KUALA LUMPUR: Minister in the Prime Ministers Department, P. Waytha Moorthy (pix) yesterday urged Pasir Salak Member of Parliament (MP) Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman to sincerely apologise over his holy ash remark.
Waytha Moorthy in a statement here today said as a member of Parliament, Tajuddin should have been more knowledgeable about the seriousness of his remarks to Jelutong MP, R .S. N Rayer.
“The holy ash is divine and sacred to Hindus, all over the world. His comments are very insulting to the community. To totally understand the religious practice of other races and other religious believes is a must for a person of his responsibility,” he said.
Meanwhile, Waytha Moorthy also demanded that Tajuddin should openly apologise to Rayer and the Indian community immediately in the spirit of being truly Malaysian.
He also expressed his support for the proposed action by the Human Resources Minister M. Kula Segaran to refer Tajuddin to the Parliament’s Rights and Privileges Committee regarding the matter.
“Insults to any religion or ethnic groups should never be uttered in the new Malaysia especially by an experienced member of Parliament such as the Pasir Salak MP. Nonetheless, I hope he apologises to all Hindus in Malaysia and especially to Rayer sincerely”, he added.
On Tuesday (Dec 3), the media reported that Tajuddin was suspended for two days from the Dewan Rakyat after he had repeatedly asked Rayer if he was wearing former communist leader Chin Peng’s ashes on his forehead. — Bernama
