Ibrahim Ali (Malaysia)

This is a Malay name; the name Ali is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Ibrahim.
Yang Berbahagia Dato'
Ibrahim Ali
Member of the Malaysian Parliament
for Pasir Mas, Kelantan
In office
8 March 2008 – 5 May 2013
Preceded by Ismail Noh
Succeeded by Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz
In office
3 August 1986 – 25 April 1995
Preceded by Wan Ibrahim Wan Abdullah
Succeeded by Zainudin Mohamad Nor
Personal details
Born 25 January 1951
Tumpat, Kelantan, Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia)
Political party Independent (2003–present)
PAS (2008)
UMNO (1981–1988; 1991–2003)
S46 (1988–1991)
BERJASA (1978–1981)[1]
Residence Kelantan
Occupation NGO Leader
Religion Sunni Islam

Dato' Ibrahim Ali (Jawi: إبراهيم بن الي; born 25 January 1951) is a far-right Malaysian politician and a former Member of Parliament for Pasir Mas, Kelantan. He is also the founder and president of Malay supremacist group Perkasa.[2][3]

On 19 November 2013, he was sentenced to jail for a day and fined RM20,000 for contempt of court.[4]

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.[5] He later held the seat for Semangat 46 before losing the seat and recontesting it as an independent candidate in the 2004 election.[5][6][7] In the 2008 election, Ibrahim ran for the seat on the endorsement of the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), winning re-election.[8][9] 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.[10] 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 supremacy party,[2][11] which has taken a hardline stance against what they perceive to be infringements on Malay rights.[12] He opposes abolition of the 30% ownership quota for Bumiputera citizens in government projects allocation.[13] Claiming that the ethnic Chinese is dominating the economy of Malaysia, Ibrahim Ali was also quoted for saying certain groups of Chinese should be greedy while Malays are still lagging behind in all economic areas.[14]

Controversies

During an interview with Al Jazeera English, Ibrahim denied that non-Malays were being unfairly treated in Malaysia, but emphasised 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.[15]

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 and was forced to make an apology which in it he promised not to stand up in Parliament for a whole month.[16]

In April 2011, he made perceived sexist remarks in Parliament, blaming "wives who neglect their responsibilities" for Malaysian men having extramarital sex.[17]

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 "Nerf war" against Christians.[18]

In June 2011, he allegedly warned the community not to turn up in support of the 2011 Bersih 2.0 rally, saying that if chaos erupts, "I believe the Chinese community will have to stock up on food."[19] The remark was perceived as racially-charged, with UMNO Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin calling Ibrahim a racist.[20] Ibrahim later claimed he was merely giving an advice, but being misunderstood as giving a threat to the ethnic Chinese community.[21] 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.[22]

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.[23]

In January 2013,.[24] At least a dozen police reports have been made against him as a result of his actions,[25] 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.[26]

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".[27] 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.[28]

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.[29]

On 6 October 2013 Ibrahim Ali has warned of another race riot if the majority of the Foerign Labour 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.[30]

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.[31]

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Ibrahim Ali

Conviction and jail sentence for contempt of court

On 19 November 2013, Ibrahim Ali was fined RM20,000 and jailed one day 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.[32][33][34]

Election results

Parliament of Malaysia: P22 Pasir Mas, Kelantan[35]
Year Government Votes Pct Opposition Votes Pct Independent Votes Pct
1986 Ibrahim Ali (UMNO) 15,711 55% Zakaria Ismail (PAS) 11,903 42% - - -
1990 Hanafi Mamat (UMNO) 10,776 34% Ibrahim Ali (S46) 20,066 63% - - -
1995 Ibrahim Ali (UMNO) 16,178 44% Zainudin Mohamad Nor (S46) 19,394 52% - - -
1999 Ibrahim Ali (UMNO) 15,392 39% Ismail Nor (PAS) 23,967 60% - - -
2004 Abdul Rahim Abdul Rahman (UMNO) 16,275 39% Ismail Noh (PAS) 17,526 42% Ibrahim Ali 6,198 15%
2008 Ahmad Rosdi Mahmad (UMNO) 19,682 40% Ibrahim Ali (PAS nominal party ticket; de facto independent) 28,673 58%
2013 Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz (PAS) 33,431 56% Ibrahim Ali 25,384 42%

References

  1. ↑ Impact International, Volumes 31–32, News & Media, 2001, p. 6
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 England, Vaudine (12 February 2010). "Allah row reflects Malay racial identity fear". BBC News. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
  3. ↑ "Ibrahim labels Chinese as ungrateful". The Star (Star Publications). 18 May 2010. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
  4. ↑ Gomez, Jennifer (19 November 2013) Ibrahim Ali, blogger jailed in contempt case. The Malaysian Insider. Retrieved on 19 November 2013.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Maverick Ibrahim to contest but not on BN ticket". New Straits Times. 6 March 2004.
  6. ↑ "Ibrahim: More cons than pros to anti-crossover law". The Star (Malaysia). 24 March 2008. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
  7. ↑ "Malaysia Decides 2004". The Star (Malaysia).
  8. ↑ "Malaysia Decides 2008". The Star (Malaysia).
  9. ↑ "Ibrahim Ali: I’m not beholden to any party". The Star (Malaysia). 25 February 2008. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
  10. ↑ "Ibrahim Ali admits leaning towards BN". mysinchew.com. 21 October 2009. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
  11. ↑ "Sultan won't be attending Perkasa gathering". The Star (Star Publications). 19 March 2010. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
  12. ↑ Loh, Deborah (16 March 2010). "The Real Deal with Perkasa". The Nut Graph. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
  13. ↑ Loh, Deborah (17 March 2010). "Keeping Perkasa on track". The Nut Graph. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
  14. ↑ "Ibrahim Ali: Don't some Chinese be too greedy". Sin Chew Jit Poh. 12 April 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
  15. ↑ Kyle, Laura (29 March 2010). "Minorities cry foul in Malaysia". Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
  16. ↑ "Dewan turns into a 'zoo' over seating position, name-calling". The Star. 1 May 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  17. ↑ "Men have affairs because wives neglect their responsibilities, MP tells parliament". Agence France Presse (Sydney Morning Herald). 8 April 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  18. ↑ Chooi, Clara (15 May 2011). "As police probe, Ibrahim Ali threatens crusade against Christians in Malaysia and the rest of the world.". The Malaysian Insider. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  19. ↑ "Ibrahim raises spirit of May 13 at anti-Bersih rally launch". The Malaysian Insider. 20 June 2011.
  20. ↑ "Ibrahim Ali's remarks not representative of Malays, says Khairy". The Malaysian Insider. 20 June 2011.
  21. ↑ "Ibrahim Ali: I was misunderstood". The Malaysian Insider. 21 June 2011.
  22. ↑ The fearless and the chicken-hearted. My Sinchew (12 July 2011). Retrieved on 11 November 2013.
  23. ↑ Najib: Ang pow should be in red, Asia One News, New Straits Times, 1 February 2012
  24. ↑ Burn "Allah" bibles, Perkasa chief tells Muslims, Free Malaysia Today, 19 January 2013.
  25. ↑ Second police report against Ibrahim Ali. Free Malaysia Today (23 January 2013). Retrieved on 11 November 2013.
  26. ↑ Iskandar, Amin (31 January 2013) Stop delaying action against Ibrahim Ali, says former A-G. Themalaysianinsider.com.
  27. ↑ Perkasa opposes any attempt to bring back Chin Peng’s remains. Malaysia-today.net (16 September 2013). Retrieved on 11 November 2013.
  28. ↑ Awang Chik, Hasbullah (20 September 2013) Don’t upset Malays with Chin Peng issue, Perkasa warns MCA. The Malaysian Insider. Retrieved on 11 November 2013.
  29. ↑ Perkasa wants RM1.4 trillion for Bumis. Free Malaysia Today (18 September 2013). Retrieved on 11 November 2013.
  30. ↑ Anbalagan, V. (6 October 2013) Perkasa chief warns of fresh race riot if Malays not helped economically. The Malaysian Insider. Retrieved on 11 November 2013.
  31. ↑ Shukry, Anisah (18 October 2013) 'Teach Christians a lesson, ban al-Kitab'. Free Malaysia Today (18 October 2013). Retrieved on 11 November 2013.
  32. ↑ Gomez, Jennifer (19 November 2013) Ibrahim Ali, blogger jailed in contempt case. The Malaysian Insider. Retrieved on 19 November 2013.
  33. ↑ Chi, Melissa (19 November 2013) Ibrahim Ali held in contempt over blog post. The Malay Mail Online. Retrieved on 19 November 2013.
  34. ↑ Kow, Kwan Yee (19 November 2013) Guilty of contempt! Ibrahim Ali gets a day's jail. Malaysiakini. Retrieved on 19 November 2013.
  35. ↑ "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen/Dewan Undangan Negeri". Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 26 May 2010. Percentage figures based on total turnout.