Malaysian Insider, Teresa Kok slams Kong’s ‘grateful Chinese’ remarks, 12 April 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 — Seputeh DAP MP Teresa Kok has urged Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha to condemn racial and religious discrimination in Peninsular Malaysia instead of using it to remind Sarawak Chinese of their relative freedoms.

She pointed out that the benefits touched upon by the MCA secretary-general were guaranteed to all Malaysians by law, accusing him of trying to remain relevant by resorting to narrow, race-based politics.

“Kong is still trapped in the narrow, race-based politics employed by MCA to justify their existence,” Kok (picture) said in a statement today.

Kong told Sibu’s Chinese community on Sunday to be contented and grateful for the job opportunities and civil liberties given them as this meant they were better off than the Chinese in Peninsular Malaysia.

“A Chinese district officer is unheard of in any other part of the country. And nowhere else in Malaysia do you have a Chinese mayor,” he had said.

But Kok stressed today that appointments should be based on merit not race — in keeping with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1 Malaysia concept — and that freedom of religion in Sarawak was enshrined in Article 11 of the Federal Constitution.

She took Kong to task for warning the Chinese there of a possible backlash if they voted the opposition as this showed that the MCA itself was unsure if its Barisan Nasional (BN) partners would uphold the interests of Sarawak’s Chinese population.

Kong had said that the ruling coalition might use SUPP’s lack of support to dilute representation in the state legislature for the Chinese, who make up 20 per cent of Sarawak’s population.

“He can hardly expect Sarawak voters to trust BN with their future when he himself does not trust BN component parties,” Kok added.