The political secretary to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has criticised Khairy Jamaluddin for alleging that caretaker Negeri Sembilan menteri besar Aminuddin Harun had failed to safeguard the interests of the Malay-Muslim community in the state.
In a Facebook post today, Kamil Abdul Munim reminded Khairy that voting for Umno is not a guarantee that Malay rights will remain secure, adding that such rights are instead guaranteed by the Federal Constitution and the Malay rulers.
He also asked Khairy to specify which Malay rights had been eroded or undermined under Aminuddin’s leadership, instead saying that such rights are typically threatened by “corrupt Malays”, and that Umno is among them.
“The Malay rights that are truly under threat are those of corrupt Malays, project-hungry Malays, and, of course, Umno Malays. Not ordinary Malays, and not Malays in Negeri Sembilan,” Kamil said.
‘Support BN, support Malay rights’
Kamil responded to Khairy after the latter urged Malay-Muslim voters in Negeri Sembilan to return their support for BN in the upcoming state polls.
In a speech at the launch of the Seremban Umno Youth and Puteri meeting yesterday, Khairy said only Umno-BN can safeguard the community’s interests, compared to Aminuddin.
The former Rembau MP also accused Aminuddin of being powerless and under DAP’s control, which holds the most seats among Harapan parties.
Pointing to the racial composition of Pakatan Harapan representatives in the state assembly, Khairy said the Malay-Muslims had a good thing going in the incumbent state government as it had 14 Umno lawmakers to represent the group’s interests.
Harapan and BN had gone into the 2023 Negeri Sembilan state election under an electoral pact to avoid clashes and won 17 and 14 seats, respectively. Of Harapan’s 17, 11 were held by DAP, while PKR had five, and Amanah one.
Together, the coalitions formed a state government, while Perikatan Nasional remained in the opposition after only winning five seats.
“This is not about being racist. But representatives from other communities would surely fight for their people, which is their right to do so.
“But if they have only four Malay representatives to speak for issues regarding our community, their voices would inevitably be drowned out.
“Fortunately, we (Umno) were part of the state government after the previous election, because the ones that defended the Malays in Negeri Sembilan were the 14 assemblypersons from BN,” Khairy told some 200 delegates.
‘Regressive’ KJ
Kamil, however, expressed disappointment with Khairy’s remarks, which he labelled as regressive.
“I had expected Khairy’s return to bring progressive politics, namely assessing leaders based on performance and their record in administration.
“Unfortunately, you have chosen instead to continue with regressive politics that play on narrow racial and religious sentiments in order to instil fear among Malays.
“Not only are Malay rights at risk, but the dignity of the nation as a whole will also be tarnished if its leaders are corrupt, untrustworthy and prone to misappropriation.
“The 1MDB case is an example. Anyone who wishes to defend it is welcome to do so,” said Kamil, who is also PKR Youth chief. - Mkini
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