Chua: Umno out to incite Malays against me
By G Vinod, Free Malaysia Today
PETALING JAYA: Johor PKR chief Chua Jui Meng today denied using the Sultan of Johor’s name in his political campaigns in the state and blamed Umno for scandalising the royal household.
Chua said Umno is trying hard to curb Pakatan Rakyat’s popularity in Johor by producing banners of him as the next menteri besar of Johor, with the ruler’s picture attached to the banner.
“Last Saturday, one of our youth wing member showed me a banner depicting me as the next menteri besar of Johor during a talk in Gelang Patah,” said Chua.
“I have nothing to do with the banner as I believe it was placed to incite the Malays against me. However, Sinar Harian carried the news on Monday without any clarification from me.”
The Star today carried a report that Johor’s Sultan Ibrahim ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar issued a stern reminder to politicians not to use his name in any political campaign.
The ruler had pointed out that a politician in Batu Pahat had tried to cause problems among the people by using his face in a banner.
Umno inciting the Malays and the ruler
Chua, the former health minister, also explained that it was counter-productive for PKR to come up with such banners as it may irk the Malays and the palace.
“Why would we do such a thing when it will not bode well for us? It is done in order to incite the Malays and the palace against us. Only Umno is capable of doing such as thing,” said Chua.
He added it is ridiculous to pit him as menteri besar material in the first place.
“Article 3 of the Johor constitution clearly states that a menteri besar must be a Malay and a Muslim. Even if I’m a Muslim, I cannot be in the position as I’m not a Malay,” clarified Chua.
Chua said that he may consider filing a civil suit against Sinar Harian inspite of the daily carrying his clarification today.
