson of a welfare association, not as an MCA member.
Asked why he had gone up on stage during the event and praised Perkasa, Liew claimed he was merely translating Ibrahim's speech for the Chinese audience.
"I had attended another open house and arrived half-way through Ibrahim's speech and the MC (master of ceremony) suddenly asked me to translate Ibrahim's speech.
"I do not endorse what he said, I merely translated it," he said.
When it was pointed out to Tiew that he had spoken first in Malay before repeating in Cantonese, Tiew said he did so because he found it necessary since Perkasa was the event organiser.
'I've never met Ibrahim before'
Tiew added that he had never met Ibrahim until yesterday and had only known the Perkasa chief from the newspapers.
If Ibrahim's event on Sunday had a personal agenda, then he owed an apology to the Chinese community, said Tiew.
Because of the white ang pow incident, even his family has become a target of criticism, he said, adding that he, too, was personally upset by the white ang pow packets and was outraged by Ibrahim's ignorance of Chinese culture.
"When the 1Malaysia concept is said to be just a slogan, he (Ibrahim) is an example of this," he said.
Asked if he regretted attending yesterday event, Tiew replied: "If Ibrahim Ali did this for his personal agenda, then I regret it... I am being condemned, I'm a victim of this incident.”
Even though he knew it was organised by the Malay rights NGO Perkasa, he thought it was just a regular Chinese New Year visit and did not expect the function to turn controversial, Tiew (left) claimed yesterday."It was not my intention (to offend anyone), If my action has hurt the people's feelings, I would like to apologise to the Chinese community," he added.
Perkasa at its open house on Sunday stirred controversy after its chief Ibrahim Ali handed out ang pow in envelopes of white, a colour reserved for funerals in Chinese culture.
Tiew, who is also MCA Sri Desa branch chief, raised the ire of netizens for his presence at that event.
Tiew defends his speech
Defending his action, Tiew said he attended the event in his capacity as chairperson of a welfare association, not as an MCA member.
Asked why he had gone up on stage during the event and praised Perkasa, Liew claimed he was merely translating Ibrahim's speech for the Chinese audience."I had attended another open house and arrived half-way through Ibrahim's speech and the MC (master of ceremony) suddenly asked me to translate Ibrahim's speech.
"I do not endorse what he said, I merely translated it," he said.
When it was pointed out to Tiew that he had spoken first in Malay before repeating in Cantonese, Tiew said he did so because he found it necessary since Perkasa was the event organiser.
'I've never met Ibrahim before'
Tiew added that he had never met Ibrahim until yesterday and had only known the Perkasa chief from the newspapers.
If Ibrahim's event on Sunday had a personal agenda, then he owed an apology to the Chinese community, said Tiew.
Because of the white ang pow incident, even his family has become a target of criticism, he said, adding that he, too, was personally upset by the white ang pow packets and was outraged by Ibrahim's ignorance of Chinese culture."When the 1Malaysia concept is said to be just a slogan, he (Ibrahim) is an example of this," he said.
Asked if he regretted attending yesterday event, Tiew replied: "If Ibrahim Ali did this for his personal agenda, then I regret it... I am being condemned, I'm a victim of this incident.”
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