Joining in the chorus of criticism against the Umno minister, former MIC strategy director S Vell Paari said Ismail Sabri's call for Malay consumers to boycott Chinese businesses in a bid to lower the prices of goods was "saddening and shocking".
"Why is it that everything needs to be seen through racial lenses? Why couldn't he just label them as errant traders?
"The minister should know that unscrupulous businessmen come in all shades. Therefore, it is highly irresponsible to convert an issue of profiteering into an ‘us v them’ agenda," said Vell Paari, who is the MIC Kepong division chief.
He said, as a cabinet minister, Ismail Sabri could have discussed the problem with his colleague, the domestic trade, cooperatives and consumerism minister and come up with various stern actions against the errant traders.
"Are these errant traders only selling to Malay consumers? They are selling to everyone. Hence it's an issue affecting all Malaysians.
"Errant traders exist everywhere, so use the law to take action and not turn it into a racial war. This is not in the spirit of PM's (prime minister's) 1Malaysia vision."
Ismail Sabri, the agriculture and agro-based industries minister, drew heavy criticism yesterday after he posted on his Facebook account that Malay consumers had a role to play in helping the government fight profiteers by using their collective power to lower the price of goods.
"Forgive me for sharing my views, but besides the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism, which uses the Price Control Act and the Anti-Profiteering Act to act against traders who raise their prices indiscriminately, the greatest power lies with consumers.
"The majority of consumers are Malay, Chinese are a minority. If the Malays boycott their businesses, they will surely have no choice but to reduce their prices," he posted on the social networking site.
Ismail Sabri, who confirmed that he posted the statement on his Facebook account, later said his statement was directed only at the Chinese businesses which had refused to lower their prices.
Vell Paari said today that the Chinese were hardworking community that has contributed to the growth of Malaysia.
"So instead of trying to portray the Chinese as evil, what we should do is learn from them vis-a-vis their sense of unity, hard work, willpower and the never-give-up attitude to succeed in whichever part of the world they might migrate to," he said.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said yesterday that police would call up the minister to give a statement over his Facebook post.