Malaysian chief judge’s racist remarks infuriate Pakistanis

A former law maker hailing from the Malaysia’s Sabah state has sought an apology from the chief judge of two Malaysian states for allegedly making racist remarks against Pakistanis residing in the country.

The former Liberian MP Datuk Akbar Khan Abdulrahman said in a statement that he was disgusted and shocked by chief judge Malanjum’s remarks that each and every Pakistani in Sabah should have their documents examined to determine whether they had entered the state legally.

In a report in Sabah’s Daily Express, Malanjum said the Immigration and National Registration Departments should verify all the documents held by Pakistani citizens to ensure they were authentic.

“So many of them (Pakistanis) in the state … we do not know whether they are holding genuine documents or otherwise. I am keen to cut the perception that it is easy for foreigners to enter and stay in the state with improper documents,” Malanjum was quoted as saying during the revision application by the prosecution against the sentence imposed on five Pakistanis for using visas and social visit passes obtained with false particulars.

He was further reported to have said to five Pakistanis, “Don’t come to Sabah if you do not have valid documents… tell your fellows or write a letter about this… tell them that Sabah is ‘neraka’ (hell).”

“As a loyal Malaysian citizen of Pakistani origin, who was born and bred in Sabah, I take offence of the sweeping racist statement uttered by the Chief Justice of Sabah and Sarawak,” Abdulrahman said.

“As a former member of the Malaysian Parliament and a fellow Sabahan, whose forefathers had sacrificed their life and limb for the security and safety of North Borneo (Sabah before the formation of Malaysia), I condemn Richard Malanjum’s racist rants in the strongest possible terms,” he added.

In objecting remarks, Abdulrehman referred to the statement as “uncouth” and “not so clever”.

He said while enforcement and action against illegal immigrants and those who falsified government documents were welcome, the people could not condone racism and xenophobia.

“We cannot tolerate such negative culture, especially when a person holding the position of Chief Justice of Sabah and Sarawak spreads such a ‘virus’. We must also abhor the not-so-clever words of a Chief Justice who, in his rant against foreigners who stand accused of immigration offences before him, describes the state of Sabah as ‘hell’,” he said.

“I demand he apologises to the people of Sabah, especially those of Pakistani origin,” he also said while challenging Malanjum to tender his resignation as the Chief Justice of Sabah and Sarawak and save the judiciary from further contempt and ridicule, if he refused to apologise.

Many took to Twitter to express their shock and disapproval of the remarks made by the chief judge.