Wanita chief Heng Seai Kie is not a quiet politician. She is one of the MCA leaders who releases the most number of Chinese statements. It was therefore surprising to me at first that she herself has not come out to defend her appointment as a special adviser in the Prime Minister’s Department.
However, after reading the laughable defence put up by MCA Beliawanis chief Ivone Low Yi Wen, I can now understand why Heng has chosen not to defend her appointment. She is experienced enough to know not to defend the indefensible, unlike the young Beliawanis chief.
In defending Heng, Ivone has said:
“With her well-known gentle personality, the appointment of Datuk Heng as a special adviser in the Prime Minister’s Department is timely and crucial, looking at the recent spike in racial and religious extremism, which asserts the urgency to implement the national unity blueprint.”
It is truly laughable that Ivone has cited Heng’s well known gentle personality as a defence against my argument that Heng is not suitable and unqualified to handle unity matters due to her racial approach to the GST issue. If she cannot find a better excuse, then it will be better for her not to say what is laughable.
I reiterate that Heng, who had said Chinese should support the Goods and Services Tax (GST) as Malays would need to pay more, is most unsuitable and unqualified to handle unity issues.
On Ivone’s claim that Hang’s remarks were misquoted by Chinapress, I will advise Ivonne not to repeat half truth just to defend Heng.
Below is part of the statement contents which I had released on May 7 in response to Heng’s claim that she was quoted by Chinapress which had apologized to her:
“However, unless Heng can satisfactorily explain two questions, she is guilty of “thief shouting thief “when she alleged that the opposition was racialising her comments.
Firstly, Chinapress has on April 30 published her interview titled “Heng Seai Kie: High income, fewer children, Chinese should not oppose GST (王赛芝: 收入高孩子少, 华裔最不該反对 GST).
Then on May 1, Chinapress apologised to her for misinterpreting her statements and carried a correction report titled “Heng Seai Kie: Everyone pays, GST is beneficial to Chinese community (王赛芝: 要全民買單, 消费税对华社有利)
In the correction report, it contained her following comments:-
1. GST is absolutely good for the Chinese community because it is a tax system where everyone pays. In the previous tax system, 90 % of the tax payers are Chinese, but GST is a policy where everyone pays and the government no longer places the taxpaying responsibility on the Chinese community only.
2. Chinese should not oppose GST because Chinese have the highest income in the nation, so previously, 90% of the nation’s tax revenue came from Chinese, now it is ‘a net for all”, so long one spends, one has to pay for goods consumed.
3. Chinese families have fewer children, compared to Malays, there will be less spending, naturally Chinese will pay less GST ( the term used here is友族which is clear reference to Malays .In her recorded interview, she has said Malays )
4. In Malaysia, anyone can oppose GST, but the Chinese have no reason whatsoever to oppose it because Chinese have fewer children, and when one spends less, one pays less GST.
So why till today Heng has not objected to this corrected report? Why has she been saying that Chinapress has clarified the wrong report when she knows the fact is Chinapress only apologoised for the April 30 report? The question of apology over the May 1 report does not arise. In fact, the May 1 report was a corrected report.”
In fact, many netizens who had read the corrected report and listened to the recorded interview available in the social media had even questioned why did Chinapress have to clarify the April 30 ‘wrong report” when what was reported was true.
It is irresponsible that Ivone has accused “a certain online news portal biased towards DAP had, at that time, viciously manipulated the quite to create racial hatred for their own agenda during the by election”.
Although Ivonne did not name the portal, I believe she was referring to Malaysiakini which had carried a report on May 2. But the truth is that Malaysiakini report is based on the recorded interview.
It is a joke for Heng Seai Kie to be made special adviser to implement the national unity blueprint. I call on the Prime Minister to withdraw the appointment which is also most unnecessary and a waste of public funds.