PERMATANG PAUH BY-ELECTION: Anwar accuses Umno of using race

SEBERANG PERAI (Aug21, 2008) : Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has accused Umno of using a race to "fool" the Malays in the run-up to the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election.
Pointing to BN leaflets being circulated door-to-door that depicted him as being pro-Chinese, he said: “What is sad is that what I say about my concerns for Malays is being deleted.”

He noted, for example, that reports of his assertion that he was for “ketuanan rakyat” (people supremacy), that included Malays, Chinese and Indians, were manipulated such that his comments on the Malays went missing, leaving people to perceive he was favouring the non-Malays.

“They are using a racist agenda to fool the Malays. I am a Malay and I feel sad when my people are being fooled like this,” he told reporters after a campaign walkabout at the Penanti market.

Anwar said the by-election has been the roughest since the 1999 general election because of the profane accusations that have been made.

He also said he favoured mathematics and science to be taught in Malay and Chinese at national and Chinese schools, respectively, with an additional programme introduced to boost the English language.

Although English was important, many students not proficient in English were encountering problems coping with the use of English in the two subjects. “We will leave it to the education professionals to decide,” he said.

On Health Minister and Penang MCA chairman Datuk Liow Tiong Lai’s claim that Anwar could not have seen the second medical report on his sodomy case, Anwar told Liow to concentrate on his own work in the ministry.

“He should serve the ministry professionally. He should not be serving to fulfil Umno’s plans and conspiracy," he added.

Himanshu Bhatt
The Sun
21/08/08

No comments: