Press Statement By Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng In Komtar, George Town On 25.1.2014.
DAP urges all Penangites to remain calm and prove BN and UMNO wrong that their efforts to provoke the fires of racial and religious hatred will not jeorpardise the multi-racial and multi-cultural harmony assiduously built up in Penang over 200 hundred years. This singular success of not just tolerance but more importantly respect for diversity achieved by Penang, has won international recognition and was a key factor behind the listing by UNESCO of George Town as a World Heritage site.
The latest effort by UMNO to raise tensions in Penang happened yesterday when UMNO Tanjung supported a Muslim non-governmental organisation demands that local authorities ban the open selling of pork in the state. Solidarity and Charity Organisation (Isco) claimed that the selling of pork openly in areas like Lebuh Chulia, Jalan Kuantan, Jalan C.Y. Choy was a disregard to Muslim sensitivity in the state.
Such open selling of pork has been done in the past when BN was in power and has never been an issue. Further the areas mentioned are predominantly non-Malay residential areas of more than 90%, and is not in a predominantly Malay kampong. Even in Kelantan with a 95% Malay-Muslim population, pork can be sold openly and hung up in markets without any problems or complaints. It is time that UMNO learns from PAS how to respect non-Muslim rights and sensitivities.
It is wrong and racist for UMNO to only single out pork sellers. State government policy is for the local authorities to act at the appropriate time against all illegal traders regardless of race and religion without singling out any particular trade.
This latest effort by UMNO to stir up racial and religious tensions, follows the censoring of pictures of pigs’ faces in the International New York Times by Malaysian authorities, which has attracted widespread negative international media attention. With UMNO now calling for the ban of open selling of pork and the censoring of pictures of pigs’ faces, are questioning whether these actions are taken in concert to heighten tensions by further restricting the past practices of non-Muslim and non-Malays.
The Penang state government will not dance to this extremist and racial tune of UMNO and urges everyone to ignore UMNO’s rabid demands to preserve national harmony. If UMNO is sincere, they should be questioning why Malaysian Malay-Muslim leaders or personalities are financing firms filled with sex and vulgar words, or are involved in gambling, casino and gaming companies or have interests in beer companies. UMNO’s failure to do so only reveals their real motive of distracting public attention away from their inability to improve the livelihood of the rakyat and imposing price hikes in sugar, petrol, TNB power tariffs and highway tolls by the BN Federal government.
—–Mandarin Version ——-
槟州首长林冠英于2014年1月25日在光大发表声明：
槟城人必须要保持冷静，证明国阵及巫统是错的，他们在种族及宗教课题煽风点火，不会破坏槟城过去200多年所建立起来的多元种族及多元文化的和谐。
槟城人必须要保持冷静，证明国阵及巫统是错的，他们在种族及宗教课题煽风点火，不会破坏槟城过去200多年所建构起来的多元种族及多元文化的和谐。槟城的成功不只在于对多元种族及文化的容忍，更重要的是对多元的尊重，就连国际机构的认同，也是乔治市被联合国科教文组织认可为世界文人遗产城的原因。
巫统又再次制造种族紧张，昨天，丹绒区巫统支持一个穆斯林非政府组织的要求，即要地方政府禁止在州内公开贩卖猪肉。团结及博爱组织（ISCO）宣称，在牛干冬、关丹路、过港仔路一带公开贩卖猪肉，是对州内穆斯林不敏感的做法。
上述公开贩卖猪肉的做法要追溯到国阵当权时，这从来不是课题。再说，上述地点超过90%人口为非马来人，并不是马来甘榜。就算是在拥有95%马来-穆斯林人口的吉兰丹，猪肉也公开在菜市场出售及挂吊，没有问题或投诉。是时候巫统向伊斯兰党学习如何尊重非穆斯林的权利和敏感度。
巫统特别指出猪肉贩是不对及种族主义的。州政府的政策是让地方政府适时对付所有的非法商贩，不论他们什么种族、宗教，而不是对付单一的商贩。
除了巫统最近玩弄种族及宗教情绪，之前还有马来西亚当局审查《国际纽约时报》猪肉脸部的新闻照片， 这也已经引起国际媒体的负面印象。巫统现在要求禁止公开贩卖猪肉、审查新闻照片中的猪肉脸部，都让人怀疑，这些进一步限制非穆斯林及非马来人的行动是不是要制造紧张？
槟州政府不会附和巫统的极端及种族论调，我们促请每个人不去理睬巫统的狂暴要求，以维持国民和谐。如果巫统是宗教虔城的，他们应该质疑为何马来西亚马来穆斯林领袖或个人资助充斥色情及粗话的电影、涉及赌博、赌场、博彩公司甚至啤酒公司。巫统做不到，这只是进一步揭露他们的真正目的，就是转移公众视线，掩盖他们的无能，他们无力改善人民的生活，国阵联邦政府还让白糖、汽油、电费及过路费上涨，导致百物上涨。
林冠英