Ku Li: Not right to blacklist firms sponsoring Bersih

KUALA LUMPUR: Umno veteranTengku Razaleigh Hamzah is against a call to blacklist companies that sponsor the Bersih movement.

“I don’t think that is right. Anybody can donate to any cause so long as it does not break any law or the constitution,” the Gua Musang Member of Parliament told reporters after launching a book titled The End of Umno? at the Royal Lake Club here yesterday.

Tengku Razaleigh was commenting on the call first made by Utusan Malaysia’s columnist Awang Selamat, widely believed to be the joint pseudonym of the Malay daily’s senior editors.

In its weekly column published on Sunday, Awang Selamat said it was wrong to back a group that is trying to depose a democratically elected government.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan has backed Utusan Malaysia’s call and said he would direct the Economic Planning Unit and the Public-Private Partnership Unit to conduct background checks on companies that seek government contracts through the two agencies.

“Companies that clearly support illegal rallies will be blacklisted immediately. I’m sure there are many other companies that can offer the government equal or better terms and should be given a chance.

“The time for being meek and tolerant is over. I will boycott companies that back movements that threaten the nation’s economic security,” Abdul Rahman said in a series of tweets on Sunday. – by Aiezat Fadzell