A prominent figure from the Democratic Action Party (DAP) has come up with a suggestion to address the lack of awareness among Parti Se-Islam Malaysia (PAS) members and leaders regarding Chinese surnames.
As such, he is also calling for financial assistance and help in organising classes aimed at educating and dispelling misconceptions surrounding Chinese family names.
Penang DAP leader suggests holding classes on Chinese names
As per a report by FMT, the idea was mooted by Penang DAP organising secretary Phee Boon Chee, who said the courses were meant to resolve misunderstandings and myths related to Chinese family names.
Penang DAP is prepared to secure funds and support from cultural figures to organise these courses, given the frequent inaccurate statements made about non-Malay communities.
“If PAS truly understands the customs and culture of non-Malay communities, it would not issue statements that offend other ethnic groups, particularly the Chinese community,” he said in a statement.
Earlier, academic Tajuddin Rasdi had suggested that PAS members undergo courses in order to educate themselves about Chinese names.
However, it was met with opposition from PAS information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari, who said it insinuated that PAS was ignorant of the customs and culture of non-Malay communities.
In response to Fadhli’s protests, Phee said his objection was “unreasonable”, given the fact that PAS often issued statements that offended other ethnic groups.
This comes after PAS Perak chief came under heavy fire for wrongfully claiming that Youth and Sports minister Hannah Yeoh was the daughter of the late Yeoh Tiong Lai, prompting the latter to take legal action against him.
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