YOURSAY | ‘Punishing him will give bigots chance to continue fomenting racial or religious tensions.’

Man who bullied beer promoter apologises, says regrets action

Anonymous_1419577444: People, please move on. It takes lots of guts and humility (something that even our president of the Dewan Negara does not have) to make a public apology.

The way to help this man (Edi Rejang) be a more tolerant and respectful person and be a better role model for his children is to accept his apology and give him a chance to change.

Punishing him will only make him feel bitter and creates opportunities for bigots to continue to foment racial or religious tensions.

The young woman has a big heart in choosing not to pursue the matter.

It also takes a big heart for Malaysians to accept that silly mistakes can be forgiven and for the offender to be given a chance to change. Like they said: "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."

Everybody learnt something from this incident and hopefully, we can use this experience to promote better harmony.

Shibboleth: I watched the apology video twice. I think there was genuine contrition, the apology was unreserved and he undertakes not to repeat his actions. All in, he should be given a second chance.

Credit to Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng and others who came forward to support the beer promoter. And thank you to the police for the quick action. Future bullies, be warned.

Ikanbilisman: Bravo to this man for apologising openly, and bravo to the young promoter for her spirit of closing the episode and moving on.

This should be the spirit of Malaysians and some leaders certainly can learn a thing or two from these two Malaysians.

Kangkung: I was one of those who was very angry with what the person did to the innocent Carlsberg promoter, but with his apology, I think we should let the matter rest.

This is Malaysia Baru so let's not be like the past Umno government. Let's not be vengeful. If we still demand that he be punished, then we are no different than the past government.

Just let bygones be bygones and be friends again.

Anonymous 7478653098613829: Let me congratulate the Pakatan Harapan government for settling the issue with an apology instead of sweeping it under the carpet like in the past.

In any society, there will be a small group of extremists who will try to impose their will on others. Unfortunately, in Malaysia, some of these people were encouraged by the previous government.

The previous government was frequently encouraging racial and religious conflict. Look at the recent videos of how some opposition members behave.

These people are just bullies – we can clearly see that the leader will only misbehave when there are some supporters behind them. I have never seen one who misbehaves if they are alone or when they think the victim is stronger than them.

In the past, when this misbehaviour was highlighted, the government or authorities would just sweep it under the carpet, or worse, and say it is a non-issue.

With this latest incident, we can see that the perpetrator apologised for his mistake. I would think that the perpetrator did feel some pressure as the Harapan government may have indicated that it will not hesitate to take action.

Yes, again, there will be some who will say that this is proof that DAP is controlling the government. But to me, I would say this is a very small but a very significant step taken by the Harapan government to ratchet down mistrust and ill-feelings amongst Malaysians.

Cicak Boy: Where are the Muslim MPs of Harapan to defend the rights of the non-Muslim promoter? Sounds like they are all hiding under a rock somewhere, leaving it to DAP to step forward.

At least the chap apologised. Looks like he was more of a man than most of our MPs.

David Dass: He has apologised. That is enough. The problem is not Edi Rejang. The problem is the people who are inciting the Malays to rebellion.

Why is the government so quiet? They are losing the narrative. They are on the defensive when they should be on the offensive.

Where is the counternarrative? Why do the Malays feel threatened? Where does the threat come from?

SLYeap: Yes, Edi has apologised, so we should just accept his apology and let it go. Until Malaysians stop playing up race and religious issues, we will never grow strong as a nation.

This is one important lesson we can certainly learn from East Malaysians, as almost everyone I know who is from there or who has lived there says that people in East Malaysia really live in religious and racial harmony.

Zzz: If only it were as easy as saying sorry. Deep-seated bigotry in Malaysia must not be allowed to happen as casually as it did on a day at the supermarket. And heaven forbid that we need legislation to control it.

But all Malaysians must think before they speak, lest they spew some hatred from their mouths.

Ipohcrite: I think while it is always magnanimous to forgive a wrongdoing, this sort of racist-slanted behaviour has been happening all too often. Hence, efforts should be taken to have the offenders punished appropriately instead of letting them off with a mere apology.

The behaviour of Edi Rejang, in this case, smacks of a much deeper-rooted racial bias that could, if not corrected in a timely manner, destroy the harmonious relationships of the different ethnic Malaysians living in this country. We should pay heed and priority to this clear and present danger.

Hbasill: I think we should accept his apology, but if he broke any laws, he should be charged.

To apologise is to accept he was wrong, but he must not be absolved if a law has been broken. Only then will others not repeat what he did.

Anonymous_e3e72c1b: Since when is being rude or obnoxious a crime? There was no assault or threat with intent to harm, was there?

Let's not criminalise everything and turn this into a police state. And it’s important not to blow everything out of proportion and turn everything into a national issue. Most Malaysians wouldn't behave the way this man did.

Speaking Sense: There are some in Umno and PAS who also need to apologise to all Malaysians of all races and faiths for trying to destroy the fabric of our society by using race and religion to further their own selfish political and personal prejudices and ambitions.

Only public shaming can cure this kind of behaviour.

Casey: Every man should be given a second chance. A little skirmish, here and there, can occur in any society. Malaysia is no exception.

But on a positive note, it is this kind of incident that raises societal awareness and affords opportunities for humanity to triumph.

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