THE prime minister does not need to sack P. Waytha Moorthy because the call was made by parties who are trying to take advantage of the riot that took place at a temple in Subang Jaya recently, said a group of civil societies.

In their memorandum to Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the group said those who urged for the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department to be fired only wanted to evoke hatred following the death of fireman Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim last week.

“Groups who asked for Waytha Moorthy to resign did not give solid evidence. We feel that we should show our support because he should not be held responsible for what has happened. We have to think rationally,” said lawyer Siti Kasim who is also the group’s spokesman.

“We hope that the prime minister will not bow down to the pressure of those groups who we think used race and religion to worsen the situation in our country,” she said, as she represented 50 individuals who gathered outside of the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya today to hand in the memorandum.

The memorandum was accepted by the prime minister’s political secretary, Abu Bakar Yahya who gave an assurance that it will be passed to Dr Mahathir.

It was endorsed by 211 civil societies.

Among other things the memorandum stated were the actions by several parties, including Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, that made Waytha Moorthy the scapegoat over the riot at the Seafield Sri Maha Mariamman temple that was aimed to distract from racial and religious tolerance issues in Malaysia.

“It is insulting and embarrassing when there are certain parties that take advantage this tragic situation to push forward their agenda of hatred, obsession, political polarisation and ethnic tension.

“They are obsessed with upholding the narrative of as if Malaysians can never free themselves from ethnic and racial politics. It tainted the sacrifice of a fireman,” stated the memorandum.

Siti Kasim said although there are more than 30,000 individuals who supported in an online petition for Waytha Moorthy to be fired, it is suspicious because online petitions are easily manipulated.

“Online petitions are easily manipulated and cannot be trusted. I can create hundreds of emails and Facebook accounts but they are actually of the same individual. It cannot be trusted,” she said.

She also repeated her criticism of Syed Saddiq, whom she said should be a minister for all, and not for Bersatu or the party’s Youth wing only.

The memorandum was also submitted by 10 individuals with disabilities who are on wheelchairs from Independent Living and Training Centre Malaysia (ILTC).

ILTC president G. Francis Siva said the group is satisfied with Waytha Moorthy’s performance and he should not be fired or forced to step down from the cabinet.

“I, representing the OKU, feel that Waytha Moorthy is very concerned with minority communities like us and we are very pleased with his performance,” he said.

The group also brought a banner that said “We support Waytha Moorthy to remain as a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department”.

Yesterday, about 200 individuals representing 40 civil societies in Johor showed their support for Waytha Moorthy in a meeting held by Johor Hindraf along with other state groups.

The resolution called for Waytha Moorthy to be retained as a minister and urged the police to begin detailed investigation on the temple riots that led to Adib’s death.

They also urged the government to not bow down to extremist groups that have caused splits among Malaysians by using race and religion. They also want the police to take action on those who make racialist statements.

Last Friday, about 150 individuals from Gerakan Pembela Ummah (Ummah) submitted a memorandum to the prime minister urging him to fire Waytha Moorthy. – December 24, 2018.