Carlson must apologise, retract remarks linking Harris to Malaysia, says Kok

FMT:

Carlson must apologise,

retract remarks linking

Harris to Malaysia, says

Kok

FMT Reporters

-30 Oct 2024, 08:27 PM

DAP vice-chairman Teresa Kok says the American political commentator had disparaged Malaysia and ‘unjustly dragged the country’ into US politics.

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Seputeh MP Teresa Kok said it was disappointing that American political commentator Tucker Carlson resorted to using nationality and gender to attack Kamala Harris and, in doing so, had implicated Malaysia.

PETALING JAYA: 

DAP vice-chairman Teresa Kok has blasted American political commentator Tucker Carlson for belittling Malaysia in his attacks on US presidential candidate Kamala Harris, adding that he should retract his remarks and apologise.

The Seputeh MP said that Carlson had disparaged Malaysia and “unjustly dragged the country” into the two-party rivalry in the US.

“It is disappointing that Carlson resorted to using nationality and gender to attack Harris and, in doing so, had implicated Malaysia in his remarks.

“He needs to retract his remarks and apologise to Malaysians,” she said in a statement.

Carlson reportedly mocked Harris at a Republican rally in Madison Square Garden, New York, by labelling her as “Samoan-Malaysian” and a “low-IQ former California prosecutor”.

Harris, the current US vice-president, is the daughter of a Jamaican father and Indian mother.

Kok said that the discourse should be on the candidates’ abilities, policies, and vision, rather than their family background or place of birth, “especially since Harris is not originally from Malaysia”.

She also called upon PAS leaders, who are “preoccupied” with the issue of the Chinese flag being waved at several parades locally, to redirect their attention to the matter of Malaysia’s reputation being tarnished during the US political campaign.

Earlier today, foreign minister Mohamad Hasan invited Harris to “balik kampung” to Malaysia if elected the next US president, in a tongue-in-cheek response to Carlson’s attack.

In a Facebook post responding to Carlson’s claim that Harris was part-Malaysian, Mohamad thanked the former Fox News host for bringing this to his attention.

“We were not aware that a Malaysian was running for the office of US president.

“Should Puan Kamala win the race, we are delighted to invite her to ‘balik kampung’ and try some ‘nasi goreng USA’,” he said, referring to the fried rice dish that has no actual links to the US.