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Friday, August 8, 2014

Ex-Umno chief says sorry for insulting Orang Asli


A former Jerantut Umno Youth leader has apologised for purportedly offending the Orang Asli community in multiple Facebook posts defending the sturgeon fish rearing project in Pahang.

Wan Zamzuri Wan Hasenan (left), who was Jerantut Umno Youth committee member in 2013, said his use of the word ‘sakai’ was not meant to offend.

“The term sakai in the local dialect in Tembeling refers to Tembeling people who are not knowledgeable or arrogant. We often use that term in our community. I did not intend to offend the Orang Asli.

“It’s the same as the term ‘keling’ which has been used for hundreds of years in the Malay literature. Older Malays still use the term ‘keling’ even though this purportedly angers the Indians...

“If my statement while campaigning for the sturgeon project… offends any Orang Asli, including the Jaringan Kampung Orang Asli Pahang (JKOAP), I profusely apologise,” he said when contacted.

He also urged others in his community to cease using the word as “our Orang Asli brothers have complained”.

Orang Asli: Deliberate insult

Wan Zamzuri, a stalwart campaigner for the sturgeon project, had on June 26 used the word when condemning those who are against the project at the anti-sturgeon campaign Facebook page.

“Two years ago I said that sturgeon caviar is the new economy, you didn’t believe me. The prime minister, menteri besar and minister said the Kuala Tahan sturgeon project (is good) and you didn’t believe. Why? Because you who oppose only believe the sakai parliamentarian?” he asked.

In a separate post he said the government who approved the project is not a “sakai” government, while posting a black and white picture of an Orang Asli in traditional wear.

Jaringan Kampung Orang Asli Pahang said the posting was “deliberately insulting” to the Orang Asli and is unbecoming of a Muslim.

“As JKOAP coordinator, I demand that Wan Zamzuri retract his statement and make a public apology,” JKOAP coordinator Shafie Dris said in a statement on Aug 5.

Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) defines ‘sakai’ as “a general term used for Orang Ali” or “a slave”.

Meanwhile it defines ‘keling’ as “someone originating from south India”, but there has been proposals for the term to be removed from the dictionary as it is now considered derogatory.

Sturgeon furor

Opponents of the sturgeon rearing project say the predatory fish, reared for its roe, will undermine local fish and the eco-system, on top of logging to make way for the project.

The project is a joint-venture between the Federal Land Development Agency (Felda) and a South Korean company.

However, BN’s Tahan assemblyperson and former Jerantut Umno Youth chief Wan Amizam Wan Abdul Razak reportedly said that the project receives local support.

“Those who oppose it are being misled by certain quarters and forget that we have laws and technical departments to determine the safety of this project,” he told Utusan Malaysia.

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