Najib flip-flops on rejecting Perkasa, says doesn't want conflict

Malaysia Chronicle

As expected, Prime Minister Najib Razak has already begun back-pedaling on recent statements from certain Umno leaders that the party would reject Perkasa, an ultra Malay rights NGO whose patron is former premier Mahathir Mohamad.

“No, we do not want to be in conflict with any NGO. It (Perkasa) is just like any other NGO. We have so many NGOs. There are times we can agree, and there are times we cannot agree. No, I do not want to refer specifically to anyone,” Najib was reported as saying on Friday. He was asked to respond on Mahathir's comments that for Umno to break off with Perkasa, it would hurt its ability to win over Malay votes.

But at a glittering event on Wednesday, the signs were already evident that he may have knocked out a deal or some form of preliminary truce with Mahathir. This would pre-empt the power tussle predicted by many pundits after several leaders aligned to Najib publicly distanced Umno from Perkasa, which has been stirring up unprecedented social discord with its racist rhetoric.

MCA's Chua Soi Lek

At the event, both men were all smiles and Najib pledged in his speech to achieve Mahathir’s Vision 2020, an ambitious economic plan that aims to turn Malaysia into a developed nation. And when his turn came to speak, Mahathir reciprocated, U-turning on his previously pro-Malay stance by calling for unity and acknowledging that Malaysia was for all Malaysians.

Fools who rushed in

Gerakan's Koh Tsu Koon

Najib's latest statement is bound to disappoint those who had hoped to see his administration finally make headway in implementing sorely needed social and economic reforms. Many Malaysian had been hoping to hear him personally confirm that Umno would no longer support Perkasa.

Indeed in his Malaysia Day address on Wednesday night, Najib had spoken out against extremism in the country. On Friday, he reiterated that his government would distance itself from extremists but again refused to say who he meant.

MIC's Samy Vellu

“Well, now we know he doesn’t mean Perkasa. We have always warned that the whole Umno-Perkasa row was a charade because at the end of the day, Najib just does not have it in him to go head to head with Mahathir,” PKR strategic director Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

"You don't need any great analytical skills to see that. Now it looks like the fools are MCA, MIC and Gerakan. They rushed to celebrate and tell their constituents that Umno has changed its racist ways but it hasn't. The BN is still manipulating and deceiving the public."