Hate speech enforcement must be impartial, says MCA Wanita chief

KUALA LUMPUR: Hate speech enforcement must be impartial, even if it is against senior government leaders.
Wanita MCA chief Datuk Heng Seai Kie made the above statement when asked for her stand on Umno leaders who made racially provocative statements and supported the right-wing Red Shirts.
"It is across the board. We fully support enforcement (on hate speech) by the Police, and it applies to all regardless," Heng told the press after closing the Wanita MCA AGM at Intercontinental Hotel today.
Deputy Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman reportedly said Chinese people should be slapped if they requests help from China.
Tajuddin initially said he was misquoted but dialled back and said he was joking after an audio recording of his remark surfaced.
MCA and Gerakan had sent official complaints the the BN leadership and demanded an apology from the Pasir Salak MP, but he refused to budge.
The remark was in response to China's Ambassador to Malaysia Huang Huikang's statement that China will not hesitate to speak up for overseas Chinese who are victims of racial discrimination.
Meanwhile at the AGM, Wanita MCA members passed eight resolutions unanimously.
These include empowering the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to conduct independent investigations, rejecting racial and religious extremism, transparent governance, and equal rights for women.
On advancing women's rights, Heng said women in Malaysia are still lacking as 95% of incest, domestic violence, rape, and sexual abuse victims are women.
She said the cases recorded by police, 6,052 for all four types of abuse combined, are merely the tip of the iceberg and women need to be accorded more legal protection.
Wanita MCA is also doing its part by forming the Legal Advisory and Women's Aid Centre (Lawa) at Wisma MCA and a Law and Policy Reform Committee to amend or improve existing laws to advance women's rights.
Meanwhile, Heng said Wanita MCA will also step up efforts to recruit more Chinese youth to fill up the 100,000 vacant jobs in the civil service.
She said only 2.06% of the civil service are Chinese, even lesser than Indians, who make up 3.7% in the Malay dominated sector.
Heng said she is aiming for the Chinese to make up 30% of the civil service in order to foster better inter-racial and religious relations.
She also called on the BN leadership to form a disciplinary mechanism to take action against all in BN who make racially or religiously charged statements.
Meanwhile, simmering discontent against the establishment among members was also observed as many applauded in approval when contentious issues were raised by speakers.
Among these is the inability of the government to resolve the hudud debate, to resolve the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) issue, and to put vernacular education issues to rest.
Several delegates also slammed the government's tacit approval, and Umno's by extension, of racially provocative Red Shirts rallies and noted leaders who made racist statements but got away scot-free.
It was also pointed out that MCA's central leadership does not seem to consider grassroot sentiments, especially when it comes to controversial issues.