18/08/2026
PRESS STATEMENT OF CHIN TEK MING ADUN N.25 KAPAYAN 18 AUGUST 2026
SABAH MUST REMAIN A MODEL OF UNITY — RIDHUAN TEE SHOULD RESPECT OUR WAY OF LIFE
I am deeply concerned by the recent remarks attributed to Ridhuan Tee Abdullah concerning a Chinese-language banner for the Hungry Ghost Festival in Ampang.
Reports state that Ridhuan Tee questioned why the banner was not written in Bahasa Melayu and even asked, in substance, whether the location was “China” and whether the local authority was monitoring the banner.
Let me be very clear. Bahasa Melayu is the national language of Malaysia and must be respected. But the status of Bahasa Melayu as our national language does not mean that Malaysians must abandon their mother tongues, cultural traditions or religious practices.
A Chinese-language banner for a Chinese community's cultural or religious observance does not make Malaysia China. A Tamil-language temple notice does not make Malaysia India. A Kadazan, Dusun or Murut cultural celebration does not make Sabah any less Malaysian. Our languages and cultures are not threats to Malaysia. They are part of Malaysia.
DO NOT TURN CULTURE INTO A RACIAL ISSUE
The Hungry Ghost Festival is a traditional observance within the Chinese community. Whether one personally believes in the religious or cultural practice is beside the point.
The fundamental question is whether Malaysians of different communities are entitled to preserve and practise their lawful cultural traditions without being made to feel that doing so somehow makes them less Malaysian.
My answer is unequivocally ‘YES’.
As a Chinese Malaysian, a lawyer, a State Assemblyman for Kapayan and a member of a multiracial political party, I reject any attempt to turn ordinary cultural expression into a question of national loyalty.
A language is not a declaration of nationality. Speaking Chinese does not make a Malaysian Chinese person Chinese by nationality. Speaking Malay does not make someone more Malaysian than another citizen. Our Malaysian identity should be large enough to accommodate all our identities.
COME TO SABAH AND SEE HOW MALAYSIANS LIVE TOGETHER
Perhaps those who are so troubled by a Chinese-language banner should come to Sabah and see for themselves how our people live together. In Sabah, diversity is not merely something written in a political speech. It is our everyday reality.
Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Hindus and followers of other beliefs live side by side. Kadazan, Dusun, Murut, Bajau, Chinese, Indians and many other communities celebrate their respective cultures and traditions.
We do not need to constantly ask:“Is this Malaysia?”
We know the answer.
Yes, this is Malaysia. This is Sabah. And this is precisely the Malaysia that we should protect.
SABAH GOVERNMENT MUST PROTECT SABAH'S SOCIAL HARMONY
I therefore call upon the Sabah Government to make its position clear. Sabah must not allow racial and religious provocation imported from outside the State to disturb the peace and harmony that our people have painstakingly maintained.
The Sabah Government has repeatedly and correctly asserted that Sabah's immigration autonomy is a constitutional safeguard and that its immigration powers are non-negotiable under the Malaysia Agreement 1963.
That autonomy is not merely a slogan to be raised when Sabah is negotiating with Putrajaya. It must also be exercised responsibly when circumstances warrant it.
The Sabah State Attorney-General's Chambers has expressly stated that, under the existing immigration framework, the State Attorney-General has been designated to issue directions to the Director of Immigration to deem a specified person an undesirable immigrant in Sabah.
Therefore, I call upon the Sabah Government to seriously consider whether Ridhuan Tee's repeated and provocative conduct concerning race, religion and culture warrants the lawful exercise of Sabah's immigration powers to refuse him entry into Sabah.
I am not calling for arbitrary action. I am calling for the Sabah Government to exercise the powers that Sabah possesses under the constitutional and immigration arrangements governing our State, in accordance with law, due process and the relevant statutory threshold.
If the State Government has the power to determine who may enter Sabah in circumstances provided by law, then it should not hesitate to use that power when necessary to protect Sabah's peace, harmony and social stability.
SABAH'S IMMIGRATION AUTONOMY MUST HAVE MEANING
For years, Sabah has rightly demanded that its special immigration rights under MA63 be respected.
The State Government has even announced that it deferred the implementation of the federal AKPS framework in Sabah because it considers the preservation of Sabah's immigration autonomy a constitutional safeguard.
I support that position. But autonomy cannot be selective.
If Sabah has autonomy over immigration, then that autonomy must be meaningful, principled and capable of being exercised when the circumstances justify it.
Sabah should not become a playground for individuals from outside the State to make statements that inflame racial and religious sentiments and then assume that Sabah has no ability to respond.
I SPEAK AS A SABAHAN, NOT AGAINST ANY RACE OR RELIGION
Let me also make this absolutely clear:
My criticism is not directed against Islam, Muslims, Malays or any other community.
Malaysia belongs to all of us. I respect Bahasa Melayu as our national language.
At the same time, I will defend the constitutional and cultural rights of every community, including the Chinese community, just as I would defend the rights of Sabah's indigenous communities, Muslims, Christians, Indians and every other Malaysian.
That is what a multiracial Malaysia should mean.
That is what a multiracial political party such as Warisan should stand for.
And that is what Sabah has demonstrated for generations.
MY MESSAGE TO RIDHUAN TEE
My message to Ridhuan Tee is simple:
Do not mistake cultural diversity for disloyalty.
Do not mistake the use of a mother tongue for rejection of Malaysia.
Do not turn a cultural celebration into a racial confrontation.
And if you wish to come to Sabah, understand that you are coming to a State whose people value their peace, harmony and multicultural way of life very deeply.
Sabah does not need lessons in racial tolerance from anyone.
Sabah has been practising it long before many people in Malaya started talking about it.
Our diversity is not our weakness. Our diversity is Sabah's strength. And we will defend it at all course.
-END-
CHIN TEK MING
ADUN N.25 KAPAYAN
18 AUGUST 2026
