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Malaysian chief judge’s racist remarks infuriate Pakistanis

All Pakistanis should have their documents verified to see that they are in order, says chief judge

Web Desk March 28, 2015

All Pakistanis should have their documents verified to see that they are in order, says chief judge. PHOTO: THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER

SABAH:

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 Libaran 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.

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"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.

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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.

Mail Check documents of Pakistanis in Sabah: Sabah PAS supports the Chief Justice of Sabah and Sa... http://t.co/ODDawiHRs7 #alert #news
— Sabah Maju Jaya (@sabahmajujaya) March 26, 2015

Too many Pakistanis in Sabah caught CJ's eye | TMIhttp://t.co/zflhqAtVcc #Malaysia @2sayornot2say @lowelsielow54 @mikichoo @nonvitaltooth
— The Long Tweet (@tanjooilong) March 26, 2015

Check documents of Pakistanis in every nook and corner in Sabah http://t.co/AdP6f1Bk2M via @wordpressdotcom
— Ghazalie Abdullah (@ghazaliegra) March 27, 2015

Too many Pakistani in Sabah. Wildlife getting fewer. Bush fire getting more frequent. GST on the way.
— Dr. Edwin Bosi (@dredwinbosi) March 27, 2015

The story was originally published in The Malaysian Insider.

COMMENTS (27)

GI Joe | 9 years ago | Reply Our countrymen are involved in cheating the system where ever they go. The whole world is witness to this therefore if a Malaysian judge said, he knows there is a problem. Let's accept our problems instead of turning a blind eye. Maybe introspection can lead to eventual eradication of this problem within our populace. I'm not sure why people are getting worked up in the comments section. Have you lived outside of Pakistan? If yes, you know what the judge said is true.

touseef | 9 years ago | Reply Now my views about Malaysians have changed from positive to negative.

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Sandip | 9 years ago | Reply @Anwar: That zakat was given from the zakat that Pakistan received. Please wake up and realize that your roots are in South Asia and that your religious identity, which you tend to wear on your sleeves, is nothing when it comes to the real world. All that matters in this real world is good education which ultimately leads to a prosperous nation. I hope this wakes you up to your status in the so-called "ummah".

Fawad | 9 years ago | Reply Why so much hue and cry? He said "foreigners" think it is easy to come with fake documents, he asked then not to do that. While Pakistani were being punished for wrongdoing, why all Pakistani should take offence? Saudi behead Pakistanis for smuggling, if the judge says ask your fellomen not to do this, will that be offensive. The judge is just trying to prevent crime.

Musa | 9 years ago | Reply Not every pakistani is a terrorist however, we need to work on improving our nation inorder to shun the image that has developed in the last decade or so. education and manners are a good place to start.

Professor | 9 years ago | Reply Fear of Pakistanis is not restricted to Malaysia. Every nation in the world gets concerned if a sizable number of Pakistanis start to live in one place. Sri Lanka, the supposed 'friend' of Pakistan started openly deporting Pakistanis from their island.

In the name of love (what more) | 9 years ago | Reply With the reputation that precedes Pakistanis where ever they go...which country would want them?But oh i forgot...this is a conspiracy!

Mohammad | 9 years ago | Reply it is a country to whom we use to send Zakat Fund and their students use to come to Pakistan to study.... God, where we went wrong!

Kolsat | 9 years ago | Reply The chief judge is within rights to ask that documents of Pakistanis living in Sabah should be checked to ascertain that they had entered the state legally.Datuk Akbar Khan Abdulrahman is wrong in saying that this is racism. If Pakistanis have entered legally and staying on legally they have nothing to worry about. The Judge merely wants to know if they are legal residents.

Babbarsher Khan | 9 years ago | Reply Malaysia is a racist state and racism is institutionalized by the constitution there. Anyone who is not a bhoomiputera (meaning son of the soil) and a Muslim is automatically a second class citizen. Unfortunately, this country has been touted as a moderate Islamic state and a role model for Muslim countries for too long. Singapore was expelled from Malay Federation just because it wanted all races to be treated equally in the Federation. Subsequent to its expulsion Singapore, ruled by principles of meritocracy under Lee Kwan Yew's leadership, rose to become one of the richest country in the world and has been virtually corruption free (according to Transparency International). Malaysia on the other hand could be better off than Pakistan but stands no where compared to Singapore which was part of the same country few decades ago.

wb | 9 years ago | Reply @ajeet Unless you're being sarcastic, there's no such thing called as Ummah. For 1400 years hundreds of millions of Muslims are killed at the hands of hundreds of millions of Muslims. This is the true Ummah.

Ray | 9 years ago | Reply Let us admit that yesterday beggar don't remember those dayss. There was a time when Pakistan was a head most of these countries but times have changed they have progressed and our leaders have become rich but not the people. Indians, Pakistanis, Korean and Chinese used to be treated the same but IKC has moved but Pakistan and Phillipines are stuck in the mud.

Fazal Dad | 9 years ago | Reply I don't see any racism in CJ s remarks. There may be some compatriots who are not legal in Malaysia. So please do not make a story out of stock of hay. Relax, control your population growth, and act like civilized members of society.

ajeet | 9 years ago | Reply The rich ummah hates the poor ummah.

Dr.Shafique | 9 years ago | Reply @RBNSN: You are absolutely right, Sir, in substantiating the arguments of the Malaysian CJ who should not be called a "racist" just because he said that undocumented Pakistanis should be checked. @Ozair @ Anwar I have lived and visited Malaysia many times and I must say, to my horror, that Pakistanis behave in the most disgusting manner, including their unhygienic ways, their abusive language, their involvement in physical attacks on locals and their tendency to feel that every Malaysian woman is there to fulfill his needs. These things tend to backfire. Thus when a high-profiled judge calls a spade a spade, he is not being racist; he is merely reading the judicial book to you and you have to follow or leave the country. The rant by Akbar Khan, a has been MP who fears becoming irrelevant, is a publicity stunt with the aim of finding space in Malaysian politics. You will hardly find any Malaysian judge, lawyer, businessman or politician willing to support Pakistanis who are seen as liabilities not only in Malaysia but also the rest of Southeast Asia. In Singapore, they are often caught, detained, caned and deported for violating laws. The Pakistani high commissions in Singapore and Malaysia are the busiest (in a rather unflattering way) in trying to fix the problems caused by Pakistanis violating the laws. By the way, Anwar, you should restrain your language and not refer to such nation-building critics as "monkeys" because, by doing so, you are identifying yourself with the dark red spot on this lovely animal's back.

Pakistani lover of Malaysia | 9 years ago | Reply Malaysia is a great country and Malay are great people. I'm Pakistani and want closer ties with Malaysia. Moreover, people commenting here ,most likely with fake IDs from a certain nation ;) should know that his name is Richard Malanjum. He himself hails from some sort of minority group, most likely. His comments don't represent the whole of Malaysian society. Second, his comments are regarding immigration in general. The headline etc. make it seem 'racist'.

Hella | 9 years ago | Reply If Pakistanis have any self respect, they should stay back in Pakistan and make it heaven on earth, rather then seeking asylum in other countries.

ali | 9 years ago | Reply Dear Guys, Whatever he said he is right. He is patriot for his country. Do you know that Pakistanis running away from their motherland and marrying any national for the sake of the permanent residence. What message this will give to the rest of the world. marrying is not a sin but marrying in the name of residence and once u get residence u divorce helpless lady even with child. I live in London, there are so many Pakistanis who marry Eastern European women only for visas. This is disgusting. Our religion does nit allow that. Pakistanis are claiming asylum in Sri Lanka, Turkey (a Pakistani friendly nation who will not be friendly after few years if they follow same practice), even in poor European countries like Romania and Moldova. Please respect your motherland and do something to change your circumstances rather than leaving country, and cursing Pakistan.

Parvez | 9 years ago | Reply be it a Pakistani or a man from Mars, if he is without proper documents he needs to be dealt with as per the law and there is nothing wrong in that. It seems the good judge overreached and thereby showed bias....something someone in his position should definitely have avoided.

Question | 9 years ago | Reply Highest number of asylum seekers in the world in 2014 is pakistanis. Rest arrive in boats and cargo boxes.

abdul Khan | 9 years ago | Reply "Many took to Twitter to express their shock and disapproval of the remarks made by the chief judge". The twitter examples you provided are not expressing the same! They seem to support the move.

Hashim | 9 years ago | Reply He's right isn't he? Pakistanis are always breaking the law around the world. They should be deported right away!

Amina Ali | 9 years ago | Reply @Anwar: You have made a spelling mistake. It should be 'Menkey' not Monkey.

PK | 9 years ago | Reply They're developed because they have some oil and gas, and also thanks to the big population of Chinese and Indians (yes, i said it). Without Chinese and Indian Malaysians, development would be much less.

RBNSN | 9 years ago | Reply @Ozair: @Anwar: What is disgusting here? It is normal for every country to ascertain the documents of foreign nationals, especially when the numbers are large. Try entering Pakistan without papers, meanwhile its impossible for a foreigner to get citizenship in the UAE. Haven't you read the news that the Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia has banned its nationals from marrying women from Pakistani (google :"Saudi bans brides from 4 countries" for more information). This shows other countries have even tougher immigration laws. The word Pakistani in the statement of the Chief Justice does not refer to a person's race but a person's nationality, so there is nothing racist here.

Anwar | 9 years ago | Reply We just read the remarks of so called "Chief Judge Malanjum's" remarks. This bleddy monkey should be send back to his origin. He must be reminded that in sixty's this poor Malaysian State was given "Zakat" by n from Pakistan for its survival. Shame on such n this kind of idiot. He must oppologies n Malaysian judiciary should put such monkeys in Sabah or Sarawak jungles, such animals have no right to live in a civilized society. Shame on you.

Ozair | 9 years ago | Reply Once Malaysians were poor, living in huts and begged for money. Now, once they got developed look at their haughtiness. Absolutely disgusted by this news.

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