Wee Hong Seng, who is also a leader of the Sarawak United People’s Party, said DAP assemblyman Violet Yong’s criticism of Affin Bank was off the mark. He said the hornbill on the debit card was merely a conceptual design, Dayak Daily reported.
Wee also said the design of the hornbill featured was “quite close” to the rhinoceros hornbill, Sarawak’s state bird, with a casque that curves upwards.
“If you ask me whether it resembles the rhinoceros hornbill, I’d say it is quite close,” he was quoted as saying.
Wee took Yong to task for ridiculing the bank and state government at a Sarawak DAP fundraising dinner also attended by DAP chairman Gobind Singh Deo, accusing her of besmirching Sarawak’s reputation in front of West Malaysians.
He said Yong, who is Sarawak DAP secretary, should respect her home state and fellow Sarawakians instead of using a public platform to stir controversy and score political points.
“If something’s not right, let’s fix it. Don’t make Sarawakians lose face in front of outsiders. We’ve worked to bring this state up. Don’t sabotage it for your own interest or publicity. Unity is our strength. When outsiders see how united we are, they won’t dare touch us.
“But if they see an internal saboteur, they’ll wait for their chance,” he said.
Yong had urged Affin Bank to apologise over the purported blunder as well as to recall the cards and replace them with ones that depict the correct species of hornbill.
She had said the bird shown on the card was that of the great hornbill instead of the rhinoceros hornbill. The great hornbill is found in mainland Asia while the rhinoceros hornbill is found only in the forests of Peninsular Malaysia and the islands of Sumatra, Java and Borneo.
Affin Bank introduced the Kenyalang savings account for Sarawakians last month. Account holders were given a special debit card bearing the hornbill graphic.
The Sarawak government has a 31.25% stake in the bank, after acquiring additional shares from the Armed Forces Fund Board and Boustead Holdings Bhd last year.