THE controversy surrounding the conversion of Loh Siew Hong’s children is not the first of its kind in this country. Neither will it be the last. But what I am most disturbed as a Johor folk who will go to the polls on March 12, is the utter silence from two ministers from my state regarding this.

The first is Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong. The Ayer Hitam MP is undeniably the “Chinese face” in the cabinet. As president of MCA, the community expects him to speak out on issues affecting us.

But despite the simmering discontent among the non-Malay community over how grossly unfair Loh has been treated, there is not even a whimper from the president of the party that purportedly champions the rights of the Chinese.

Has Wee forgotten that the Federal Court has ruled that unilateral conversions are invalid? Or is he suffering from selective amnesia in order not to infuriate Big Brother Umno, which stands to gain most from this whole saga?

Does Wee, the Johor MCA chairman, not have any compassion? Does it not break his heart to see a mother forcibly separated from her children? Why didn’t Wee immediately seek for their reconciliation instead of pretending not to hear the fury of the community?

Is this what the “Bangsa Johor” spirit stands for? Or is MCA willing to sacrifice Chinese support, which it knows it has already lost even before the 2008 general election, not just during the watershed 2018 polls?

The other cabinet member is National Unity Minister Halimah Mohamed Sadique, who is also Kota Tinggi MP. Unless she’s deaf and blind, which makes her unsuitable to be a minister, Halimah should know that the issue is tearing our multicultural fabric at its seams.

But she has been utterly silent on this issue, to speak nothing of trying to lower the elevated political temperature. Doesn’t the silence imply that bigots and racists would have their ways, and even embolden them further?

This is not what the Bangsa Johor spirit stands for. If this is how these two Barisan Nasional ministers behave, I believe it’s a foregone conclusion how the non-Muslims will vote in the upcoming election.

We will teach them a lesson they will never forget! – February 22, 2022.

* Jessica Ooi reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.