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©The
Sun (Used by permission)
by Himanshu Bhatt and Giam Say Khoon
GEORGE TOWN (Sept 3, 2008): Umno Bukit Bendera division head Datuk Ahmad Ismail
has been summoned by the police to give his statement following a string of
reports lodged against him for allegedly uttering seditious remarks in public.
Penang deputy police chief SAC(I) Datuk Salleh Mat Rashid confirmed that they
have traced Ahmad, who had kept a low profile since he was reported by
vernacular newspapers to have made an anti-Chinese statement on Aug 25, during
the Permatang Pauh by-election.
Ahmad had allegedly said that the Chinese are "pendatang" (immigrants) in
Malaysia, and could therefore not enjoy equality with others.
The DAP, MCA and Gerakan have since lodged police reports against Ahmad, and
also asked him to apologise.
Deputy Prime Minister and Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had
on Tuesday apologised for the remark, calling it “unwarranted” and not
reflective of Umno’s stand.
Salleh told reporters that Ahmad was being investigated under Section 4(1)(B) of
the Sedition Act 1948 for uttering seditious words and they hope to wrap up the
probe by this week.
He added police will then submit its investigation papers to the
Attorney-General’s Chambers for a decision on whether to prosecute Ahmad.
If convicted as a first-time offender under that Act, Ahmad is liable to a fine
not exceeding RM 5,000 or imprisonment of a minimum of three years or both.
“Hopefully we can record his statement today (Sept 3),” he said at a press
conference at the state police headquarters yesterday.
He added that statements are also being taken from witnesses and people who were
present when he was said to have made the remarks.
“We hope the public will not make an issue of this case. This is a racial
matter. Just leave it to the police. We are going to investigate.”
He added there were five reports made against Ahmad at police stations at Bukit
Mertajam, Datuk Keramat, Jalan Tun HS Lee, Jalan Pattani and Petaling Jaya.
Salleh declined to comment if the speech in which Ahmad had made the remark had
been video-taped by the police.
MCA Youth chief Datuk Liow Tiong Lai, who is also Health Minister, said the
party appreciated Najib's apology, but felt Ahmad must apologise personally and
should also face disciplinary action.
"In BN, we do not have a space for extremists to spread their extreme views
which will hurt others' feelings and we are expecting him to apologise."
Asked whether Ahmad should also be prosecuted, Liow said they had lodged a
police report, "so let the police do the job and let the laws to take its due
process."
Gerakan Youth chairman Datuk Mah Siew Keong also said Ahmad must apologise and
explain to the people.
"I am grateful that the deputy prime minister apologised over the incident; it
was a good gesture from Umno. However, Ahmad was the one who made the statement,
he has clearly done wrong and hurt so many people. If he does not explain to us
or his explanation is not good enough, he will have to face disciplinary
action."
Parti Keadilan Rakyat's information chief Tian Chua said Ahmad's remark was a
"mild" issue because "the entire campaign in the by-election was run on racism".
He said the BN should not just blame one person.
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