MCA Senator YB Heng Seai Kie today refuted the alleged statement made by Datuk Tajudin Abdul Rahman, MP for Pasir Salak in Parliament as reported in the Sin Chew Daily on 2 July 2008. She took exception to the Sin Chew Daily report where Tajudin allegedly said, “with the exception of the Malays, all other races are pendatang (derogatory term for immigrants).”

Heng criticized Tajudin’s statement as tantamount to the ideology of racism. “This was an obvious distortion of facts as according to history, only the “orang asli” are the native people of the country and no one else.  Labeling Malaysian citizens as so-called pendatang is ridiculous and cannot be accepted by the public.”

Heng also highlighted that voters in the constituency of Pasir Salak comprised of 3 major races and there should not be any sort of race discrimination.  She cautioned that if the voters could elect him into Parliament, they could also remove him from there as well.  “Hence, he should not be so extreme and arrogant as people are wise enough to judge what is right and wrong.  No one should try to be hero just for the sake of their own personal agenda at the expense of the national unity.”

“As a politician, one must always be cautious in whatever one says.  They must always be responsible and must never create anything which are likely to cause chaos and disharmony among the people”, she added.

Looking at the General Election results of March 8, 2008, Heng reminded that the public has grown more alert in choosing whoever is capable in representing them in Parliament.

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