YOURSAY | ‘If a shopkeeper had cheated a customer, only he should be the one confronted.’

Muslim consumer group: Hello, this is not about race

Appum: Common, common people, don't lose your sights on the root cause of all such animosities. The root cause is the Umno-BN government, which has brought about all these divisiveness to Malaysia throughout their long years of playing race and religion in their rule.

If the Muslim Consumers' Association of Malaysia (PPIM) is not talking about race-related matters, just look at your name and put it on the mirror. Who do you represent? There are Chinese and Indian associations as well - they most definitely represent the intrests of their racial groups.

It is Umno's creation of racial discrimination and race-based policies that such institutions have arisen. Tell me, if a person’s name is Mohd Ali Baharom in Malaysia, can you tell if he is a Christian, Buddhist, or Hindu? Surely not.

In this country, race is placed specifically into clear compartments due to severe control. So PPIM, there are a lot of common human weaknesses in all the human races to cheat and take advantage of others in any trade interaction.

There are many Ali Baba companies, where the Ali partner runs away with the official progress payments of work/supply in terms of hundreds of thousands of ringgit. Did the Baba partner complain and make a huge issue over them? These are signs of human greed and weaknesses which are present in all races... the Mat Sallehs included.

These are all business risks and tribulations one must take in any trading environment. You just have to be smart. But to make such matters worse, our institutions (the police, the courts, the specific government departments, the government itself) are weak in its functions, abilities, efficiencies and fair implementation.

They should be effective, just and fair in carrying out their duties and responsibilities. How can they choose to investigate and arrest certain figures and not do the same to some who have evidently cheated the people in huge sums?

How can they not arrest and free one who causes national instability by evoking racial protests, but arrest those who oppose such irregularities?

James_3392: A dishonest trader will shortchange all his customers, regardless of race. These traders shall be brought to book and will pay for their dishonest acts; no sympathy for such despicable conduct.

Similarly, those who steal by the billions must be made to pay for their crime. And certainly not to be given a stage to glorify their achievements, like what was shown to the world at the Umno general assembly weeks ago.

Just a Malaysian: Unscrupulous traders must be charged under the law, whether they are Chinese or others. Making it into a Malay Muslim issue degrades both the race and religion.

A dignified race fights noble causes, faces great challenges and grows smarter and wiser. An inferior race picks on small, trivial, irrelevant issues and makes sure to have a sure-win fight with numbers and the authority on its side.

Roger 5201: Even PPIM believes this is a case of consumer rights. If there is any cheating, then Malay Army Veterans Association president Mohd Ali Baharom (or better known as Ali Tinju) should make a police report instead of causing a ruckus by picketing against all the mobile phone vendors in Kota Raya.

Sound Mind: If a particular shopkeeper had betrayed or cheated a customer, he should be the only one to be confronted. Why must the whole of Kota Raya complex shopkeepers be boycotted? What is the motive? Anyway it is very obvious.

If the authorities do not take the initiative to address this kind of issues immediately, more crazy people would keep on carrying out this sort of nuisance, creating hatred among Malaysians.

We still do not understand what our PM has achieved with his ‘1Malaysia’ call to date after spending millions of ringgit. Maybe some of his own ministers do not even understand its meaning.

Anonymous #03815719: With the PPIM clarification, Ali Tinju should be immediately arrested and charged under sedition for disrupting peace in the vicinity of Kota Raya, creating fear in the shoppers there and causing economic losers to the Kota Raya traders. Period.

Thinkingmachine: In Malaysia, everything is looked upon through the racial lens. Being an Indian, I too had very uncomfortable feelings with the Chinese - even though some of my best friends are Chinese.

This is because each race lives in isolation due to our different cultures. The best is that all our children are classed together in schools, which is impossible, so the next best is to have inter-school activities.

Coming back to the topic, the police should take action on people like Ali Tinju who are damaging to a multiracial society. The Chinese should teach their little children that Malays and Indians are not devils or ‘gwei’ (ghosts) when referring to other races.

As long as the Chinese do not break out of their shell, people like Ali Tinju will go on to exploit these situations.

Fairnsquare: Isn't it coincidental that when controversial bills are put in Parliament, racial issues crop up all over to keep the rakyat occupied - or perhaps to 'confuse' them while the bill gets passed.

In English, it is known as “a storm in a teacup”, or a willfully planned distraction.

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