KUALA LUMPUR: Umno must ensure its "Rumah Bangsa" initiative focuses on Malay empowerment rather than racial confrontation, says party vice-president Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail.
Wan Rosdy said it was crucial that the platform remained free of narrow communal rhetoric to preserve harmony within the unity government.
"Umno must strike a delicate balance. The narrative must be about 'Malays for Malaysia', not 'Malays against other races'," he said in an interview with Mingguan Malaysia.
"As long as Rumah Bangsa focuses on socioeconomic empowerment and not narrow communal rhetoric, then cooperation with DAP and other non-Malay parties in the unity government would not technically be affected."
Wan Rosdy said this when asked how the party would ensure the initiative does not affect the unity among Malay and non-Malay parties.
He said the initiative was necessary to bridge a polarised Malay community currently split into several major political blocs.
Wan Rosdy, who is also Pahang menteri besar, described the initiative as a neutral platform to discuss socioeconomic issues without the constraints of rigid party structures.
To prevent any single entity from dominating the platform, he suggested it be steered by collective leadership and figures who do not hold top political posts.
"The agenda must also be specific," he said, adding that the focus should remain on the economy and education rather than electoral seats.
Comparing the initiative to the now-defunct Muafakat Nasional (MN), Wan Rosdy said the previous alliance between Umno and Pas failed because it was a tactical pact plagued by infighting over seats and the entry of Bersatu.
"Rumah Bangsa, on the other hand, is structured as a platform for consultation. It is not an official political alliance to contest elections," he said.
On Pas' criticism that Rumah Bangsa was an "unsafe structure", Wan Rosdy said it was the Islamic party signalling that it did not want to be under Umno's influence.
"However, the reality is that as long as Rumah Bangsa is perceived as an 'Umno project', parties like Pas will continue to view it as a political trap rather than a bridge to unity." - NST
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