PAS deputy minister intimidated a reporter, saying a patriotic Malaysian must speak Malay

Malaysia – Datuk Awang Hashim, who is the Deputy Human Resource Minister, has made a statement that committed Malaysians must communicate with other people and use Malay in all sectors, pointing to him chastising a reporter for not speaking Malay when the reporter asked about his party’s policies in an interview.

In response to a query from Cha Kee Chin (Rasah-PH) on whether the ministry’s corporate training interviews for staff are conducted in English, Awang stated that he wanted to speak to the matter despite the fact that it was irrelevant to the issue.

According to him, Malay is the national language, and thus should be utilized in all sectors except for those who cannot speak the language, such as investors. And that it was in that case that English is used.

“If we are Malaysians, we are devoted to Malaysia, and we speak the national language since it is established in the constitution. It is the contrary. It is equal to the Malaysian constitution,” he said in Dewan Rakyat.

On November 14, Free Malaysia Today reporter Minderjeet Kaur tried to seek comments from Awang and PAS Minister of Religious Affairs Idris Ahmad regarding the Kedah government’s abrupt declaration which happened over the weekend that it would no longer renew the business licenses of 4D gaming outlets in the state, which in effect would close down all gambling shops statewide.

Idris apparently changed the subject, asking the reporter whether she could live with a gambler for a spouse, while Awang chastised her for not speaking in the national language and even asked if she was Malaysian.

Idris afterwards stated that there was nothing wrong with what he said as well as with his discussion with the reporter.

Local authorities are allegedly refusing to renew the business licenses of any outlets selling numbers forecast lottery drawings in PAS-led Kedah.