Abdulah Slams Genocide Claim

By YENG AI CHUN
aichun@thestar.com.my

PENANG: If Malaysia practised genocide or apartheid, half the Cabinet would not be filled with non-Muslims, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said.

“When Hindraf said we carried out genocide, its allegation was a sign of evil.Please think about the Cabinet.

“Half of it is non-Malays, non-Umno members and non-Muslims,” he said at a press conference at the IMT-GT SME Conference & Expo 2007 here yesterday.
He said the Cabinet would not follow the Government if such atrocities were being practised.

“You think they (the Cabinet) would go with the government and allow themselves to be associated with it? Tak masuk akal (This does not make sense),” he said, referring to a front-page article in a foreign newspaper that claimed Malaysia was practising apartheid against Hindus.

Abdullah said only those who did not know the real situation would be hoodwinked.

The Prime Minister also expressed concern over the slew of rumours via SMS that could bring discord to the country.

“When the country gets into trouble, who will win or benefit? Nobody,” he said.
Abdullah said that instead it would affect the economy and “that is why we need to consciously guard the peace in the country.”

“We must always ensure that our relationship (between each other) is well and we must always be united,” he emphasised.

Abdullah said that based on his experience as the former Foreign Minister, he found that the international community did not understand the political situation in Malaysia and they often had a wrong perception on Malaysian politics.

“They don’t really understand the power-sharing concept practised by the Barisan Nasional Government because such cooperation of political parties has never worked and existed in their countries,” he said.