Nga asked to walk the walk, not just talk the talk - Ti Lian Ker
SHAH ALAM - MCA vice president, called out Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming to walk the walk, not just talk the talk on amending certain local council by-laws to prevent instances of non-Muslims 'breaking the by-laws'.
"I would like to suggest the Minister in charge of Local Government Development to clearly, irrevocably, and expressly take actions to stop these abuses since his statements and undertakings seem to be ignored and are ineffective. "Will Minister Nga Kor Ming propose or amend federal legislation to spell out what is "sopan" or "tak sopan" or pass expressed provisions of law to protect the rights and liberties of these traders from his Local Government authorities? Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker asked.
The ministry, he said, has been very vocal about toilet cleanliness and must now flush this issue that touches on the fundamental rights of the rakyat.
"Nga must now act to protect the interests and liberties of non-Muslims under Article 5 (1) of the Federal Constitution, which reads "No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty save in accordance with the law" and Article 10 (1a) that "every citizen has the right to freedom of speech and expression" instead of busy cleansing or announcing that Jamal Yunos, who was notorious for calling Chinese "Cina Babi," is a changed man now.
"While the state and local councils have the right to draught their own laws and set rules that govern the traders, they cannot be in conflict with any Federal laws providing for the same. "This federal law must be quickly effected to curtail the abuses of these local councils, as the federal law will prevail. It's time to flush and clean the toilets, but don’t forget this too, YB Menteri. What say you, Minister? he asked.
Ti also said the freedom and liberties of each Malaysian are protected and guaranteed by the Federal Constitution.
He asked if it is illegal for the state and local councils to impose laws that restrict the dress code of non-Muslims, and if the summons was not effectively "cancelled" but "settled", then I call upon the minister to protect these civil obedient traders by curtailing the practises, powers, or "abuses" by Kota Bharu Municipal Council (MPKB).
"While the Undang-Undang Kecil Tred, Perniagaan dan Perindustrian Majlis Perbandaran Kota Bharu 2019 ("UUK 2019"), and many other by-laws of the PBTs in the state are being used against these Madani traders, we call upon the minister "to walk his talk" or "bite the bullet" by putting a stop to these abuses or practises that he said go against the Federal Constitution," he added.
It was reported that Nga has urged the Kota Bharu Municipal Council (MPKB) to look into amending certain local council by-laws to prevent instances of non-Muslims running afoul of the by-laws.
Nga said he has asked the director-general of the local government department, Noor Ihsan, to hold discussions with Kota Bharu mayor Rosnazli Amin to see if it is possible to amend any of the council’s by-laws.
He said this was to prevent incidents such as the one involving a hair salon from recurring.
On July 9, the council fined a hair salon owner in Kota Bharu RM100 for allowing a female worker to cut the hair of a Muslim male customer.
