Dr Sim’s post on Timah whiskey issue ‘ignorant’, says DAP man

Michael Kong Feng Nian

KUCHING (Nov 2): Local Government and Housing Minister Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian’s statement on Facebook yesterday over the controversy surrounding ‘Timah’ whiskey was simply ‘ignorant’, said Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak member Michael Kong.

He said Dr Sim should stop covering up for the weakness of his colleague, the federal Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Dato Sri Alexander Nanta Langgi, in dealing with the controversy that had erupted due to the whiskey’s brand name.

“Dr Sim’s recent statement about Timah whiskey is simply ignorant, in terms of the background facts surrounding the issue,” said Kong in a statement.

He said it was Nanta who had caved in to political pressure, having called a meeting with the whiskey manufacturer instead of standing-up for the award-winning homegrown brand.

“From the meeting, the manufacturer is now considering to rename the whiskey. It cannot be pure coincidence that such a consideration has only come to light after all the political brickbats and also the meeting with the federal minister (Nanta).”

Kong said it was a shame that the country was going down ‘a road of ignorance, idiocracy and extremism’.

In a social media post yesterday, Dr Sim had called for a stop in the ‘toxic wordplay’ in relation to the controversy around Timah whiskey.

He also wrote a question, which asked ‘if Malaysians had devoured their mothers simply by eating the instant noodles of the Mamee brand’.

“Malayan politicians have to stop using silly, toxic wordplay to justify their rhetorics, or it will never end,” the post stated.

In this regard, Kong stressed: “Instead of blaming others, Dr Sim should speak to his coalition leaders and MPs from Perikatan Nasional (PN) government before speaking out.

“This (Timah whiskey) issue only started because of PAS and by keeping PAS party in the government, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and SUPP are complicit to any impingement of the rights of the minorities.”

from Borneo Post Online https://bit.ly/3mxT52G
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