ALOR STAR: Gerakan national Youth chief Wong Chia Zhen has joined the chorus criticising Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming over his proposal to nominate new Chinese villages in Selangor as Unesco World Heritage sites.
Wong, who is also the Kulim assemblyman and state executive councillor hit out at the DAP vice-chairman for causing division among the people.
"This issue has cause a division among the people and once more highlighted that racial issues are a zero sum game.
"I am gravely worried by the current scenario as his proposal has triggered a sense of threat among the Malay community. It is true that the formation of a Chinese new village has heritage value, since it was established by the British to fight the communists. Hence, coincidently the Chinese community identity was formed.
"However, we must understand that the formation of this identity was actually a tactic by British to retain their power by dividing and conquering means after the communists had been supressed.
"The British wanted to make sure that people remained divided," he said in a statement.
Nga had previously said the proposal to nominate Chinese new villages or Kampung Baru Cina in Selangor as a Unesco World Heritage Site was to recognise its cultural and historical importance as these settlements were founded 76 years ago.
Wong claimed that Nga has intentionally caused the people's outrage as Malay and Indian villages also had respective heritage values that could be recognised by Unesco.
Thus, he stressed that if Nga was thinking from the perspective of a Malaysian, the latter should have not been thinking from the angle of a single race.
"I am of that opinion as the struggle by my party is not for a single race. In fact, all the seven founders of Gerakan were of different races.
"This once again proves that DAP is nothing close to what it has been preaching all this while, their leaders are showing the characteristic of a communal party with shallow perspective," he said.
Wong urged Malaysians to keep their faith as the unity among the communities is not easily threatened by certain quarters who wish to become "jaguh kampung, rosak susu sebelanga" (a local hero that spoils everything).
It was reported that Umno leaders have openly criticised Nga's proposal.
On Monday, Kedah Umno information chief Datuk Shaiful Hazizy Zainol Abidin joined party leaders in voicing opposition to Nga's proposal.
Shaiful was reported as questioning why only Chinese villages were elevated while there were no similar efforts for Malay and Indian settlements, particularly amid demolition and disruption of Malay villages.
Prior to that, Umno secretary-general Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki rejected the proposal, stressing that the implications were too great and indirectly affected the Malay-Bumiputera position in the country.
In response to the objections, Nga said he would be meeting Umno leaders to discuss his proposal.