Barking at the wrong tree

I am shocked by Khairy Jamaluddin’s outburst at newspaper vendors for taking their well-deserved Deepavali break.

It is outrageous that Khairy was harping on a racial issue, saying that the Indian vendors were controlling the distribution of newspapers and their total control was the reason for the non-coverage on Umno president’s speech in the newspapers on Thursday.

He said:

"Today is the first time the Umno president’s speech is not being read by the masses because a particular ethnic group controls the distribution line of newspapers and they are on holiday."

He wanted the government to look into this total control by the Indian vendors, asking for more Malay participation in this area. Bollocks!

The issue here is simple:

There were no newspapers on Thursday - barring Utusan Malaysia and Oriental Daily - because it was a Deepavali public holiday. It was a public holiday just like when newspapers are not published for Hari Raya and Chinese New Year.

Why must vendors or newspapers remain working on an agreed shutdown date? Just for Umno AGM and for all to read the PM’s speech?

Well then, why in the first place did Umno hold its AGM on Deepavali day? Shouldn’t Khairy be thinking about that first instead on jumping and making racial warnings at the Indian vendors?

Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang said it well:

"The holding of the Umno General Assembly during Deepavali, a gazetted public holiday, had also upset many Malaysians, both Hindus and non-Hindus, as it seems to point to a growing pattern of insensitivity by the powers-that-be in the country.

If the MIC, MCA or Gerakan had held their annual party assemblies during Hari Raya holidays, it would have been regarded as highly insensitive, offensive and unacceptable – and undoubtedly pressures would have been brought to bear to move such assemblies to another date.

Why wasn’t the same consideration given in the case of this year’s Umno General Assembly clashing with Deepavali – as the excuse that Abdullah had a "tight schedule" is simply just unacceptable?"

Kit Siang is right. Khairy should apologise to the Indian vendors for scandalising them. In fact his master plan is to further marginalise them so that the control of the distribution line of newspapers would actually go to the majority race.

And just as Khairy should apologise to the Indian vendors, the Umno leadership should apologise to the Indian community over its selfish behaviour in dismissing and disregarding the cultural sentiments of the third biggest race in this multi-cultural country.

I leave this posting with this witty remark I found posted by a reader in Kit Siang’s blog:

"For KJ, good luck in the coming elections, trying holding it during Thaipusam!"

I couldn’t agree more. Ha! Ha!

p/s: malaysian nanban bravely reminded khairy in its editorial today that the issue was not with indian vendors, but rather with the party holding its meeting during deepavali.