“I’m Not Racist” Terengganu PAS Adun Criticised Over Twitter Posts

Jabi assemblyman Dr Azman Ibrahim reminisced about the British Colonial era and was accused of inciting racial disharmony by sowing fear about non-Malay-owned businesses.

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Jabi assemblyman and Terengganu state exco Dr Azman Ibrahim has once again earned the wrath of netizens as some of his social media posts were deemed an attempt to incite racial tension.

One of the tweets dated 16 February showed Azman allegedly waxing lyrical about the old days by posting up a picture showing a Malay man being pulled on a rickshaw by a Chinese man.

Suatu ketika dulu di tanahairku… pic.twitter.com/QPfPHZjr6A
— Dr Azman Ibrahim (@Dr_AzmanIbrahim) February 16, 2023

Another string of tweets on the same day was a play on fear-mongering. He claimed that the Malays would suffer if the non-Malay business owners hid product stocks, increase the price of products, or refuse to sell to Malay customers.

He also claimed that the non-Malays are afraid of the Malay people boycotting their businesses via the ‘Buy Muslim First’ (BMF) campaign because the Malay people are the ones helping to prop up the businesses owned by other races.

He ended his tweets by saying he’s not a racist but has the guts to speak the truth.

Kenapa kita terlalu pesimis dan negatif? Sedarkah kita bahawa kuasa beli orang Melayu yang menghidupkan perniagaan bangsa lain di banyak negeri di Malaysia. Mereka sangat takut kalau orang Melayu boikot. Kita buat kempen BMF mereka dah kalut.
— Dr Azman Ibrahim (@Dr_AzmanIbrahim) February 16, 2023

His remarks online have drawn criticism from netizens. They pointed out his thinking flaws and said people like him are the cause of racial tension and disharmony if they’re left unchecked.

Regarding the picture he uploaded, netizens pointed out that the British during the colonial era loved Malays who would quickly turn their backs on their people and homeland once they were offered titles and riches.

There was also a racial hierarchy in each race during those times and only the wealthy could enjoy privileges.

Thus, there was nothing to be proud of in the “good old days” and it’s just a false sense of nostalgia.

If anything, netizens think the image is a testament to the grit and hard work of Chinese immigrants and slaves in those days.

Some netizens also condemned Azman’s second tweet for being unIslamic due to its racist nature.

They advised Azman to expand his thinking outside Kelantan and Terengganu, and to show a good example of Islam while conducting business with the other races, instead of being prejudiced.

the person who tweeted this jus wanna provoke racism
— Danny Gunners For Life🇲🇾 (@DanBGunners) February 17, 2023

Saya rasa, rusuhan kaum bermula dengan tweet-tweet seperti ini. https://t.co/RLz4SWihLW
— Roman Akramovich (@SyedAkramin) February 17, 2023

Your racial superiority fantasies are interesting: they speak of a false nostalgia, deep personal insecurities, a fetishisation of status symbols, a lack an understanding of inter-generational wealth creation & ultimately of an impoverished & crippling feeling of entitlement.
— Sharaad C. Kuttan (@SharaadKuttan) February 17, 2023

Back during the colonial era, the British loved Malays like these because they knew offering even a glint of status and money they would turn against their own country, people, friends, and family in a heartbeat. Cause that’s their true religion, wealth and power. https://t.co/qnyiUZOBQU
— Syed Emir (@syedemir94) February 17, 2023

Perlu ingat juga,zaman dulu yg hidup mewah golongan bangsawan.rakyat marhaen tu tak dpt privilege.semua bangsa sama pada zaman tu,ada hierarchy dlm bangsa itu sendiri.apa yg awk cuba sampai kan di sini?
— notak (@drnotak) February 17, 2023

sejarah zmn dlu, stiap kaum da hierarki trsendiri dr bangsawan ke marhen biasa. bgituh jga sampai skrng, da B40,M40 dn T20 tk kira kaum. tp benda yb nk sampai tuh ada brbaur prkauman. careful, ada sultan titah henti pihak eksploitasi isu agama, kaum untk tujuan politik.
— Kungzapps (@kungzapps) February 17, 2023

So Dr, Tuan, what you are saying is we are only moving forward because of the quiet tenacity and strong work ethic of the Chinese community? And also that slavery lagi best. Faham.
— YBeeee #MP4UluKatak (@YBeeee) February 17, 2023

Well at least they worked their way up and good for them. You can’t say the same.
— DuckyMomoStanAcc (@HolyCannoli09) February 17, 2023

Saja jer nak tanya. Islam ajar rasis ka? Islam ajar fasis ka?
— NoBody (@mikerisan) February 16, 2023

adakah ini style Nabi dan Sahabat2 buat bisnes di Madinah?Masa tu cabaran bukan shj racism tapi lebih dahsyat lg – Yahudi, Quraishi, Kafir2 lain. Pakar2 bisnes wajib analyse sirah ini dan mana2 yg baik diinternalise dlm MADANI. Tk perlu satu lg BMF atau apa2 yg memecahkan ukhuwah
— Firasat HjRukin | Orang tua Tuiter (@HjRukin) February 16, 2023

Rezeki tu datang dari Allah .. dalam berurusan dengan bangsa lain kita tunjukkan bagaimana akhlak seorang islam .. bukan menanam sifat prejudis
— sams21🇲🇾🇲🇾💕💕 (@sams2110) February 16, 2023

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