Kamarul I Never Disputed Sim S Aid Just Expressed Discomfort Over Publicity

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Universiti Utara Malaysia senior lecturer Kamarul Zaman Yusoff said it should be made clear that he has never once disputed all the help given by Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim to his constituents or to anyone else, but that he was uncomfortable over the attendant publicity.
"All I did was express my discomfort at seeing it (the aid) as deliberately being sensationalised for publicity through lengthy storytelling using verses meant to trigger emotions, linked to Ramadan and accompanied by detailed photographs that looked planned," Kamarul told Malaysiakini.
Sim had earlier expressed sadness after Kamarul had listed his various charitable works and warned Muslims to be cautious about accepting help from "Christian evangelists".
"As an MP, my duty is to help people in my constituency who need assistance regardless of race and religion," said Sim.
In a lengthy reply, Kamarul cited the case of two donated motorcycles worth RM4,500 and RM4,700 respectively given to Food Panda employees named Mohamad, 22, and Zulfakar, 26.
Sim gave Mohamad the motorcycle on April 13 while PAS' Pendang MP Awang Hashim made a similar donation to Zulfakar.
Kamarul (above) claimed that such donations should not be sensationalised as they were insensitive to the Malay Muslim population, especially Food Panda workers from Kelantan who were working in Penang.
"I myself felt sad when I found out the fate of this Food Panda worker from Kelantan who is miserable in Penang and wanted to help him; unfortunately, when I tried to get his phone number from those who have access to Sim, this attempt failed.
"This made me wonder why they want to keep the identity of this employee secret when many other parties want to help as well," he said.
"This has become sensitive because it has been deliberately highlighted how the Chinese Christian Sim is helping the Malay Muslim man while not missing Chinese Christians or other Chinese who live in poverty - but why are Malay Muslims selected for sensationalised stories?
"It seems there is a specific purpose behind it," said Kamarul.




Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim
Kamarul said that he himself was a regular donor to the non-Malay Muslims, especially among students or former students of the university, including giving RM5,500 to a Chinese student in Kepong who failed to get financial assistance from the DAP on March 7.
"I deliberately did not want to publicise and sensationalise because I am aware of this rather sensitive matter," said Kamarul.
He claimed that Sim, through his own writings and the writings of his former special officer Joshua Woo, could be described as a Christian missionary and a Christian evangelist.
He said that the pair had called on the church to not limit their evangelistic activities to finding new Christian recruits/believers, but also get involved in politics on a practical level.
Kamarul also referred a flashpoint in September 2018 when PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man warned DAP against pursuing its alleged Christianisation agenda after a video recording surfaced of Sim at a forum entitled 'New Malaysia Narrative'in Mega Chinese Methodist Church, Kota Damansara, Selangor.
Sim, at the time, asked Tuan Ibrahim to respect freedom of religion and said that the forum was hosted for Christians to discuss their responsibilities as Malaysians.
“In my speech, I highlighted values from the Bible as a guide to become good Malaysians, for example, justice, transparency, helping the meek and poor, (and) rejecting corruption, oppression and racism.
"I did not criticise or touch on other religions, and in fact, urged Malaysian Christians to be good citizens who practised such values."
Kamarul said that in this context, he wished to remind Malay Muslims to think and reflect on the actions before they excessively praised Chinese Christians doing good to help Malay Muslims in such a way that it seems orchestrated to boost their image, while never denying that the donor was a Christian missionary and Christian evangelist.
He challenged Sim to sue him if his response was slanderous and ridiculed him.
"I cannot see where I have slandered and ridiculed him, and I did not even urge the Malay Muslim community not to accept any assistance given by him; just cautioned against excessive praise.
"I also remind Sim to just make regular announcements and not overly sensationalise and publicise giving assistance to Malay Muslims as it can cause tension between races and religions," he said.
Kamarul's full statement can be found here. - Mkini

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