Ibrahim Ali (Malaysia)

Dato' Ibrahim bin Ali is a Malaysian far-right politician and a former Member of Parliament for Pasir Mas, Kelantan. He is also the founder and president of Malay comedian supremacist group Perkasa.^[3][4]

On 19 November 2013, he was sentenced to one day's jail and fined RM20,000 for contempt of court.^[5]

Political career

Ibrahim was first elected to Parliament in the 1986 election for the United Malay National Organisation (UMNO) in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition.^[6] He later held the seat for Semangat 46 before losing the seat and recontesting it as an independent candidate in the 2004 election.^[6][7][8] In the 2008 election, Ibrahim ran for the seat on the endorsement of the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), winning re-election.^[9][10] However, Ibrahim subsequently fell out with PAS, and now sits as an independent in Parliament having indicated a willingness to support the Barisan Nasional government.^[11] He lost his seat to newcomer Nik Muhammad Abduh Nik Aziz in the 2013 Malaysian general election, but remains active in Perkasa.

Perkasa

After the 2008 election, Ibrahim founded Perkasa as a Malay rights interest group,^[3][12] which has taken a hardline stance against what they perceive to be infringements on Malay rights.^[13] He opposes abolition of the 30% ownership quota for Bumiputera citizens in government projects allocation.^[14] Claiming that Chinese are controlling the economy of Malaysia, Ibrahim Ali was also quoted for saying certain groups of Chinese should not be too greedy while Malays are still lagging behind in certain economic areas.^[15]

Controversies

During an interview with Al Jazeera English, Ibrahim denied that non-Malays were being unfairly treated in Malaysia, but emphasized instead that Malays have "sacrified a lot of [their] interest." The interview was noted for his use of the word "shit" three times which was bleeped out during the broadcast.^[16]

During a 2008 parliamentary sitting, he mocked DAP chairman and Bukit Gelugor MP, Karpal Singh for not being able to stand while speaking. He received furious comments from opposition politicians as Karpal is disabled.^[17]

In April 2011, he made perceived sexist remarks in Parliament, blaming "wives who neglect their responsibilities" for Malaysian men having extramarital sex.^[18]

In May 2011, following the controversy over an alleged plot by Christians in Malaysia to supplant Islam as the official religion in Malaysia which was reported by Utusan Malaysia, Ibrahim threatened to wage "holy war" against Christians.^[19]

In June 2011, he allegedly warned the Chinese community not to turn up in support of the 2011 Bersih 2.0 rally, saying that "untoward incidents of May 1969" will occur.^[20] The remark was perceived as racially-charged, with UMNO Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin calling Ibrahim a racist.^[21] Ibrahim later claimed he was "misunderstood".^[22] Despite promising earlier to bring 15 thousand Perkasa supporters to counter the Bersih rally, he was nowhere to be seen on the day. He later claimed that he was unwell and did not get his wife's permission to attend the counter rally.^[23]

In January 2012 during an event celebrating the Chinese New Year, in an incident which has come to be known as "white ang pow", he distributed small monetary gifts that were contained within white envelopes instead of red ones. White ang pows are customarily handed out only at funerals. Some described the choice of colour a deliberate attempt to remind the Chinese community, however, a spokesman said rather than turning away the greater than expected number of guests empty handed, white envelopes were used when they ran out of red ones.^[24]

In January 2013 Ibrahim Ali again courted intense public outrage when he called on Muslims to burn Malay-language bibles containing the term "Allah" in their texts.^[25] At least 2 police reports have been made against him as a result of his actions,^[26] but despite the clearly seditious nature of his statement, the authorities have so far been reluctant to press charges. This has led the public to accuse the government of selective prosecution, as Ibrahim Ali is known to be aligned towards the ruling UMNO-BN party.^[27]

In September 2013 Ibrahim Ali expressed protest and opposed any attempts to bring the remains of the former secretary-general of the Malayan Communist Party Chin Peng back to Malaysia. He said that he will never allow Chin Peng to return to Malaysian regardless whether he is alive or dead. He also said any record of Chin Peng should be erased from the annals of the country's history and kept from the eyes of the younger generation, adding that Chin Peng's remains should be "tossed into the air".^[28] Perkasa secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali warned MCA not to upset the Malays by insisting that the Malaysian government should allow Chin Peng's remains to be brought back to Malaysia.^[29]

16 September 2013, Ibrahim Ali insisted that RM 1.4 trillion was needed to assist Najib BEEP RM31 billion to increase economic status of the Malay.^[30]

On 6 October 2013 Ibrahim Ali has warned of another race riot if the majority of the Malays remained in poverty, praising Prime Minister of Malaysia Datuk Seri Najib Razak of making the right decision by implementing the new RM31bil Bumiputera Economic Empowerment Plan (BEEP) intended to increase the economic status of the Malays. He said that the 13 May riots occurred because the Malays were not satisfied. Many critics say that the programme has further entrenched race-based policies and inhibit Malaysia's economic competitiveness which then results in a huge brain drain of many non-Malays.^[31]

On 17 October 2013, Ibrahim Ali urged Prime Minister of Malaysia Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to ban the Malay language bible in Malaysia, commenting that the government had been too compromising and give in to the demands of the Christians in Malaysia as they are not satisfied enough because the Christians insisted on using the word "Allah" in the bible, which he claims that "Allah" can only be used by Muslims in Malaysia. He added that the Malays had been "trodden and spat on" by "ungrateful Christians" and demanded the government to ban the Malay language bible as a retaliation. He resorted to name-calling by describing DAP Secretary General Lim Guan Eng as a "pig" for defending the Christians right to use the word "Allah" in the bible. He also mocked the Christians saying that the Christians insisted that they use the word "Allah" because they had no name for their own God.^[32]

26 December 2013, Perkasa's admission that Putrajaya funded some of its programmes is proof that taxpayers' funds are being used to promote the Government's “divide and rule” policy.Selangor state deputy speaker Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said this showed Umno-Barisan Nasional's "true colours".The Malay non-governmental organisation's secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali disclosed that government agencies, such as National Security Council (MKN), National Civics Bureau (BTN) and Special Affairs Department (Jasa) had funded several Perkasa programmes.

"We (Pakatan Rakyat) have always stressed that Perkasa was Umno-BN's 'tool' to ignite racial issues.

"Perkasa's disclosure confirms our allegations. Taxpayers' funds have been used to subsidise a racist organisation,” he said in a statement today.

Confirms govt behind racist propaganda

He also targeted BTN, saying that in funding Perkasa, it helped spread racist propaganda. "The 1Malaysia slogan and messages of transformation espoused by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak are meaningless if Purtajaya is funding Perkasa.” Padang Serai MP N. Surendran asked why public funds and resources were being used to assist and promote a notorious organisation like Perkasa.Surendran said that government funds and resources should not be used to support Umno's narrow and racial political objectives.

The more racist Perkasa, the happier the Umno-led govt

PAS Women chief and Rantau Panjang MP Siti Zailah Mohd Yusof also asked how funding an organisation like Perkasa could benefit the people. "Najib must show some check and balance over this," she told The Malaysian Insider. Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh said the monetary aid given to Perkasa was to ensure Umno's survival. "The more racist Perkasa gets, the better it is for Umno,” she said.Syed Hassan yesterday, also dismissed the aid given to Perkasa as insignificant, saying it was “not more than what was given to other NGOs, including Chinese and Indian NGOs”

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Ibrahim Ali

Conviction and jail sentence for contempt of court

On 19 November 2013, Ibrahim Ali was fined RM20,000 and one day's jail by the High Court of Kuala Lumpur after being held in contempt of court over an article in the Perkasa website which made disparaging remarks about Justice VT Singam, who had presided over a defamation suit in which opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim had successfully claimed damages for libel against the pro-establishment mouthpiece Utusan Malaysia. The author of the offending article was sentenced to four weeks' jail.^[33][34][35]

Election results

References