KUALA LUMPUR – Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming (Teluk Intan-PH) today hit out at a Bersatu backbencher who alleged that there are people in Chinese villages not able to converse well in Bahasa Malaysia.
Nga took umbrage at the assertion, saying that he had himself grown up in one such Chinese settlement and speaks the national language eloquently.
He said that Datuk Seri Ismail Abd Muttalib’s (Maran-PN) claim in the Dewan Rakyat about Chinese people who are not good at communicating in Bahasa Malaysia is not fair.
“I am a boy from a Chinese village, but I do speak fluently in the Malay language,” said Nga.
Ismail had claimed that there are some people living in “kampung-kampung Cina” (Chinese villages) in his parliamentary constituency of Maran in Pahang who are unable to communicate fluently in Bahasa Malaysia.
Insisting that he was not being racist, Ismail said Nga needs to find new ways to integrate people of different races under the federal unity government.
He claimed that the communities in Chinese settlements in Maran live separately from other races.
“They (the Chinese villagers) do not want to mingle with other races and most of them are not good at communicating in the Malay language.
“I am not being a racist, but I say this for the sake of unity,” he said when interjecting into Nga’s speech during the debate on the revised Budget 2023.
“As the Madani government is going in a good direction, it is supposed to implement new ways to prevent the Chinese community from being separated from other races like the Malays, Indians, Orang Asli and the others for national unity,” he added.
Nga said that his ministry has plans for some activities to strengthen the unity among the people this year under the Malaysia Madani concept, cutting across racial and religious differences.
He added that facilitating infrastructure such as sewerage systems, multipurpose halls, and roads, as well as aiding B40 households to renovate houses in rural areas are among the ministry’s upcoming projects. – The Vibes, March 8, 2023
