NGO Starts Online Petition Urging Tiong King Sing to Resign as Tourism, Arts & Culture Minister

Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister, Tiong King Sing has been under fire recently for his comments about the multilingual signboards issue, so much so that it caused a commotion in Dewan Rakyat recently, where Masjid Tanah MP, Datuk Seri Mas Ermieyati Samsudin, called for him to be replaced.

Now, there is an online petition by the Gerakan Pengundi Sedar (GPS) group seeking his resignation for a variety of reasons.

They wrote, “We Malaysians unanimously urge the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture of Malaysia, TIONG KING SING TO RESIGN as Minister immediately.”

“This insistence is a sign of our dissatisfaction with the decisions and actions of Tiong King Sing while holding the portfolio of Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture since the MADANI government era.”

Here are some of the reasons GPS wants Tiong to resign:

• The multilingual signboard issue
  • GPS believes that Tiong failed as a Minister, to look after the arts and culture of Malaysia by not accepting that Bahasa Malaysia (BM) is “the only national language”.
• Breach of oath
  • This has also led them to believe that, as a Minister, he had breached his oath of allegiance that is required to be taken before the Yang di-Pertuan Agong under Article 43 (6) of the Federal Constitution.
• Prioritising Chinese tourists
  • GPS believes that Tiong is acting as a “hero” by telling Malaysians not to overreact when Malaysia allowed tourists from China to visit our country when Covid-19 cases were rising again and other countries were disallowing Chinese tourists.
  • They also brought up how he allegedly “caused a commotion” at KLIA to defend Chinese tourists who were detained by immigration, and how visa exemptions have increased the presence of Chinese tourists by 238.5%.
• The Bak Kut Teh issue
  • GPS believes that it was rude and disrespectful of Tiong to defend Bak Kut Teh as a national heritage food in Malaysia as it is usually served using pork, which goes against the sensitivities of the Muslim community.

Several other reasons included his “proudly adopting Chinese culture“, his not being fluent in BM, his urging people to accept apologies regarding the issue of the word ‘Allah’ printed on socks, and more.

“Before Tiong King Sing does more damage to the national identity, we Malaysians urge TIONG KING SING TO RESIGN as Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture immediately. Article 43 (5) empowers the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong to remove Tiong King Sing from his ministerial post if advised by the Prime Minister to do so,”

“Therefore, we also urge YAB Dato’ Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim to advise His Majesty the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong to remove Tiong King Sing from his ministerial post or advise Tiong King Sing to resign from his post in accordance with Article 43 (5) of the Federal Constitution,” they said.

GPS also added that if Tiong remains in his position, then the Prime Minister has failed to ensure that all the members of his cabinet respect the oath of allegiance.

As of the time of writing, the petition, which targets 7,500 signatures, has already been signed by 6,549 people.

WORLD OF BUZZ has reached out to the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) in regards to this petition but has yet to hear back.

What do you think about this? Do feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.

Also read: M’sian Advocate Says Tourists Who Want M’sia to be Like Their Own Country Should Not Come Here