Assembly rejects motion to discuss Dr Mahathir's statement

SHAH ALAM: The Selangor State Assembly today rejects an emergency motion to discuss an issue involving a statement by Pakatan Harapan chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who allegedly insulted the Bugis ethnic group which raised the ire of the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.
State Assembly Speaker, Hannah Yeoh Tseow Suan rejected the motion submitted by Datuk Abdul Shukor Idrus (BN-Kuang) at the sitting citing that the issue was not something which needed to be speeded up.
Shukor, when submitting the emergency motion, requested that the Selangor State Government respected the speech of the Sultan of Selangor and, appropriately, state leaders should bar Dr Mahathir from taking part in any Selangor state government activities including banning his use of any state government-owned premises.
"I bring this emergency motion because of the insult to the Bugis ethnic group by Dr Mahathir which has caused anger and negative reactions from the public especially from those of Bugis ancestry.
"In fact, the meeting of the Selangor Council of the Royal Court in its statement on Nov 2 said the matter was viewed seriously and the Sultan of Selangor was very disappointed at such an accusation," he told reporters when commenting on the rejection of the motion at the State Assembly lobby here today.
In this regard, Abdul Shukor said he and Barisan Nasional elected representatives would send a memorandum to express support to Sultan Sharafuddin soon.
"It is also a sign that we, BN State Assemblymen, stand firm to defend the Sultan of Selangor and the Malay Sultans," he said.
Dr Mahathir, when speaking at a gathering organised by the opposition in Petaling Jaya on Oct 14, tried to link Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak's descendents as possibly originating from Bugis pirates.
As a result of the statement, Sultan Sharafuddin whose family tree and ancestry were Bugis, was angry and very disappointed with the words which he saw as trying to instigate Malaysians into hating, insulting and viewing with suspicion the Bugis people.
The issue also received a reaction from the Indonesian vice-president Jusuf Kalla who admitted he was offended by the statement.
Prior to this, several quarters representing the Bugis community in Malaysia also demanded that Dr Mahathir tendered an open apology for his remark. — Bernama