"As the saying goes, better late than never, but I must stress that it’s not late," Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz in the Dewan Rakyat today.
"This is the first time in the history of our civil service that government officials are being cited for racism, so it takes time."
Nazri, who is also the Padang Rengas MP, said this in reply to Lim Guan Eng (DAP-Bagan), who asked what action is being taken against individuals and organisations "who are extreme in their views" such as Perkasa, Utusan Malaysia, and the two principals in Johor and Kedah .
He said thorough investigations are required before action is taken to be fair to all the parties or risk having "flip-flop" investigations which may have unsatisfactory results.
Nazri said the government is doing what it can to be fair to all the parties involved. The officers investigating the racism claims need to make sure the evidence collected is acceptable.
"For example, the case in Johor involves a lot of witnesses and we found that their statements are vastly different. The investigating officers need to filter through the evidence and that alone takes time," he said.
To a supplementary question by Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timor), Nazri said that the two principals were suspended immediately.
The principal from Kulai, Johor had allegedly described non-Malays as penumpang (passengers) during the launch of the school’s Merdeka celebrations on Aug 12. She had also allegedly said that Chinese students should "go back" to China, and prayer strings worn by Indian students equated to a dog’s leash.
In Kedah, the principal of a secondary school in Bukit Selambau had allegedly scolded several Chinese students eating in the school’s common area for not respecting the Muslims who are fasting during Ramadan. He had allegedly told the students that if they were not happy, they need not attend class and should go back to China.
The principal escaped stern punishment when he was reassigned to an office in the district education office in Kuala Muda, Sungai Petani, shortly after the incident.
Nazri also said the action of the two principals was not the result of indoctrination by the National Civics Bureau (BTN). He said it is unrelated and the government will not close the bureau.
To another supplementary question by Datuk Bung Moktar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan), he said the government is collecting evidence and is investigating if action can be taken against controversial rapper Namewee for his racially-tainted songs and videos.
Asked why Barisan Nasional MPs have not stated they are Malaysian first, Nazri said they do not have to state if they are Malaysian first or not "because it is already known that they fight for the rights of all races".
"The coalition (BN) has been around since before independence and everyone knows they champion the rights of all," he said.
He said the Pakatan Rakyat, which was only formed in 2008, was the one that constantly needed to declare their stand as the people may not trust them yet.
"DAP is a dominantly Chinese party, PAS is an Islamic extremist party while PKR offers somewhat of a balance. But we all aware that Barisan has a Malaysian branding," Nazri said.
