KUALA LUMPUR: Umno has suspended Bukit Bendera division chief Datuk Ahmad Ismail for three years over his alleged racist remarks about the Chinese.
The decision was reached at a special meeting of the Umno supreme council held at the PWTC Wednesday afternoon. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi chaired the meeting.
Abdullah told a press conference after the meeting that Ahmad would also be stripped of all party posts.
The meeting was held after Barisan Nasional component parties said they wanted "immediate and stern action" to be taken against Ahmad during a meeting of the coalition's supreme council on Tuesday afternoon. However, because it involved a party matter, they left it to Umno to act.
The Prime Minister had said on Tuesday that the issue had caused uneasiness, worry and anger among the people.
"Some (component parties) expressed their disappointment over what transpired while some showed anger.
"All of us are of the view that Ahmad's comments are not acceptable at all. What he said has caused anger and concern among the people, non-bumiputras and bumiputras alike, not just in the peninsula but also in Sabah and Sarawak," Abdullah told reporters on Tuesday.
Ahmad stirred a hornet's nest recently when he said in a speech while campaigning for the Permatang Pauh by-election that the Chinese were immigrants in the country and did not deserve equal treatment.
Despite criticisms from various community leaders, he refused to apologise.
- The Star