May 21, 2011
Ibrahim says his gifts of fertiliser and other items to Chinese constituents meant he was not racist. — file pic
KUALA LUMPUR, May 21 — Perkasa chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali stressed today that he was not a racist, and held up his contributions to his Chinese constituents as evidence of this.
The Pasir Mas MP pointed out that he had given fertiliser to Chinese farmers, contributed RM5,000 to celebrations at a Chinese temple, fixed a pothole-ridden road to a temple and also given cash to high-scoring Chinese and Malay students.
“(This is) proof that Datuk Ibrahim Ali, Perkasa president, is not racist (and) is attentive to all races — 1Msia,” said Ibrahim in capital letters in a text message today.
“What is being defended is the federal constitution and this is the same with the command and reminder from the Conference of Rulers,” added Ibrahim.
The Independent lawmaker said there were no Indian students or voters in his constituency in Kelantan.
In his text message, Ibrahim asked online news portals like The Malaysian Insider, Malaysiakini, Free Malaysia Today, as well as English-language daily The Star and the Chinese media to pay attention to a picture of him with 200 Chinese farmers, which was printed in Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia today.
Ibrahim also told The Malaysian Insider that he had donated hundreds of thousands of ringgit and helped raise funds for three Chinese temples in his constituency.
Perkasa has come under fire from the opposition and even the MCA for its strident race rhetoric, which the Chinese party has blamed for Barisan Nasional (BN)’s inability to regain the community’s support.
Perkasa has also declared its willingness to lead the “1 Melayu, 1 Bumi” movement mooted by Utusan Malaysia recently, despite objection from its patron Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to the proposal.
Ibrahim himself recently threatened Christians nationwide with a jihad or holy war should they proceed with a supposed agenda to usurp Islam.
The pint-sized fiery politician’s warning came after Utusan published an unsustantiated report on May 7, claiming a secret pact between the DAP and Christian leaders to install a Christian as prime minister and oust Islam as the religion of the federation.
Today, Ibrahim took pains to highlight how he has donated oranges, hampers and angpows to the poor during Chinese festivals.
“You can go to Pasir Mas and ask the Chinese there,” he told The Malaysian Insider.
Perkasa started out as a one-man movement in the aftermath of Election 2008 but has since grown into a vocal pressure group on matters related to the Malay community and what the group describes as “Malay special rights”. It is a non-governmental organisation but counts many Umno members in its ranks.
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