Najib should ask Bung Mokhtar to resign over Hitler remark, says DAP lawmaker
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak should demand Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin's resignation following the Kinabatangan MP's tweet praising Adolf Hitler, an opposition lawmaker said today.
Serdang MP Dr Ong Kian Ming (pic) said Bung Mokhtar's offensive tweet had thrust Malaysia into the international spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
Yesterday, after Germany's crushing 7-1 win over Brazil in the World Cup semifinal, Bung Mokhtar had congratulated the winning team by tweeting: "Well done ... Bravo ... Long Live Hitler."
His tweet caused an uproar, with netizens slamming him for it. The German ambassador to Malaysia Holger Michael had also described the lawmaker's tweet as "unacceptable".
"Despite the uproar caused by his tweet, Bung Mokhtar has refused to apologise for his actions," Ong said in a statement today.
"Instead, he tries to defend his actions by saying 'Hitler is part of history and the German team fought like how he did'," Ong said.
In a statement yesterday, Holger had said that while the Germans appreciated the admiration for the their football team, they strongly rejected the unacceptable allusion to the fascist regime of Adolf Hitler.
"Bung Mokhtar's tweet is highly offensive and unacceptable behaviour coming from an MP," Ong said.
"His refusal to apologise and his ignorant defence of his tweet is even more unacceptable," he added.
Ong said Najib should bear in mind that politicians in democratic countries have been known to resign for making racist and bigoted statements.
"Since it is very unlikely that Bung will apologise or resign over his remarks, I call upon PM Najib to ask the MP for Kinabatangan to publicly apologise for this tweet and the defence of his tweet and to ask him to resign as a member of the Umno Central Committee and as MP for Kinabatangan as a sign that he is a PM who values Malaysia’s international reputation, the reputation of Malaysia’s Parliament and also the reputation of his own party, Umno," Ong said.
Bung Mokhtar has never been far from controversy, attracting criticism from women's groups and rights activists over previous remarks, which among others, were slammed for being chauvinistic.
During a debate in Parliament over a leak in its roof 2007, Bung Mokhtar caused an uproar when he said: "Where is the leak? The Batu Gajah MP also leaks every month," referring to an opposition lawmaker's menstrual cycle. – July 10, 2014.
