A YOUTH delegation from Seberang Perai has lodged a police report against PAS Sungai Buloh division head Zaharuddin Muhammad, accusing him of inciting racial tensions through a now-deleted Facebook post speculating on the future leadership of Malaysia.
The report, filed at the Bukit Mertajam district police headquarters in Perda late last night, was submitted by volunteers from the Seberang Perai Tengah district youth council, with the support of the Armed Forces Veterans Association.
The statement accompanying the police report was issued via the office of Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim Chee Keong, who also serves as Penang DAP liaison chairperson and the country’s Minister of Human Resources. Sim has previously engaged in a heated public exchange with Zaharuddin.
According to the group, Zaharuddin’s remarks were not merely speculative but laced with racial undertones that threaten national harmony. The post in question suggested that by the year 2058, Malaysia’s 50th prime minister could be of Chinese descent — linking this to the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) retirement programme, which invites global retirees to reside in Malaysia.
The post drew further ire for including an image of a Malaysian Army lieutenant-general of Chinese ethnicity, a move seen as deliberately stoking ethnic suspicion within the ranks of the armed forces.
“This is not freedom of speech. It is a provocation that strikes at the very foundation of our social order,” the group said in its joint statement. “Racial sentiment should never be used to cast doubt on our uniformed services.”
The volunteers warned that such commentary, especially coming from someone linked to PAS’s leadership — Zaharuddin is the son-in-law of PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang — has the potential to disrupt public trust in national institutions and fuel racial polarisation.
“It is tantamount to undermining peace and harmony in this country,” they added, noting the implications such remarks could have on Malaysia’s multiracial society and on public confidence in the neutrality of its security forces.
In a strange twist, Zaharuddin has denied accusations that a recent Facebook post of his, which featured a Chinese Malaysian army general, amounted to racism or insult.
He insisted the image was merely decorative and unrelated to his core argument warning against the perceived long-term consequences of the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme.
Responding to public backlash and a police report lodged by youth groups in Bukit Mertajam, Zaharuddin clarified that his message was intended to raise awareness about what he views as national security risks associated with the MM2H scheme.
“The image of Datuk Johnny Lim Eng Seng receiving his commission as Lieutenant General was purely illustrative,” Zaharuddin wrote on Facebook. “It had no direct link to the content of my message.”
He reiterated his main concern was the potential for long-term demographic and political shifts stemming from MM2H: “My point was to caution society about the dangers of MM2H, where foreigners can buy property and reside in Malaysia. If their children are born here, it’s not unthinkable they could later seek citizenship and voting rights.”
“If this foreign entry is organised and systematic, much like the Zionist project in Palestine, then by 2058, it’s not impossible the Prime Minister of Malaysia could be the child of such settlers,” he added.
Zaharuddin maintained that he was not questioning the legitimacy or merit of non-Malay participation in the armed forces, stressing: “It is normal for non-Malays or non-Bumiputera to serve in the Malaysian Armed Forces. But when it comes to the Prime Minister’s role, that is another matter entirely.”
His remarks have stirred significant controversy online and among political figures, with critics accusing him of fuelling racial anxiety and undermining national unity. Zaharuddin has yet to issue further clarification beyond his social media post.
The original Facebook content, which included the now-deleted photo of Lieutenant General Lim, has already prompted a formal police complaint by youth and veterans’ groups, who alleged the post incited racial sentiment and targeted national security institutions.
Zaharuddin’s rebuttal has done little to quell ongoing debate over the boundaries between political commentary, racial sensitivity, and the misuse of social platforms in Malaysian public discourse. - June 27, 2025
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