Opposition trying to twist the meaning of 'Ketuanan Melayu'

Hisham's keris brandishing alarmed non-Malays

KUALA LUMPUR - The Opposition is trying to confuse the people by twisting the meaning of 'Ketuanan Melayu', said Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.

Hishammuddin, who is also Umno vice president, said Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president Datin Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail's statement on the subject clearly had political motives and was aimed at causing unease among the various races in the country.

When closing PKR's seventh annual congress in Petaling Jaya, Wan Azizah had said the party rejected the 'Ketuanan Melayu" concept.

Hishammuddin said PKR leaders would stoop to any level in trying to garner support from the people without thinking of the impact on the long term development of the nation.

"I would like to ask Wan Azizah and the PKR leadership, are they also rejecting the institution of the Malay rulers? What is being raised by PKR is clearly an attempt to belittle the Malays. We do not want the institution of the Malay rulers to be also belittled," he said in a statement here Monday.

He said it was there for all to see that non-Malays were also enjoying the fruits of the country's progress, and in fact, had a bigger slice of the economic pie compared to Malays.

He said non-Malays were also free to realise their full potential without any obstacles put in their path.

"'Ketuanan Melayu' is not to make Malays 'Tuan" (masters). Since the birth of Umno decades ago to champion the plight of the Malays, not a single race had been marginalised or became slaves," he said.

Hishammuddin also said the thinking and ideology PKR advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was trying to instill appeared to follow the concept and propaganda brought about in the Malayan Union era before Merdeka (Independence).

"His actions show he has no regard for the Constitution and the laws of the country," he added.

-- BERNAMA