PUTRAJAYA: There needs to be some form of rationality in understanding the context of the word ‘pariah’ used by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad when he recently commented on Lynas Malaysia Corp, Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yasin said today.
“Don’t overreact, I think we need to establish the facts and be rational, and because of the certain things, a police report is immediately lodged. It is not likely for the Prime Minister not to know what he is talking about,” he said when commenting on the police report lodged by several Kapar PKR members against Dr Mahathir for using the word ‘pariah’ when commenting on the Lynas issue.
According to an online news portal, in his report lodged at the Sungai Kapar police station, V. Maneyvannan had condemned the use of the word, saying that it had hurt the feelings of the Indian community.
Dr Mahathir was reported to have said that rare earth producer Lynas should not be treated as a ‘pariah’ and be told to stop production and leave the country as the move would be detrimental to the government’s efforts in attracting foreign direct investment.
Muhyiddin, when speaking to reporters after the launch of the Home Ministry’s National Month celebration, said the whole matter had been grossly misinterpreted.
“So this is an issue of the context it (the word) is being used and not what you think it is because when you mention pariah, please do not think that it relates to Indians ... that is not right,” he said.
Muhyiddin was also asked about United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights Professor Philip Alston’s statement that Malaysia’s position that less than 25,000 households in the entire country live in poverty (or 0.4%) was unrealistic.
Muhyiddin, who is also Bersatu president, said the government would take cognisance on Alston’s findings to ensure whether they were factual or a case of random sampling.
“There must be certain basic principles on how to measure things like poverty and if we just select certain areas, looking here and there, and you say the whole country is facing the problem when there are 30 million people in Malaysia, then it is not the right way to do it,” he said.
Muhyiddin said Malaysia had undertaken and embarked on the journey to eradicate poverty since the New Economic Policy was initiated during Tun Razak Hussein’s time.
“I think we has succeeded but the issue now is on percentage wise, it has be to based on factual records,“ he added. — Bernama
