Gerakan has called on the government to ban the use of “k****g”, a slur often directed at the Indian community, saying it is offensive and threatens national unity.
Its president, Dominic Lau, said the word, which has gained traction especially on social media, belittles Indians and should not be tolerated in a peaceful, multiracial country.
“The use of insulting words against any race or religion is damaging to the structure of a harmonious nation.
“The government must be serious in curbing language that insults any race, religion or background. Step out of the comfort zone and see how deep the division has become,” Lau said in a statement.
He also said it was time to stop justifying the use of the word as part of historical texts or folklore.
“What we need now is sentiment, respect and the wisdom to strengthen unity,” he said.
Lau’s call for the K word to be banned follows calls by some quarters for the government to refrain from using the term “kuil haram” when acting on suspected illegally built Hindu temples. Such calls have come from MIC deputy president M Saravanan and rights group Lawyers for Liberty.
The “kuil haram” term came about in the wake of the controversy sparked by the proposed relocation of a Hindu temple in Kuala Lumpur.
In 2021, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) said it would not apologise for the use of the word “k****g” in describing a person of Indian origin in the dictionary.
The then director-general, Abang Sallehuddin Abg Shokeran, said this was because the use of the term in the dictionary was not derogatory.
