Will UMNO Ministers and leaders who persecute and demonise Wee Meng Chee and made irresponsible, extremist and seditious calls as demanding the stripping of his citizenship apologies to all Malaysians offended by them

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Media Statement   
by Lim Kit Siang  
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(Ipoh, Wednesday): Wee Meng Chee, 24-year-old undergraduate, has issued an open apology to Malaysians offended by his six-minute Negarakuku video rap, which as of this morning, has been accessed more than 1.5 million time on YouTube sites put up by others as Meng Chee had removed the video clip from his blog several days ago.

Three questions that immediately arise are:

• Will UMNO Minister and leaders who have persecuted and demonized Meng Chee by making irresponsible, extremist and seditious statements, and even demanding the stripping of Meng Chee’s citizenship, now publicly apologise to all Malaysians offended by them;
• Will UMNO Ministers who had been guilty of keris-waving in circumstances and context contemptuous of the legitimate sensitivities and rights of all Malaysian publicly apologise to all Malaysians offended by them?
• Will MCA Ministers and leaders publicly apologise for failing to draw attention of the UMNO leaders to the expression of patriotism by Meng Chee in articulating the frustrations of the ordinary rakyat at police corruption, civil service bureaucracy, indiscrimination against Chinese education and the insensitivity of the authorities – which is the reason why his rap video had struck such a deep chord among Malaysians particularly among the young generation?

(15/8/2007)