Senate president Rais Yatim is a "born-again nationalist" who should ask Umno to change its name to a Malay one, said Tebing Tinggi assemblyperson Abdul Aziz Bari.
Aziz said that Rais should ask Umno (which goes by its English name United Malays National Organisation) to use "Persatuan Kebangsaan Melayu Bersatu" instead since he feels so strongly about using Malay names.
This came after Rais took a swipe at local authorities for choosing English names over Malay ones for various locations, describing the increasingly common practice as "disgusting".
"Actually Rais is just a born-again nationalist. Rais never said this when he was a minister or Negeri Sembilan menteri besar. He was even a parliamentary secretary in 1974 during (prime minister) Abdul Razak Hussein's time.
"If Rais is so passionate, he should press Umno to take the Malay name which was used for quite some time after Umno was formed but was drowned out.
"Malaysia is a multi-racial and multi-religious country so we ought to be careful," Aziz (above) told Malaysiakini today.
He said that Rais should take a leaf from PKR president Anwar Ibrahim who was a Malay language champion in his student days but has since adopted a multi-racial outlook, unlike Rais.
"Rais has got a knack of making U-turns actually. He moved to Parti Semangat 46 after Team B lost in the 1987 Umno contest, then did a PhD in London criticising the undemocratic Umno ways.
"But not long after that he rejoined Umno," Aziz added. - Mkini
Rais in recent years has been known to chide members of the Dewan Negara for using English expressions and once publically berated a journalist for asking him a question in English.
He said he has been vocal about this issue for the past 12 years.
"At that time we had Ukay Heights, Ainsdale, Ampang Waterfront and many others that I find disgusting," Rais told Utusan Malaysia recently.
The practice, he said, has portrayed an obsession with English-styled names, likening it to the Chinese who adopt "European names like Michael, James or George" over their Chinese names.
"I would like to call upon all parties including local authorities to change that attitude," added the veteran politician.
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