MALAYSIANS must stop boycotting non-Muslim products and businesses as it will only hurt the economy, said Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng.

He said this will also harm the harmony in Malaysia’s multi-racial and multi-religious society.

“Take for example our staple food, rice. If this boycott targets certain brands of rice purportedly owned by a certain race, it will only hurt the farmers,” he said in a statement today.

Lim was commenting on the boycott that started on social media last week as a campaign to support Muslim-made goods but morphed into a movement against non-Muslim goods.

PAS has fully endorsed the boycott, starting with former Selangor PAS deputy ulama chief Ahmad Dusuki Abdul Rani followed by its secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan.

Ahmad Dusuki had said boycotting non-Muslim products would earn Muslims “pahala” (merit).

Lim said since most of the padi growers are based in Kedah, and if the campaign is successful, rice industry players will be forced to buy less from the growers.

“At the end, who suffers? It is the same with the palm oil industry. The boycott will only cause the palm oil farmers to suffer.”

He said it was crucial all Malaysians promote and be proud to use locally made products.

“Only then can our local industries grow to greater heights.

“We, regardless of colour, live and sink together in one big ship called Malaysia. So, I urge all to ‘cintai dan belilah barangan buatan’ Malaysia.

“Forget the boycott and let’s move on together in unity. Resist any attempt to divide our beloved country over race or religion. Enough is enough.”

Earlier, retail associations had said calls to boycott non-Muslim made products are a political ploy to divide Malaysians.

They said such a boycott was illogical and would not help Malay businesses.

The associations said if the movement was really about boosting Muslim entrepreneurship, it would have been introduced a long time ago instead of now, amid the bitter row between Malays and non-Malays over Jawi lessons in the vernacular schools and the continued presence of controversial preacher Zakir Naik in the country. – September 4, 2019.