'Ong and Karpal should apologise to the Tengku Mahkota'

KOTA BARU: The Kelantan People's Action Council (MTRK) said statements by certain parties that the speech by the Tengku Mahkota of Kelantan in Kuala Lumpur last week would destroy the unity and harmony among the various races, were extreme and an insult to the royal institution.

Council chairman Datuk Ibrahim Ali said those involved should apologise and called on the police to take take action against them under the Sedition Act, especially MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting and DAP chairman Karpal Singh. Ibrahim, who is also Pasir Mas MP, said the council supported the comments by the Tengku Mahkota when he opened a seminar on Malay unity at the Putra World Trade Centre last Saturday. "MTRK appreciates the concern shown by him and for the Malays to unite irrespective of their political affiliations. "What was voiced by him was a wake-up call for the Malays and should be received open heartedly," he said after a MTRK council meeting here yesterday. The Tengku Makhota said the special rights and privileges of Malays were not to be questioned and that it was inappropriate for other races to demand equal privileges just because they had Malaysian citizenship. Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra said the Malays were given the special rights and privileges in exchange for granting citizenship to 2.7 million people of other races. Karpal had criticised the Tengku Mahkota for making political statements that were "on the verge of sedition". "The Tengku Mahkota should have known better than to issue statements with a political flavour," said Karpal. "Royalty in the country must stay apolitical. Conventionally, royalty is required to do so," he said, adding that "the tone of the statements of the Tengku Mahkota was an affront to the other races in the country". Ong said the Tengku Mahkota was wrong in saying that it is inappropriate for non-Malays to seek equal rights. He said the various races had worked hard to attain the goals of nation-building for the past 50 years, for which they also contributed to the country's development. As such, they too had equal rights as enshrined in the constitution, he said. Ibrahim said the Tengku Mahkota's speech was not only about the Malays but also on the importance of the Malaysian people. Source: NST online 20/04/2008

I don't know what is happened to our country. I agreed with the statement make by Karpal Singh and Ong Ka Ting the issue on equality of other races in Malaysia.