On February 1st 2015, a Facebook comment by Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri (Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister) went viral on social media. This started a controversy as many readers interpreted his remarks as a call for Malay consumers to boycott Chinese traders. An example of how the comment was shared is shown below:
https://twitter.com/khairulryezal/status/561735969225723905
What follows is a curated list of popular daily responses on Twitter as the story developed from February 2nd – 4th. This is based on the tweets that we collected about Ismail Sabri. A separate list of popular reponses on ‘boycotting Chinese traders’ is at the end of this post.
February 2nd 2015
Sokong @IsmailSabri60 boikot old town white coffee yg dipertikai status halalnya dan kedai2 tauke yg tidak mahu turun harga
— Dr Asyraf Wajdi (@drasyrafwajdi) February 2, 2015
bila tak dapat undi cina tanya apa lagi cina mau? lepas tu suruh boikot cina meniaga. cerdik level menteri umno.
— Norman (@norman__g) February 2, 2015
Tak prlu KP MCA @chongsinwoon mlatah dgn pndgn DS @IsmailSabri60 .ianya respon yg tepat dgn realiti.umum pun tahu dominasi cina dlm eknomi.
— Fathul Bari (@ustazfathulbari) February 2, 2015
Eric Paulsen kutuk Islam = kebebasan bersuara
Ismail Sabri seru boikot OldTown = rasis, menghasut
Non Malays should be consistent lorr
— Asrul Muzaffar (@asrulmm) February 2, 2015
Ismail Sabri bakar sentimen kaum, tak jawab soal 'cukai' petrol yg didedahkan @rafiziramli dgn dasar baru minyak & pengenalan #GST 1/2
— Nik Nazmi (@niknazmi) February 2, 2015
Jangan putarbelitkan kenyataan @chongsinwoon, Fahami maksud YBM @IsmailSabri60.. @NajibRazak @dzaidisaid @DrNovandri pic.twitter.com/4fEwPQsZwF
— Ardy Sazly (@ArdySazly) February 2, 2015
February 3rd 2015
Jika ada mana2 pihak x setuju dgn statement DS @IsmailSabri60 bahawa ekonomi di Malaysia ddominasi oleh kaum Cina ,maka sila tampil&nafikn!
— Fathul Bari (@ustazfathulbari) February 3, 2015
If MCA feels so strongly about @IsmailSabri60 & stand with DAP, feel free to resign from all government posts & positions.
— Dr Shikin (@drshikin) February 3, 2015
Saya rasa teruk dengan kenyataan menteri Dato Ismail Sabri. Bukan hanya kena mohon maaf, bahkan kena dibasuh otaknya. Tp apakan daya, umno..
— nik mohamad abduh (@nikabduh) February 2, 2015
@501awani himpunan bekas pemuda umno mengadakan sidang media mempertahankan datuk ismail sabri mengenai isu cina pic.twitter.com/QIHpLBeENc
— wan syamsul amly (@wansyamsulamly) February 3, 2015
Jom kempen #TurunHargaBarang & boikot peniaga Tamak ..guna hak kuasa pengguna kita @IsmailSabri60 pic.twitter.com/d5Cgf15k5S
— Akimzone (@AkimZone) February 3, 2015
sedar tak sedar indirectly Ismail Sabri cakap UMNO gagal tolong melayu. dah 60 tahun perintah Malaysia pun majoriti masih jadi pengguna.
— Norman (@norman__g) February 3, 2015
Wonder kalau DS @anwaribrahim yg kuarkan statement serupa Ismail Sabri tuh mcm mane reaksi polis . Mungkin dah tmbh satu lagi kes kt court
— فريد دوام (@khayrulfarid) February 3, 2015
February 4th 2015
Aku nak ikut kata Ismail Sabri untuk boikot kedai Cina.
Aku beli Lampu kedai cina RM35.
Aku pi kedai Melayu, tanya lampu yang sama, RM130.
— Luca MN (@mutalibuthman) February 4, 2015
Mohon pihak @PDRMsia @KBAB51 siasat ugutan bunuh yang dibuat keatas Menteri DS @IsmailSabri60 . Ini melampau. pic.twitter.com/WtONFqPv8t
— Sir Azri (@Sir_Azri) February 4, 2015
Racists are mad at Ismail Sabri for telling the truth. Yet the people Ismail Sabri criticised still prefer staff who speak mandarin. Irony.
— Boyfriend From Hell (@The_Endie) February 4, 2015
Kalau Ismail Sabri tak melalut dan cuma cakap boikot produk peniaga tamak, tanpa garis ras; saya tentu suka.
— Tan Sri Mamu™ (@The_Mamu) February 4, 2015
DS @IsmailSabri60 stand should be applauded by all regardless of race. Consumers can use their buying power to benefit themselves. #DSZH
— Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (@Zahid_Hamidi) February 3, 2015
Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob bertegas tidak akan membuat permohonan maaf terhadap kenyataan yang dibuat olehnya sebelum ini.
— Harian Metro (@hmetromy) February 4, 2015
So, a 'We are all Ismail Sabri' campaign initiated by ……
Ismail Sabri.
— HN (@vonHxzrul) February 4, 2015
What do you get when you have institutionalised racism entrenched in the education system?
"We are Ismail Sabri." Nuff said.
— Azira (@ladymissazira) February 4, 2015
Teguran DS @IsmailSabri60 dituju kpd semua peniaga bukan kpd kaum tertentu. | @NajibRazak | @PMOMalaysia pic.twitter.com/VSHQJNS6rL
— Datuk Huan CG. (@Huan2U) February 4, 2015
Popular Tweets About Boycotting Chinese Traders
As a result of the FB post going viral, over 2000 users tweeted about boycotting Chinese traders. What follows is a curated list of popularly shared tweets from February 1st – 8th.
"Suruh boikot Cina, tapi melayu sendiri tengahari baru nak mula meniaga."- Leng Chai
— KOTAK SUARA (@gengbebel) February 6, 2015
Macam mana nk boikot peniaga cina kalau melayu bukak kedai pon pukul 10?
Peniaga melayu, untung sket pergi joli.
— Anjing Nators (@Anjingnators) February 3, 2015
Melayu meniaga karipap pun bubuh inti angin. Nak cakap pasal boikot Cina.
— Pairuz (@tunfairuz) February 3, 2015
Ini komen gua pasal isu boikot peniaga Cina. pic.twitter.com/f3hZ65wAII
— rakyat / Jaja (@twt_malaysia) February 8, 2015
Dulu cina Robert Kuak jual gula sekilo = rm1.40 saja. Skrg melayu Syed Mokhtar jual gula sekilo rm=2.80. Ni nak boikot melayu ke cina?
— Pak Cik Gopoh™ (@KingGopoh) February 5, 2015
Realiti kebanyakan kedai Melayu.
1- Harga mahal.
2- Buka bila rasa nak buka, tutup bila rasa nak tutup.
Boikot kedai Cina? Susah.
— Pa Alif Hamzah Ta (@SyafaatNasir) February 4, 2015