Perkasa not the model for Malay cause, says Pak Lah

There is nothing wrong in championing the cause of race or community but it should not be done in the belligerent manner of Perkasa, former prime minister Tun Abdullah Badawi said in a book about his years in power.

In the volume titled, "Awakening: The Abdullah Badawi Years In Malaysia", he added that it was wrong to champion the cause by demonising other races.

The group led by Datuk Ibrahim Ali and Datuk Zulkifli Noordin has been pushing the right-wing agenda, especially the concept of Ketuanan Melayu, and has taken a confrontational approach against those it deems enemies of the Malay race and Islam.

In the run-up to the elections, Perkasa was engulfed in controversy after Ibrahim threatened to burn the Al-Kitab, the Malay-language bible, while video clips surfaced showing Zulkifli demeaning Hindus.

Touching on the concept of Ketuanan Melayu, Abdullah said that it should not be taken to mean Malay supremacy.

“What does Tuan mean? Master. How do you become a master? By excelling at what you do – whether it is in your studies, your profession, your business…

“Just because you are a bumiputera, you cannot expect everybody to just hand everything over to you and call you Tuan. Ketuanan is not an entitlement or a right. It is something you have to work for and to earn,” he said.

He acknowledged that there was genuine concern among some Malays over the plight of their race as many are still underprivileged.

“However, these concerns could have been better expressed through proper channels, and not in the offensive and belligerent manner that Perkasa does,” said Abdullah.

“I believe that you must always be reasonable and rational when you’re talking about people,” said Abdullah, who was forced to step down as the PM in 2009 after he led the Barisan Nasional (BN) to a limp performance in the general election the year before.

Abdullah’s comments about Perkasa will provoke a response from Ibrahim and possibly from its patron, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Few Umno leaders have ventured to criticise the right-wing movement publicly, worried about the gush of vitriol it would provoke from the sharp-tongued Ibrahim and Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia, another promoter of the right-wing agenda.

But privately, they point out that Perkasa’s existence diminishes Umno’s role as the protector of Malays.